Setup App Environment in SharePoint 2013: Part 1

SharePoint 2013 has a long list of features and the SharePoint App Store is one of them; just like what we have for the Windows Phone Marketplace and Google Play Store concept. Here a site owner can download an app from the store and install them on SharePoint sites. Being a developer we need to set up this environment for app development.

For the first time when we install SharePoint Server 2013 this functionality is not enabled and the user will get an error when they try to install the apps for SharePoint. The error goes like this “Sorry, apps are turned off. If you know who runs the server, tell them to enable apps.”

In this entire article we will cover how to set up the app environment in SharePoint 2013. We will cover the following topics:

• Create a forward lookup zone for apps.
• Link the App domain to the SharePoint Server.
• Start the required Services.
• Configure the App Management Service Application.
• Configure the Subscription Settings Service Application.
• Configure the App URL's in the Central Administration site.
• Check for the required access for the accounts performing this operation.
• Test Your environment.

As Part 1 of this article let's cover the first point.

Create a forward lookup zone for apps

1. SharePoint 2013 Apps have their own isolated URL that is different from that of the SharePoint Farm URL. As per the Microsoft guidelines we need to create a new domain and not a subdomain of the current domain where we are running the SharePoint site.
   
   For example in my case the current domain of where I'm hosting SharePoint Sites is corp.com. To use the apps in my environment I need to create another domain, something like apps.com and not like apps.corp.com.
   
   
2. Make sure you are using an account that is a local administrator for this domain.
   
   
3. Start -> Administrative Tools -> DNS.
   
   
   
   
4. In DNS manager, click on your current domain that is hosting the SharePoint site to create a new host. See the following screenshot:
   
   
   
   
5. Fill in the fields as shown below and click next, where IP address is the one for your system.
   
   
   
   
6. Click on add host and you will get a prompt as the new host is created. See the following screenshot:
   
   
   
   
7. In DNS Manager, right-click Forward Lookup Zones and then click New Zone. See the image below:
   
   
   
   
8. In the New Zone wizard, select Next and proceed.
   
   
9. In the Zone Type page accept the default settings and proceed.
   
   
   
   
10. In the Active Directory Zone Replication page, keep the default settings as they are and proceed.
    
    
    
    
11. In the Zone Name page, type the zone name according to your needs. In my case it is Apps.com.
    
    
    
    
12. In the Dynamic update page keep the default settings as they are and proceed.
    
    
    
    
13. In the Completing the New Zone Wizard check all the settings and click OK.