Is Excel Services for SharePoint 2016 deprecated?

Is Excel Services for SharePoint 2016 deprecated?

We are heavy users of Excel Services and rendering analytical models using Excel Services in SP2013. Is this still going to be available in SP2016, or we need to switch to office web apps server? Does office web apps server supports rendering of pivot tables, charts based on PowerPivot data models in Excel?

Thanks!

August 28th, 2015 9:35am

Hello,

according to the documentation :

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt346109(v=office.16).aspx you need to rely on Office Online Server (new owa), and we can read this (so I guess it should work):

"Excel workbooks containing a data model won't be interactive in Excel Online without using a workaround. Such workbooks can be opened and viewed in Excel Online but any interaction with the workbook (e.g., sort, filter, slice, and drill down) will cause an error.

To fix this issue, SQL Server Management Studio should be upgraded and configured on the SSAS servers that are dedicated to handling Data Models. For details, see the previous known issue section.

Additionally Office Online Server Preview that runs Excel Online must be configured to work with those dedicated SSAS Servers. Use the following Windows PowerShell cmdlets:

New-OfficeWebAppsExcelBIServer, Remove-OfficeWebAppsExcelBIServer, Get-OfficeWebAppsExcelBIServer

" That said the only thing that still worries me a little is how identity delegation from Office Online to the backend will be managed.

"

Serge Luca

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August 28th, 2015 11:07am

There's been no announcement of Excel Services being deprecated, but it's clear theres some big changes in the area.

Best summary I've seen of what has been announced for the area is here;

https://blogs.perficient.com/microsoft/2015/02/5-ways-the-bi-experience-in-sharepoint-is-evolving/

August 28th, 2015 11:12am

Hi,

The short answer is: yes, you'll need to switch to using Office Online Server 2016, and yes, Pivot Tables and Charts on Power Pivot are supported.

The prerequisite Office Online Server 2016 Preview will be publicly available VERY soon (will be announced).

For details on Excel Services deprecation in favor of Excel Online over Office Online Server, please read these release notes: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt346112(v=office.16).aspx

For further details, read on here: https://technet.microsoft.com/EN-US/library/mt346109(v=office.16).aspx

Good luck, and do ping us if questions arise,

Gregory

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August 30th, 2015 6:28am

Re<the only thing that still worries me a little is how identity delegation from Office Online to the backend will be managed>

It will be managed using either EffectiveUserName or KCD (default). How to configure the former can be found here (you quoted part of it above): https://technet.microsoft.com/EN-US/library/mt346109(v=office.16).aspx

For KCD configuration, I believe the config steps haven't been published yet.

Here's a preview:

Install Office Web Apps Server and related updates

Complete these steps on any servers that will run Office Online Server Preview.


  1. Run Setup.exe.
  2. On the Read the Microsoft Software License Terms page, select I accept the terms of this agreement and click Continue.
  3. On the Choose a file location page, select the folder where you want the Office Online Server Preview files to be installed (for example, C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office Web Apps) and select Install Now. If the folder you specified doesnt exist, Setup creates it for you.
  4. When Setup finishes installing Office Online Server Preview, choose Close.
  5. If you're planning to use Kerberos Constrained Delegation with Excel Online, then, in Services, set the Claims to Windows Token Service to start automatically on this server. Also see second NOTE here: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee517278.aspx.

NOTE 1:

If you plan to use any features that utilize external data access, working with Data Models or SharePoints Power Pivot or Power View capabilities, note that Excel Online must reside in the same AD domain forest as their user-base as well as any external data sources you plan to access using Windows-based authentication

And the "Important" note here(https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee806870.aspx) is no longer valid for Excel Online, though it continues to be valid for Excel Services vPrev.

NOTE 2:

If you plan to use Kerberos Constrained Delegation with Excel Online, be sure to add each Office Online Server in the farm to the Active Directory Domain Services delegation list.




August 30th, 2015 6:55am

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