This is the install guide for Team Foundation Server 2012 with Update 4 (TFS 2012.4). The latest release is Update 4. This update introduces a new SQL Server requirement for TFS: SQL Server 2008 R2 now requires service pack 1 (SP1). Previously, SP1 was only strongly recommended for some SQL Server editions, but now all SQL Server 2008 R2 editions require SP 1.

To apply TFS 2012.4 to an existing installation of TFS, you upgrade. (This is different from applying Visual Studio's updates, which work more like traditional patches.) You can also install TFS 2012.4 the same as you would any other TFS 2012 release.

If you want to install Team Foundation Server with the least amount of preliminary work, use the basic configuration, which comes with SQL Server Express and requires the least amount of set up. The TFS installation wizard can configure everything for you in about 10 minutes, and you can ignore most of the instruction in this guide. You won't get a report server or SharePoint, which means no HTML reports for your software projects, and no website to trade Office documents and collaborate, but you will have basic bug tracking, version control, and a website on the TFS server with team productivity features.

Tip
If you do use the basic configuration, consider installing it on a server operating system. If you install it on a server, you can always add a report server and SharePoint later, if you find your team needs them. If you install TFS on a client OS, adding these features is blocked, and you would have to first migrate TFS to a server OS.

Verify that your operating system and hardware meet the requirements for Team Foundation Server. For client operating systems, you can use Windows 7 or Windows 8, 32-bit or 64-bit. For servers, you must use 64-bit.

For more information: System Requirements for Team Foundation Server.

Run the Team Foundation Sever install (tfs_server.exe) from the product DVD, and then use the basic configuration wizard to configure your installation.

For more information: Run Team Foundation Server Installation and Configure Team Foundation Server Using the Basic Configuration.

Tip
After you set up TFS, the next thing to do is use Visual Studio to create a team project.

You can install Team Foundation Server in many different ways, but it's all the same product. Use the scenario that most closely matches your team's needs.

Install Team Foundation Server

You can install Team Foundation Server and all its prerequisites on a single server. This scenario focuses on new installations of prerequisite software, but you can use existing installations as long as you install all the software on the same computer. 

How to: Install Team Foundation Server Using the Advanced Configuration

You can install Team Foundation Server and all its prerequisites across more than one server or by customizing any of the default options. For example, you might want reporting, but not a project portal. This scenario focuses on using your existing infrastructure for prerequisite software and incorporating other server products that offer high-value integration with Team Foundation Server, such as SharePoint Server 2010.

Upgrade Team Foundation Server

You can upgrade from an earlier release of Team Foundation Server or the beta or RC release of TFS 2012. You can also use the upgrade guidance to upgrade TFS 2012 to one of its update releases.

How to: Create a Team Foundation Server Farm (High Availability)

You can add an application-tier server to an existing deployment of Team Foundation Server to build redundancy into your deployment or to restore a failed application-tier server. 

Customize your ALM environment with one or more of these applications