Automating an install?

[ddrueding]

I have a new program that I need to deploy to 40 Win7/8 machines. It requires IIS with specific options and SQL Express with specific options before I can even begin the install of the program itself. These machines are not part of a domain, and I currently have SQL Express and the program on a thumb drive I'm bringing around.

What would be your preferred scripting method? Would it be worth it to automate with only 40 machines to do?

Thanks!

 

[Mercutio]

Does it need anything besides IIS and MSSQL?
MSSQL is a PITA to install, even interactively. You have to assign rights for various features to user accounts and crap. IIS is just a Windows Feature that gets added. It's easy either way.
That said, for 40 machines and somebody who doesn't script things very often... just suck it up and do it. You'd spend a couple hours figuring out the parameters for the MSSQL installer and if you just walked around and installed off a flash drive you'd probably be done with half the PCs by then.

Why do all these machines need their own instance of MSSQL? Why not point all of them to point database?

 

[ddrueding]

That's pretty much what I was thinking, thanks. The IIS install is a PITA mainly because of the exact features that need to be selected (and deselected), probably 25 checkboxes out of the 40 available.

There is a main database and a main webserver, but this program allows an "offline mode" where it syncs a subset of the database to the local machine and serves the pages from localhost. Slick once it is running, but they don't have a decent installer for it. After getting IIS and MSSQL running, their program is another 400GB installer that makes MSSQL seem pretty easy. Plus the user configuration in their admin interface.

 

[Mercutio]

Why doesn't the vendor have a script to use? Christ.

 

[ddrueding]

They don't even have proper documentation, much less a script. I was running a screen cap when their support guy remoted in and did it once. I'm building the doc from that.

Hard to blame them, the app was less than $250,000. What can you expect for such a pittance?

 

[LunarMist]

They don't even have proper documentation, much less a script. I was running a screen cap when their support guy remoted in and did it once. I'm building the doc from that.

Hard to blame them, the app was less than $250,000. What can you expect for such a pittance?

That's ridiculous. Somebody screwed up somewhere if it is not in the SOW. Aren't there IT SOPs that govern how the RFQs/RFPs are prepared?

 

[ddrueding]

Wow, you put a lot of fancy letters in there

No SOW, no SOP, IT wasn't even involved in the RFQ. I was informed which software the department had decided on (which was the first I'd heard that they were considering migrating from the existing software), and set up a lab for the trainer. At that point I configured the VM for the server, installed the OS they specified, and gave their implementation guy remote access.

I'm sure that having a complete CYA documented process for everything leads to better outcomes most of the time, but I shudder to think about how many man-hours it would take just to maintain such a process (much less create it). The paperwork alone would be truly absurd. I'd need a staff of 5 (instead of a staff of 0.5) just to do the same amount of work we're doing now.

I'm in agreement with my boss that stumbling a bit from time to time is better for the bottom line than everyone being afraid to wipe their ass without a PO.

Oh, and they'd need to find someone to replace me, 'cause I wouldn't tolerate it.

 

[LunarMist]

Wow, you put a lot of fancy letters in there

No SOW, no SOP, IT wasn't even involved in the RFQ. I was informed which software the department had decided on (which was the first I'd heard that they were considering migrating from the existing software), and set up a lab for the trainer. At that point I configured the VM for the server, installed the OS they specified, and gave their implementation guy remote access.

I'm sure that having a complete CYA documented process for everything leads to better outcomes most of the time, but I shudder to think about how many man-hours it would take just to maintain such a process (much less create it). The paperwork alone would be truly absurd. I'd need a staff of 5 (instead of a staff of 0.5) just to do the same amount of work we're doing now.

I'm in agreement with my boss that stumbling a bit from time to time is better for the bottom line than everyone being afraid to wipe their ass without a PO.

Oh, and they'd need to find someone to replace me, 'cause I wouldn't tolerate it.

Of course I'm not in IT, but I'm heavily involved in the vendor selection process and RFQ, URS, FRS, OQ and UAT for any system that is owned by my group. There are something like 20 documents that have to be approved in a type of Documentum, but I'm only on some of them. IT project management and IT validation are on most of them. I know they have some IQ docs which would include servers and any local clients if Citrix or some web interface is not used. I know you would not enjoy the process, but it is interesting to me. The key is good project management of course. If they don't handle the various groups involved it can be challenging as most of the work is outsourced.

 

[ddrueding]

I would find it interesting, purely from a theoretical perspective. I might even run through it once just to see what happens. But with 1.5 people supporting 450 workstations in 9 offices using 7 major systems across 8 departments, I just don't see a formal system being manageable. Particularly on our budget.

 

[Mercutio]

I went through something similar with a customer about a month ago. They upgraded to a new version of their turnkey application, which previously hadn't even been certified to run on Windows 7. The directions, once I read them, essentially involved turning off every single one of Windows 7's security features including UAC and the firewall and editing the ACLs for almost all of the default directories in a Windows 7 installation. I also had to edit the registry in nine different locations, manually create several ODBC connections and manually install all the development libraries they used.
I looked at the list and initially said "no way I'm doing this" but it turned out that their daily rate for installing their app was three times higher than mine, so I wound up doing it anyway.

Now I'm just waiting for something to break because permission inheritance is turned off for the Windows\System folder on those machines.

 

[Will Rickards]

They probably want to sell you the install services which is why there is no documentation.

 

[Bozo]

Aren't there commercial programs that will roll out programs and images?

 

[Mercutio]

There are tools for building MSI and MSTs from pre- and post-snapshot images, but they're very time consuming to use if you don't deal with those things all the time.