Installing Team Foundation Server and Visual Studio ALM

This is the install guide for Team Foundation Server 2012 with Update 3 (TFS 2012.3). The latest release is Update 3. To apply TFS 2012.3 to an existing installation of TFS, you upgrade. (This is different from applying Visual Studio’s update 3, which works more like a traditional patch.) You can also install TFS 2012.3 the same as you would any other TFS 2012 release.

The only updates to this guide for TFS 2012.3 are the addition of Update 2 to the list of supported releases for upgrade and some changes to the initial build service configuration wizard to support automatic restoration of build server settings. Otherwise, it’s exactly the same installation guidance as in previous versions.

If you want to install Team Foundation Server with the least amount of preliminary work, use the basic configuration, which comes with SQL Server Express. This way, the installation wizard configures everything for you.

With the basic configuration of Team Foundation Server, you can track bugs, tasks, and other work items. You can put files under version control, and use Team Web Access to log and resolve bugs. However, you will not be able to configure reporting or SharePoint with the basic configuration.

Tip
If you are installing Team Foundation Server on a server operating system, you can always add reporting or SharePoint later. If you want reporting and SharePoint right from the start, use one of the other Team Foundation Server installation options listed below.

Verify that your operating system and hardware meet the requirements for Team Foundation Server. For client operating systems, you can use Windows 7 or Windows 8, 32-bit or 64-bit. For servers, you must use 64-bit.

For more information: System Requirements for Team Foundation Server.

Run the Team Foundation Sever install (tfs_server.exe) from the product DVD, and then use the basic configuration wizard to configure your installation.

For more information: Run Team Foundation Server Installation and Configure Team Foundation Server Using the Basic Configuration.

Tip
Download the most recent version of the TFS install guide (CHM file) at the Microsoft Download Center to see any late breaking changes to these steps.

You can install Team Foundation Server in many different ways, but it’s all the same product. Use the scenario that most closely matches your team’s needs.

Install Team Foundation Server

You can install Team Foundation Server and all its prerequisites on a single server. This scenario focuses on new installations of prerequisite software, but you can use existing installations as long as you install all the software on the same computer. 

How to: Install Team Foundation Server Using the Advanced Configuration

You can install Team Foundation Server and all its prerequisites across more than one server or by customizing any of the default options. For example, you might want reporting, but not a project portal. This scenario focuses on using your existing infrastructure for prerequisite software and incorporating other server products that offer high-value integration with Team Foundation Server, such as SharePoint Server 2010.

Upgrade Team Foundation Server

You can upgrade from an earlier release of Team Foundation Server or the beta or RC release of TFS 2012. You can also use the upgrade guidance to upgrade TFS 2012 to one of its update releases.

How to: Create a Team Foundation Server Farm (High Availability)

You can add an application-tier server to an existing deployment of Team Foundation Server to build redundancy into your deployment or to restore a failed application-tier server.