You’ve now used the Microsoft Exchange Installation
Wizard to manually install Exchange Server 2003. In this lesson, you
will install a second server into your organization using the unattended
method of installation. In the real world, unattended installations are
very useful when you need to perform an installation remotely. By
supplying someone on site with the installation media and the .ini file
for the unattended installation, that person can run Setup without any
intervention, ensuring that settings are not inadvertently selected or
modified.
Unattended installations
are also useful when you were deploying a number of new Exchange
servers in an existing organization. With the ability to also perform
unattended installations of Windows Server 2003, you can save time
deploying multiple servers by automating the entire installation
process.
Creating an .ini File for Unattended Setup
Creating an unattended
installation file can be very useful for deploying Exchange Server 2003.
The process of creating the file is essentially the same as the process
for a manual setup: selecting the components you want to install and
the installation path; choosing whether to create a new organization or
to join an existing one; agreeing to the licensing; and so on. However,
rather than beginning installation of the components after you confirm
your installation choices on the Installation Summary dialog box, the
Microsoft Exchange Installation Wizard writes the configuration to an
.ini file, which is a text file formatted specifically for use with the
/unattendfile Setup switch.
Planning
An
unattended installation will not eliminate the need for the
pre-installation work that is required for installing Exchange Server
2003. You still have to ensure that the Windows server installation has
the required components installed and configured to support the Exchange
installation. You must meet any requirements, such as permissions, to
perform the installation. |
In
this lesson, you will add a second Exchange Server 2003 server to the
existing forest and domain. You can also use the unattended installation
to create a new organization. The only limitation when creating a new
organization with an unattended installation file is that the file is
not reusable because Setup would not be able to create the organization
on subsequent installations. Therefore, creating an unattended
installation file is more useful for additional installations after the
creation of the organization.
Note
If
you have only a single lab computer to work with, you can alternatively
uninstall Exchange Server 2003 and then perform the following steps to
create an unattended installation file to use in setting up a new
organization. The process would be similar to the manual installation,
including choosing the same options. However, this will not allow you to
add the server to an existing organization. |
You can choose any name for
the .ini file; however, the extension should be .ini. While technically
you can use any extension, such as .txt, the format is that of an .ini
file and it is recommended to leave the extension as such for
consistency. Creating an .ini file for an unattended installation will
be covered in the practice at the end of this lesson.
Unless there is a
specific need for all your unattended installations to have custom
components installed, choose a Typical installation. If you change the
installation path for Exchange Server 2003, it will apply to all servers
on which you run the unattended installation. Plan carefully to ensure
that the Windows servers are configured consistently with their drives
and partitions.
When you are deploying a
test environment of Exchange Server 2003, it isn’t sufficient to set up
a separate lab server in an existing production forest or domain; you
must set up a separate Active Directory forest for testing. Otherwise,
you may be faced with unwanted forest level settings that are difficult
to get rid of when you go to a live deployment of Exchange Server 2003.
Tip
Watch
for exam scenarios where an option is to install a second Exchange
Server 2003 organization into an existing forest. Because of the nature
of the Exchange Server 2003 integration with Active Directory, a forest
can support only a single Exchange organization. |
When you run Setup and
create an Unattend.ini file, you are creating a text file that contains
the configuration settings you selected. Since it is a text file, you
can view Unattend.ini in Microsoft Notepad. When you do, you’ll see
something similar to the following: “This Unattend.ini file was created
using a Typical installation onto a new server in an Active Directory
domain, which already has another domain controller running an Exchange
2003 organization.” Because you selected a Typical installation, fields
for components that aren’t being installed are blank. The [InstallOrder]
subsection tells you which components are being installed.
Note
The following example has been edited for length. The real file is much longer, as you can see by viewing it on your system. |
[Version]
Signature="$Windows NT$"
Provider="Microsoft Exchange"
[CompleteComponentList]
exsetdata.dll
srchcomp.dll
[PreInstallOrder]
gfn_mid microsoft search
gfn_mid microsoft exchange
gfn_mid microsoft exchange server component
gfn_mid microsoft exchange system management tools
[InstallOrder]
gfn_mid microsoft search
gfn_mid microsoft exchange
gfn_mid microsoft exchange server component
gfn_mid microsoft exchange system management tools
[PostInstallOrder]
gfn_mid microsoft search
gfn_mid microsoft exchange
gfn_mid microsoft exchange server component
gfn_mid microsoft exchange system management tools
[Component Error List]
[gfn_mid microsoft search]
gfn_pid stockprop hidden=1
[Additional Global Property Names]
{DF8FF64A-1967-4871-9E32-CA2F819BAB81},HWNDForLoadingDialog,0,0
[Global Properties]
gfn_pid core password=
gfn_pid core autologon=0
gfn_pid core autologon previously enabled=0
gfn_pid core user name=Will Willis
gfn_pid core organization=
gfn_pid core pid 20=111-1111111
gfn_pid core pid 30=J6T48-XCF7K-QCGKD-QV887-4BJYB
gfn_pid core license file=eula.txt
gfn_pid core suite directory=C:\Program Files\Microsoft Integration
gfn_pid core post reboot=0
gfn_pid core suite name=Microsoft Exchange
gfn_pid core disk requirement=31457280
gfn_pid core progress show subs=1
gfn_pid core progress show tasks=0
gfn_pid core ask for pre install=0
gfn_pid core ask for post install=0
gfn_pid core suite mode=0
gfn_pid core suite baseline=0
gfn_pid core install scenario baseline=0
gfn_pid core force disk space ok=0
gfn_pid core ignore final disk space check=0
gfn_pid core registry=Software\Microsoft\Microsoft Integration\3D5A0E1C-B6DA-42a7-A871-
03CD2E30FEA3\SetupData
gfn_pid core no error log=0
gfn_pid core no event log=0
gfn_pid core system drive=C:
gfn_pid core program files=C:\Program Files\
gfn_pid encrypted mode=0
{E0C022B6-2029-11D3-8DFC-00C04F797FB8}=10
{CDD00162-2E69-11D3-A829-00C04FB1799F}=3D5A0E1C-B6DA-42a7-A871-03CD2E30FEA3
{CDD00163-2E69-11D3-A829-00C04FB1799F}=
{AA62DF98-3F2C-11D3-887B-00C04F8ECDD6}=0
{F24FCE05-8B5C-472F-9F53-9C9BB3DE50AF}=7
gfn_pid core dont install suite files=0
{9843461C-2F7A-4000-B91C-2DDD224C9E91}=c:\Unattend.ini
{DF8FF64A-1967-4871-9E32-CA2F819BAB81}=0
[Scenario Factory]
ActiveScenario={8BED5C7A-CDC9-11D2-92F4-00C04F79F1A8}
You
can edit this file manually to make changes to the installation
behavior, such as if you want Setup to install the server into a
specific administrative or routing group. Other options you might
configure are those under the [Global Properties] subsection, such as
changing the installation path. If you do edit the file, ensure that
Notepad doesn’t add a .txt extension when you save the file.
Performing an Unattended Installation of Exchange Server 2003
Using an unattended
installation .ini file is a matter of using the /UnattendFile Setup
switch with the correct Unattend.ini file. The following command line is
an example of starting an unattended installation with the Unattend.ini
file on a floppy disk in drive A and the Exchange Server 2003 CD in the
D drive:
D:\setup\i386\setup.exe /unattendfile a:\unattend.ini
After executing the
command, Setup will run without any input required. It is not a “silent”
installation without user interface displayed; the progress window
opens, and you can see the installation tasks being performed. Unlike a
manual installation, Setup will not prompt you when it is finished
installing Exchange Server 2003. Setup quits automatically when
complete.
Practice: Performing an Unattended Installation of Exchange Server 2003
In this practice,
you will create a file named Unattend.ini and then install Exchange
Server 2003 using the file. The procedure will result in a second
Exchange 2003 server being installed in your organization.
Exercise 1: Create an Unattend.ini Configuration File
1. | From
the Start menu, click Run and type the following command (substitute
the drive letter for your CD-ROM drive if it is not D, and substitute
C:\ with the path to your unattend.ini file if it is different):
D:\setup\i386\setup.exe /createunattend c:\Unattend.ini
The Microsoft Exchange Installation Wizard starts as if you ran Setup.exe without any switches.
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2. | At the Welcome page, click Next, accept the license agreement, and then click Next to open the Component Selection page.
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3. | In the Action column for the Microsoft Exchange component, click Typical, and then click Next.
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4. | If the Installation Type page is displayed, select Join Or Upgrade An Existing Exchange 5.5 Organization, and then click Next.
Whether you have the option of choosing to create a new Exchange
organization or upgrade to or join an existing Exchange organization
depends on whether Setup detects an existing Exchange organization in
the forest. If Setup detects an existing Exchange organization, it will
automatically default to joining an existing organization and will not
prompt you to choose. This is because an Active Directory forest can
support only a single Exchange organization.
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5. | Review the Installation Summary, and then click Next.
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6. | Accept the licensing agreement and click Next to finish.
Setup writes your choices into a configuration file with the path
you specified and displays a message stating that Setup completed
successfully.
|
Exercise 2: Perform an Unattended Installation of Exchange Server 2003
1. | From
the Start menu, click Run and type the following command (change drive D
to match your CD-ROM drive letter, and change drive C to match the
location where you have stored the unattended installation file, if
necessary):
D:\setup.i386\setup.exe /UnattendFile c:\Unattend.ini
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2. | Monitor
the installation, seeing that Setup utilizes the custom settings from
the Unattend.ini file, including installing the Microsoft Exchange 5.5
Administrator program.
After Setup completes, from the Start menu, point to All
Programs, then point to Microsoft Exchange, and start Exchange System
Manager. View the organization in Exchange System Manager, verifying
that the new server is installed into the organization by expanding the
Servers container. Quit the program. |