Recipe17.5.Creating Unattended Installation Files for Exchange and Exchange Service Pack

Recipe 17.5. Creating Unattended Installation Files for Exchange and Exchange Service Pack

Problem

You want to create an unattended installation file for command-line installations and upgrades of Exchange Server.

Solution

Using a graphical user interface

1. Follow the procedures for Exchange Server installation (see Recipe 17.3), Exchange Server Management Tools installation (see Recipe 17.6), or Exchange Server Service Pack installation (see Recipe 17.4) to the point where you enter the setup or update command.

2. Append to the run command the option /createunattend <driveletter>:\<path>\<filename>.ini. Note that <filename> should describe the installation or update. Examples include e2k3-unattended-sp1-install.ini and e23k-tools-install.ini.

3. Follow all of the screen prompts of the normal installation or upgrade.

4. On the Completing the Microsoft Exchange Wizard screen, click Finish.

5. Your unattended installation file should be in the location specified in the /createunattend option.

Discussion

Using unattended installation is a great way to install Exchange on many servers, deploy the Exchange tools to many administrator workstations, update service packs for Exchange on many servers, or maintain consistency in installation configurations.

The basic process is simply to add the /createunattend switch to the command line for either the setup or update command. You can also, if you choose, create an encrypted unattended installation file by using the /encryptedmode option. To see a complete list of options, run the setup or update executable with the /? option. After you create the file, you can use it to install Exchange as shown in the command-line solution in Recipe 17.3.

See Also

Recipe 17.3, Recipe 17.4, and Recipe 17.6 and MS KB 822893 (Setup Options for Exchange Server 2003)