Clients for Team Foundation Server

Like Team Foundation Server, Team Foundation clients also have specific hardware and software requirements. When planning a Visual Studio Team System deployment, it is also important to understand requirements specific to your business needs. Hardware requirements might vary depending on how you plan to deploy and use Visual Studio Team System. For example, you must consider what role-based editions you plan to use, how many different projects users will work on, and how many different roles users must perform during your projects.

Visual Studio Team System has five primary client applications: Visual Studio Team System Architecture Edition; Visual Studio Team System Development Edition; Visual Studio Team System Test Edition; Visual Studio Team System Database Edition; and the Visual Studio Team System Team Suite, which includes the Team Explorer client and has features of all role-based editions.

When used with Team Foundation Server, these client applications provide additional Visual Studio user interfaces to capabilities such as source control, work item tracking, team Web sites, reporting, process guidance, build management, and test execution.

Team Foundation Clients

Visual Studio Team System includes the following client editions:

• **Team Edition for Software Architects   **A Visual Studio Team System application focused on the software architect role.

• **Team Edition for Software Developers   **A Visual Studio Team System application focused on the enterprise developer role.

• **Team Edition for Software Testers   **A Visual Studio Team System application focused on the tester role.

• **Team Edition for Database Professionals   **A Visual Studio Team System application focused on the database developer and manager role.

• **Team Explorer   **A Visual Studio based application for software project management and analysis. Team Explorer provides an organized view of your team projects and includes access to Team Foundation Server features, including source control, work item tracking, and has Microsoft Project and Microsoft Excel integration.

Integration with Team Foundation

Visual Studio Team System integrates with a number of other products, including:

• **Microsoft Project   **Visual Studio Team System includes a plug-in to Microsoft Project that integrates Team Foundation Server work item tracking capabilities.

• **Microsoft Excel   **Visual Studio Team System includes a plug-in to Microsoft Excel that integrates Team Foundation Server work item tracking capabilities.

• **Windows SharePoint Services   **Visual Studio Team System includes a team project portal integrating process guidance, project documents, templates, and work item tracking capabilities.

• Source Control Command Line   This is a command line interface to the Team Foundation Server source control capabilities.

Client Architecture

The following diagram illustrates the basic architecture of Visual Studio Team System clients.

Client Roles

Visual Studio Team System capabilities should be evaluated through role-based editions such as Architecture Edition, but also through other clients such as Internet Explorer, Microsoft Project, and Microsoft Excel. All role-based editions include the functionality provided by Team Explorer as well as specific functionality for their individual roles. By determining the roles of the people in your organization, you can determine which editions you want to evaluate. Thus, you can more effectively plan your deployment of Visual Studio Team System.

Visual Studio Team Explorer Installation Considerations

Team Explorer can be installed and run side-by-side with other integrated development environments (IDE). This allows access to Team Foundation Server functionality as follows:

• Developers using Visual Studio 2005 Professional or Standard Editions.

  You can install Team Explorer on top of Visual Studio 2005 Professional editions. This allows access to Team Foundation Server functionality. You must install Team Explorer on top of these editions. You cannot install it side-by-side with Visual Studio 2005 Professional editions.

• Developers using Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions.

  You can install Team Explorer and run it side-by-side with Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions. This allows access to Team Foundation Server functionality.

• Developers using older Visual Studio versions, such as Visual Studio 6.

  You can install Team Explorer and run it side-by-side with earlier versions of Visual Studio (including earlier versions of Visual Studio .NET). This allows access to Team Foundation Server functionality.

• Developers using integrated development environments other than Visual Studio.

  You can install Team Explorer and run it side-by-side with other IDEs. This allows access to Team Foundation Server functionality.

Microsoft Project and Microsoft Excel as Visual Studio Team System Clients

Users can also access Team Foundation Server capabilities through Microsoft Project and Microsoft Excel by installing either Visual Studio Team System or Team Explorer on the client computer.

Hardware and Software Requirements

When you determine your hardware and software requirements, consider the following:

• What role-based editions you want to install on the client computers.

• What software is already installed on the client computers.

Hardware Requirements

The following hardware requirements apply to Visual Studio Team System role-based clients and Team Explorer.

Administrators who want to install Test Edition and include a test rig will have additional hardware requirements. For more information, see Test Rig Requirements for Team System.

Software Requirements

All the Visual Studio Team System clients have specific software requirements.

Client Operating System Requirements

The following client operating systems are supported for Visual Studio Team System clients:

• Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2 installed

• Windows Server 2003

• Windows Vista

Client Software Prerequisites

Besides the operating system, you should install the following software on the client computers before installing Visual Studio Team System clients.

Installing Team Explorer with Other IDE Software

You can install Team Explorer and run it side-by-side with other IDEs. This gives these clients access to Team Foundation Server functionality as follows:

• Developers who use Visual Studio 2005 Professional or Standard Editions.

  You can install Team Explorer on top of Visual Studio 2005 Professional Editions. This allows access to Team Foundation Server functionality. You must install Team Explorer on top of these editions. You cannot install it side-by-side with Visual Studio 2005 Professional Editions.

• Developers who use Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions.

  You can install Team Explorer and run it side-by-side with Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions. This allows access to Team Foundation Server functionality.

• Developers who use older versions of Visual Studio, such as Visual Studio 6.

  You can install Team Explorer and run it side-by-side with earlier versions of Visual Studio (including earlier versions of Visual Studio .NET). This gives these clients access to Team Foundation Server functionality.

• Developers who use integrated development environments other than Visual Studio.

  You can install Team Explorer and run it side-by-side with other IDEs. This gives these clients access to Team Foundation Server functionality.

Microsoft Project and Microsoft Excel as Visual Studio Team System Clients

Users can also access Team Foundation Server capabilities through Microsoft Project and Microsoft Excel by installing either a Visual Studio Team System role-based client or Team Explorer on the client computer.

Windows SharePoint Services

No additional installation requirements are necessary to access Visual Studio Team System functionality other than Internet Explorer. Team Foundation Server capabilities are delivered over the Web. These capabilities include access to the team project Web portal, which is based on SharePoint Products and Technologies; reports that are based on SQL Server Analysis Services; and work item tracking capabilities.

Language Considerations

You can install the English version of Visual Studio Team System on any localized version of a supported operating system. You can install any localized version of Visual Studio Team System on a matching language operating system, or on an English operating system. For example, a Japanese version of Visual Studio can be installed on a Japanese version of Windows XP or an English version of Windows XP, but not on a German version of Windows XP.

For a localized Team Foundation Server installed on an English operating system, you will need a multi-user interface (MUI) pack, or at least an installation of the appropriate fonts for that language.

Visual Studio Team System and Microsoft Office

When you use Visual Studio Team System and Microsoft Office together, you must consider additional language constraints. The operating system language can be any supported language. The Visual Studio language can be any supported language, except when Microsoft Office has been installed. If Microsoft Office is installed, the constraints in the following table apply.

Other Considerations

Team Explorer and role-based clients of Visual Studio Team System can be managed remotely and virtually.

Virtual PCs

Team Explorer and role-based clients of Visual Studio Team System will operate correctly on a Virtual PC.

Terminal Servers

Team Explorer  and role-based clients of Visual Studio Team System will operate correctly with Terminal Server.

Network Adapter Settings

During various operations, Team Foundation Server connects to the appropriate services and components on the data tier, the application tier, and the client tier. The speed with which Team Explorer completes the transfer of large amounts of data (for example, creating new team projects, uploading large documents, or checking large files into source control) depends, in large part, on the speed of the computer network. If you are experiencing poor performance for such operations, network configuration problems might be artificially limiting the throughput of the system. For more information, see "Advanced network adapter troubleshooting for Windows workstations" on the Microsoft Web site.

See Also

Other Resources

Requirements for Team Foundation

Change History