Recipe2.9.Using Exchange Setup in Unattended Mode

Recipe 2.9. Using Exchange Setup in Unattended Mode

Problem

You want to deploy multiple Exchange servers without manual intervention, or you want to automate the installation of an Exchange service pack.

Solution

Use the Exchange Setup /createunattend switch to create an unattended installation answer file. This file can then be used in conjunction with Setup's /unattendfile option to duplicate the configuration specified in the answer file. This works both for Exchange installations and Exchange service packs.

Using a graphical user interface to create the unattended answer file

Launch the appropriate setup utility (setup.exe for Exchange installs, update.exe for service packs) with the /createunattend switch. You also have to specify the path to the answer file you want to create, like this:
```
C:\temp\e2k3-sp1\i386\update.exe /createunattend c:\temp\sp1-answer.udf
```
If you're installing Exchange, click Next to dismiss the welcome screen, then accept the license agreement and click Next.
If prompted, enter your 25-character product key and click Next.
On the Component Selection page, select the components that you want to install. You can use the typical, minimum, or custom installation types for Exchange installations. For service packs, the action will default to Update; for clean installations, you'll have to make sure that Install is selected. (Remember, you can install only the system management tools if you like).
If desired, use the Change Path button to select where the Exchange binaries (and thus the databases, by default) will be placed on the target disk.
Click Next.
On the Installation Summary page, click Next.
When setup completes, click Finish.
Optionally, open your answer file with a text editor and inspect its contents. (The unattended install white paper listed in the See Also section has a great deal of information on how these files are formatted and what their sections mean.)
Optionally, edit the answer file to specify which AG and routing group you want your servers installed in.

Using a graphical user interface to install Exchange with the unattended answer file

Launch the appropriate setup utility (setup.exe for Exchange installs, update.exe for service packs) with the /unattendfile switch. You also have to specify the path to the answer file you want to use for the install, like this:
```
d:\setup\i386\setup.exe /unattendfile c:\temp\boston-answer.udf
```
By default, Setup will be completely silent; if you want to see the user interface as Setup proceeds, add the /ShowUI switch to your command line.
Wait for setup to complete and then verify that Exchange was set up properly.

Discussion

Unattended installations are a standard feature of Windows. Unattended answer files, often called .udf files because of their default extension, are a set of name-value pairs that specify the answers and options solicited by the setup process. These files provide a prepackaged set of input for the installer, removing the need to ask for them interactively. While you should use the /createunattend option to initially create a new unattend file, once you have it, you can use it as a template and manually edit it to create tuned configurations (e.g., for multiple domains).

Creating one answer file and using it to install multiple servers can be a big time saver. However, there are some significant limitations to this process.

You can perform only basic Exchange installations with this methodno disaster recoveries, forestpreps, or cluster installs allowed.
Unattended installs cannot be used to upgrade from a previous version of Exchange.
You can't use unattended install to install the first Exchange 2000 or 2003 server in the organization.
You can't perform unattended installs that add, remove, or re-install Exchange components.
Unattended installations require native Exchange mode, meaning that you can't perform them in an organization that has remaining Exchange 5.5 servers. This greatly reduces the value of this option for organizations that are migrating from Exchange 5.5.

So what can you do with an unattended installation?

Add Exchange servers to an existing Exchange organization
Install the Exchange System Management Tools
Install Exchange service packs on existing Exchange servers
Prepare the domain (synonymous with the /domainprep switch)

If you have large server farms with consistent machine configurations, this option will speed up deployment of additional base servers. Any further configuration changes can then be performed manually or via the scripting techniques we demonstrate throughout the rest of the book.