Web portals are a popular way to aggregate information from several different sources into one convenient place. SharePoint Portal Server provides an easy way to create Web portals. An organization can establish a central point of access to all existing key business information and applications, as well as share information across file servers, databases, public folders, Internet sites, and SharePoint-based Web sites.

SharePoint Portal Server uses several key Microsoft technologies, including Windows, the Portal Framework, Office, Microsoft Internet Explorer, the Microsoft Exchange Store, and Microsoft Search Service. When used in conjunction with Office XP, the enterprise-wide search, document management capabilities, and easy portal customization in SharePoint Portal Server make Office XP a powerful content development tool.

Below are some common terms surrounding the Sharepoint Portal Server:

Workspace - An organized collection of documents, content sources, management folders, categories, document profiles, subscriptions, and discussions. It provides a central location to organize, manage, and publish content.

Dashboard site - A specialized Web site created automatically, at the same time as the associated workspace. The dashboard site provides a Web view of the workspace and enables assigned users to search, view, and manage documents and to search for and view content from other sources. The dashboard site contains a number of pages, or dashboards, and includes customization pages and custom Web Part forms.

• Dashboard- Each dashboard contains a collection of Web Parts in a modular view that can be presented to users in a Web browser. It is simply a Web page on the dashboard site.
  
  
• Web Part - Customizable, reusable components displaying specific information on a Web page. Web Parts plug into existing back-end systems, such as Siebel or SAP, to present customized views to a desktop. Then, from a single interface, employees can access internal data, external feeds, and collaboration tools.
  
  
• Folders for Web Parts - SharePoint Portal Server associates these folders with specific default Web Parts on the dashboard site. SharePoint Portal Server applies a specific document profile to documents according to the folder in which it is stored. For example, the Quick Links folder is associated with the Quick Links Web Part and applies the Quick Links document profile to all the documents it contains.
  
  
• Dashboard Factory - A program operating in the background assembling Web Parts into a format suitable for viewing, and coordinates the overall operation of the dashboard site.

SharePoint Portal Server provides a rich, customizable out-of-the-box Web portal, accessed by using the dashboard site. Because the dashboard site is comprised entirely of Web Parts, it is easily customizable for business needs. Designed to provide flexibility, the dashboard site provides the primary view of the portal. With SharePoint Portal Server, a portal is created using Web Parts and digital dashboards to present content. A company can use third-party Web Parts or create its own Web Parts. The portal framework allows companies to present content in a customizable way, to suit the needs and preferences of its group. The framework also allows addition of Web Parts from many other sources.

SharePoint Portal Server relies on the following:

• Web Storage System. Built-in services for building Web-based collaborative applications.
  
  
• Standard Tools. Develop solutions using familiar tools such as Microsoft Visual Studio®.
  
  
• Standard Interfaces. Utilize common interfaces like Microsoft ActiveX® Data Objects (ADO), Extensible Markup Language (XML) and Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV).