What does “You cannot use this method on a domain controller or in a workgroup environment”

Question

I want to install the stand alone sharepoint 2013 version to do some testing.

But the docs say "You cannot use this method on a domain controller or in a workgroup environment"- What does that mean?

I just want to install it on one station and then connect to it from another station (neither station will be joined to a domain). Is this not possible with the stand alone install?

Answer 1

That means, you cannot install the SharePoint on the Domain Controller or on a workgroup PC (which is not part of Domain). This type of deployment is not supported by MSFT, that means you will not get support from MSFT in cases of issue.

There are many known issues when you install SharePoint on Domain Controller

• User Profile & MySites will not work
• You will see unseen issue with Search
• One of the error: ErrorCode:SubStatus: Service running under Network Service account in workgroup environment is not supported
• Security Issue.
• Service Packs, Infrastructure updates, hot fixes and the like all require the SharePoint Technologies wizard to be re-run on every server in the farm. The wizard assumes that the local WSS_* groups already exist and that certain permissions are already in place. Being on a Domain Controller can have unexpected results.
• Reporting Services and other wizards run expecting local services which do not exist on a DC.
• You will not be able to use Document Conversion at all. There is no work around or a resolution to this.

But one thing, it is supported by the Developer's machine (only on Domain Controller).

https://briankgough.wordpress.com/2009/07/16/sharepoint-on-a-domain-controller/