Team Foundation Server Components

Team Foundation servers provide source control, work item tracking, reporting, and project Web site capabilities for Visual Studio Team System. These servers can also provide build and test rig functionality. Team Foundation servers also integrate with Microsoft Project and Microsoft Excel to extend reporting and tracking abilities. A logical Team Foundation server consists of the following two components.

• Team Foundation application-tier server   This logical layer is made up primarily of Web services. This layer represents the application tier in a traditional three-tier Web application deployment. The services and functions that belong to this layer are called Team Foundation Server (services) when they are deployed on a physical server.

• Team Foundation data-tier server   This logical layer is made up primarily of a Microsoft SQL Server 2005 database server and includes databases specific to Team Foundation Server. This layer represents the data tier in a traditional three-tier Web application deployment. The services and functions that belong to this layer are called Team Foundation Server (databases) when they are deployed on a physical server.

The application tier and database tier can be physically deployed together on one server (single-server deployment) or separately on two separate servers (dual-server deployment). A separate Team Foundation Server license is required for each Team Foundation server. Therefore, in the dual-server deployment, you need two Team Foundation Server licenses.

In This Section

• Team Foundation Application-Tier Servers
  Describes the Team Foundation application tier and the services that run on Team Foundation Server.

• Team Foundation Data-Tier Servers
  Describes the Team Foundation data tier and the databases than run on Team Foundation Server.

• Team Foundation Build Servers
  Describes build computers and how they operate with Team Foundation Server.

• Team Foundation Server Proxy and Source Control
  Describes Team Foundation Server Proxy and how it can reduce the bandwidth needed across wide area connections when remote teams use source control.

• Team Test Rig
  Describes test servers, including test controllers and test agents, and how they operate with Team Foundation Server.

• Integration with Windows Server Features
  Describes how Team Foundation Server integrates with the features of the Windows Server family of products.

• Integration with Other Products
  Describes how Team Foundation Server integrates with other products, such as Microsoft Excel and Microsoft SQL Server.