PowerPivotPro's FAQ Site

For a departmental server deployment model, we typically suggest the one-box PowerPivot for SharePoint setup because it requires it has the simplest install and configuration.  You will need a beefy box (e.g. 64GB RAM, 8-proc, good disk like DAS or SAN, etc.) so that way you can run SharePoint, SQL, IIS, Excel Services, PowerPivot System Service, and Analysis Services IMBI Service all on the same box.  The instructions can be found at http://powerpivotgeek.com/server-installation/single-server-install/.

 

For an enterprise server deployment model, we typically suggest the mult-server farm deployment so it can handle the large number of concurrent user queries and data processing.  We still suggest the same type of hardware infrastructure with different services (e.g. Excel Services, WFE, PowerPivot, etc.) being deployed on different servers.  While the installation and configuration is more complex, you can find this information at http://powerpivotgeek.com/server-installation/existing-farm-install/.

 

We invite you to review all of the draft deployment guides at http://powerpivotgeek.com/server-installation/ which will hopefully make it easier for you to do your PowerPivot for SharePoint installation.  It also includes Reporting Services integration as well as installation of PowerPivot for SharePoint services on one box while installing the SQL databases on a separate server.  We will be converting these into full blown whitepapers shortly but in the meantime, please do provide feedback on the site.