I mean, gee-zus! SPS2001 had a setup.exe. Installation was a BREEZE!
SharePoint Portal Server 2003, on the other hand, has NO setup.exe. Its setup and configuration processes are all web-based.
Hello! Web-based apps suck!
Okay. MY web-based apps suck because they use brain-dead server-side controls and require a post-back for every action. Microsoft installation web-based apps rock.
So I'm trying to install OSPS2003, working through all of the new 2003 portal and server farm concepts and all the while using a web-based configuration app to do it.
On one friggen' page, I'm asked to enter the domain\username and password (twice!) for three different configuration processes. Then when my choices are not accepted, some CustomValidationInput control at the top of the page throws a generic message, "Please select a user which is in the Power Users Group and which has database creation rights." That's reasonably acceptable, but then it blanks out all nine of my form fields??? I spent 15 minutes typing and retyping entries on that stupid page alone.
You'd think that at $30,000 dollars for a server license I could get a setup.exe with SharePoint Server 2003.