The first time you see a Team Foundation Server running, the truth is that it gives you a little respect, and you think, what colossus is carrying this behind? An immense server of hundreds of megabytes through sockets? A couple of developer mice turning a wheel? ….

Well no, the truth is that it is a clear example of a well-planned, simple and clear development, using the technology of the moment without resorting to prehistoric elements (claiming that they worked before). It’s something as simple as:

IIS + WebServices + SharePoint Services + SQL Server

  • Basically, every time you connect with Team Explorer, what you do is call the WebServices that are waiting for you listening from port 8080. Of course, to develop, don’t even think about attacking the webservices directly, as Luis Fraile, told me, it is preferable to use the SDK, since Microsoft does not assure you that the webservices will not change, but instead it gives you support and documentation about these SDKs.

  • The Web Portal for Project Administration is nothing more than a SharePoint Services with a changed Theme, and a good job behind to be able to contact those WebServices.

  • The databases used are no more than those presented here:

Database Description
ReportServer The Reporting Services database contains the reports and report settings for Reporting Services.
ReportServerTempDB The Reporting Services temporary database is used for temporarily storing information that is used when you run specific reports for Reporting Services.
STS_Config_TFS The SharePoint configuration database contains a listing of all sites including content databases, site templates, custom Web parts, and other settings from SharePoint Central Administration.
STS_Content_TFS The SharePoint content database contains the content for the team’s SharePoint site.
TfsBuild The build database contains Team Foundation Build data and published test results.
TfsIntegration The registration database contains Projects, Areas, Iterations, and other registration data.
TfsVersionControl The Team Foundation source control database.
TFSWarehouse The Analysis Services database contains the data for building the warehouse used by the Reporting Services. NoteThe database can be backed up, however the warehouse is not backed up as the warehouse must be rebuilt from the restored TFSWarehouse database.
TfsWorkItemTracking The Team Foundation work item tracking database.
TfsWorkItemTrackingAttachments The Team Foundation work item tracking attachments database.
TfsActivityLogging The history database contains a log of all Team Foundation Server Web service requests. This database is not required for Team Foundation Server operation and back up is optional.