I'm new to PS so I may get some of the terminology wrong.
If you want to roll out a custom PowerShell environment (snap-in) for a team of 30 developers/DBAs. What is the best way to do this... if you intend to be rolling out new functionality once a week? Does PowerShell 2.0 help in this regards?
Assumption:
There is no issue with everyone on the team installing PowerShell (v1 or v2)
Update:
Also see Jeffrey Snover's answer about v2 below.
It will depend to a certain extent on the sort of functionality changes that you intend to do. For our environment, we roll out a pretty standard PS install then add one line to everyone's profile to run a script from a shared folder on a server. Then in that script I can do whatever customization that I want to have applied to everyone.
We add the line to the machine specific MS profile (the one in %Windir%) this was an intentional choice. We do it that way so that the users essentially only get this on their production boxes. That way when they write something they can quickly log into a test box and run the script to make sure that the script will deploy without nay dependencies on these customizations.
Currently the customizations are pretty mundane. Mostly just some added functions and aliases. I also have a logger that I wrote in C# specifically for powershell so it loads that up from the dll that is in that same network folder.
Because I play around with my environment so much, I have this in my profile :)
$ProfileDir = ([System.IO.Directory]::GetParent($profile)).FullName
$localMSProfile = "$PShome\Microsoft.Powershell_profile.ps1"
$localAllProfile = "$PShome\profile.ps1"
$userAllProfile = "$ProfileDir\profile.ps1"
$userMSProfile = "$ProfileDir\Microsoft.Powershell_profile.ps1"
$allProfiles = ($localAllProfile, $localMSProfile, $userAllProfile, $userMSProfile)
This is why we added MODULE support in PowerShell V2 - it is the easiest mechanism to xcopy deploy sets of functions. The Module documentation is pretty light at this point but should be much better in a month or two.
Experiment! Enjoy! Engage!
Jeffrey Snover [MSFT]
Windows Management Partner Architect
If you are rolling out a new version of the snap-in weekly, switching version probably won't help with that part of things. However, you'll be developing on a newer platform, with the advantage of the extended functionality that comes with it.
As already suggested some scripts could ease the deployment pain to the point where you have to do nothing but maintain those scripts correctly and keep producing new builds.
Related
I have minimal exposure to RPM, Windows installer mechanics, and WIX. That said, I'm interested in making a cross-platform installer tool (Linux, Windows) that supports upgrading and downgrading (versiona and patches) of my own product. I don't believe this is a topic to be approached lightly; I would like to learn the science of the art (or the art of the science). If I succeed, and build a minimally successful installer tool, it would have these features:
does not depend on a platform-specific tool (such as Windows Installer).
reads XML or a declarative syntax to fulfill installation requirements.
attempts to minimize steps to upgrade or downgrade one of my products (rather than requiring a complete uninstall and re-install).
does not require knowledge of interim product versions, in order to jump versions (i.e. can upgrade one of my products from version 1 to version 3, without passing through version 2).
I'm convinced that "the key" to achieving this goal is by seeing versions as a "point A to point B" problem, which implies that A and B are described by two XML "version" documents that hold info about all the parts and actions (files, or platform specifics such as registry entries). My installer tool would "join" or compare the two documents and determine a minimal set of changes to transform A into B. To some extent, I believe this is precisely what Windows Installer does.
Of course there are further complexities, but that is the point of this post. Where is "the bible" of information on this topic? Remember, I want to make my own installer - not use a platform-specific one. For those who care, my products are usually written in C++ or C#.
Or perhaps I should study something like Steam which is cross-platform and has "automated game updates" as part of its capabilities. In my case, the problem of online deployment is already handled. It is just the final installation step I'm examining. Does Steam use native installers (such as an MSI)? If yes, then that is not what I'm looking for.
In short, what path should I pursue to become somewhat competent on the science of this topic?
I'm not an expert and others can give you better answers but...
Don't declaratively list steps required to install your product - You'll end up making assumptions which will eventually prove wrong. Instead, you should be looking at defining the final state of the installation and let the installer worry about how to make that happen.
Another consideration is that being downgradable may involve huge complications depending on your product - Would it have to down-grade database schemas / file formats / ??? In short, every version of your app will need to be both fully forwards- and backwards-compatible (or at least fail gracefully). Also consider the scenario where V1 of your app stores settings in a file. V2 comes along and adds more settings. You downgrade to V1 - What should it do when changing settings? preserve the V2 settings? dump them? Do some of the V2 settings change the impact/meaning of the V1 settings? Are these decisions to be made by your app or your installer?
Anyway, all that aside, I'd say you need at the least:
A central server/farm with complete files for every version of your App and some API/Web Service which allows the installer to retrieve files/filesets/??? as appropriate (You may be able to tie this into a source control system like svn)
Some way of specifying the desired post-install state of the system in an environment-agnostic way (Think install paths - /usr/??? - should the map to C:\Users\??? or C:\Program Files on windows? Also don't forget it might be a 64-bit machine so it could be C:\Program Files (x86).
A very clever installer written for multiple platforms with as much code re-use as possible (Java, Mono, ???)
The installer should do (simply):
Determine the desired version of the product.
Download/read the appropriate manifest.
Compare the desired situation with the current situation (NB: What is currently on the local system, NOT what should be on the system according to the current version's manifest)
Generate a list of steps to reconcile the two, taking into account any dependencies (can't set file permissions before you copy the file). You can make use of checksums/hashing/similar to compare existing files with desired files - thus only downloading the files actually required.
Possibly take complete backups
Download/unpack required files.
Download/unpack 3rd party dependencies - Later .Net Framework Version/Similar
Perform install steps in atomic a manner as possible (at the very least keeping a record of steps taken so they can be undone)
Potentially apply any version-jump specific changes (up/down-grade db, config files, etc.)
verify installation as much as possible (checksums again)
None of this addresses the question of what to do when the installer itself needs upgrading.
A technique I've used on Windows is that the installer executable itself is little more than a wrapper with some interfaces which loads the actual installer dynamically at runtime - thus I can move files about/unload/reload assemblies, etc... from within a fixed process that almost never changes.
As I said above, I am definitely not an expert, just a novice who's done some of this myself. I sure you can get more complete answers from others but I hope this helped a little
We've decided to create a custom bootstrapper for our deployment solution. We are currently re-writing and re-designing our deployment strategy for all of our products. Sadly, none of us are deployment experts.
Here's what we have so far:
A. The MSI packages will be authored in InstallShield. We will use whatever feature Installshield offers (IIS integration, COM registration, Registry, etc). The dialog's created by InstallShield will not be used (that is what the bootstrapper is for). The MSIs will be installed silently.
B. Whenever we need to write CA's for stuff that InstallShield can't handle, we will be writing them in managed code (C#) using DTF. We will be creating a "Custom Action Framework" that will "standardize" how we use custom actions.
C. We will create a custom bootstrapper (the "setup.exe") in C# to "handle" the installation.
We have decided to go with a multiple MSI approach and use MSI transaction to "chain" the installation from the boostrapper (inspired from Office 2007 installer)
The boostrapper that we are envisioning to create is inspired from Visual Studio's and SQL Server's bootstrapper. The boostrapper will be responsible for the following:
Prerequisite installation: Each application require a pre-requisite. These pre-requisites are listed in an XML file placed on the same folder as the MSI (inspired from Office 2007 installer) along with other metadata. Depending on current state of the system, the boostrapper will decide which pre-requisite to be installed or not.
Feature selection: We are planning to structure the "internal" MSI's feature in such a way that it will not be appropriate to be displayed right away to the end-user. We will have feature labeled as "Core_Files", or "Vista_Only" or "64bit_Only". Depending on the metadata on the XML file (on item 1) and the target system, the bootstrapper will be responsible in "populating" a "feature tree" that the user can customize (also inspired from Office 2007 bootstrapper).
Pre-installation Checks: The bootstrapper will be responsible in checking if the system is ready to receive the installation. For instance, if a machine needs to reboot prior to installation or if the user needs to manually install a service pack, patch or a windows component. Anything that needs to be done that needs user intervention should be displayed here. Think of it as a check list (a listbox) with checks and exes. (Inspired from SQL server's bootstrapper). The "rules" will be written in C#.
Application Configuration: For application that needs to be "configured" prior to installation. These "parameters" (user configuration) will be passed to the respective MSI via MSI Properties.
Actual Installation: The bootstrapper will then perform the installation. Proper "transaction" should be observed when necessary. All "products" that should be grouped together shall be displayed as one product in Add/Remove Programs (by messing with the ARP entries). Also, proper progress shall be reported by each MSI being installed.
-- That's what we have so far.
I think there are a couple of out-of-the-box solutions for creating a custom bootstrapper like dotNetInstaller and BMG. We've look into it but it's not as flexible as we've hoped. There's also BURN but we're not sure if it's ready for primetime.
So here we are... we've decided to create our own custom bootstrapper.
Question:
Are we crazy? Shouldn't we be creating our own bootstrapper? Which ideas listed above are not realistic? Is there a better approach?
Any input regarding our situation will be greatly appreciated. Also, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Frankly, Burn isn't going to be done for at least a year. You already have InstallShield and IMO it has the best off the shelf bootstrapper currently available. I'd scope your requirements back and make it fit the box. Pretty much everything I read from you can be done using InstallShield if you learn to push it to it's limits.
I would go for Burn anyway or some already existing solution.
I'm sure that after some time you'll face new problems that you can't now really imagine.
If you face them, that means that Burn's developers have already faced them and probably got them solved. If not, Burn has a large community that will fix the potential bug faster than you.
Focus on the software you're developing, not on writing installer/bootstrapper.
If I were in your shoes, I would give a burn a try. I'd get me a couple of days and see if it meets my requirements.
I thought this would be somewhere on the Web, but I couldn't Google it:
Given the complexity involved in creating an MSI package (compared to NSIS, InnoSetup, etc.), what would be a compelling reason to go through all the mess (using MSVS's crappy setup project wizard, learn a whole new langauge/ecosystem just to make the installer (WiX), or pay heavy license fees (InstallShield)) for the sake of making an MSI installer?
Would be nice to have real world opinions or experience (even to prove that MSI is really worthless) other than the obvious MSDN page, for instance :)
I don't think there is one prime advantage for all situations. Here are some things I like about it, vs other kinds of installers:
Install logic and code is contained in a database, which is in an accessible format.
I like this a lot when I'm debugging. Rather than rebuilding your installer, you can directly edit the database with a tool like Orca (free database editing download from MS), then run the install again to test your changes. Update your custom code, temporarily condition something out, change the order of operations, whatever you need to do.
Patching. The Installer service and its corresponding tools know how to create patches containing deltas of updated files, rather than complete files. It allows maintenance sizes to remain reasonable.
Administrative Images. The installer can create an administrative image. If you've generated patches, you can apply the patches to the administrative image, and new installations can then be run from the administrative image rather than the original installer. Like slipstreaming patches in OS images. If you're pushing your app out to a large number of machines, it's pretty cool to not need to push a bunch of patches out post-install.
Other interesting features include transforms, run from source, detect and repair, component sharing, and so on.
Take a look at this:
https://serverfault.com/questions/11670/advantages-of-using-msi-files
MSI (or ClickOnce) was required to obtain the Windows Vista Logo Program (Microsoft official certification). I believe this requirement was removed with Windows 7, but it's still easier to get certification with MSI (see here).
You don't need to buy any expensive 3rd party installer package though. If you're going for MSI, I suggest you use WIX and learn it. Once you're familiar with it, it works pretty well.
Another good read is:
Windows Installer: Benefits and Implementation for System Administrators
I've been a full time setup developer for 14 years. My first 7 years were InstallScript Setup.exe style projects and my last 7 years have been MSI based. At first I resisted MSI and then after 6 months of using it I became a true believer in how much better it is.
I'm pretty certain that there are enterprises that require MSI formats to remote bulk install an application on thousands of machines. However I don't deal with such organizations so don't know for certain.
I need to create a batch file which will copy web log files from a web server to a local desktop box on daily frequency.
I'm a web developer, but I'd like to take a stab at learning the process for creating a batch file and I think using the windows scheduler should get me where I need to go.
In any case, I'm just looking for a jumping off point.
I understand the premise behind a batch file (echo to print info, commands to cause actions such as mkdir or move, etc), but some straight forward tutorials would be great.
Or even a reference guide such as devguru.com or 4guysfromrolla.com would be helpful.
Thanks,
Creating a batch file is relatively straightforward.
Just type out the commands you want as you would in the command shell, and save the file with a .bat extension.
There's a simple example here that you may find useful. Note, you can use any editor to create your batch file, as long as it saves in a text format.
Depending on which version of Windows you're using, the process to create a scheduled task is slightly different:
Windows XP
Windows Vista
Edit: A little followup on misteraiden's answer.
Essentially, what you're looking for is scripting functionality. There are a variety of tools available. A batch file is the simplest form of scripting that Windows supports. You could, for example, write scripts in PowerShell or Python. Both are more powerful and flexible scripting languages. Depending on what the requirements are for your script, and what you feel like learning, they may be more appropriate.
However, If all you want to do is a copy, the simplest, easiest place to start is a batch file.
This is a little left-of-field, but using an XML build interpreter such as NAnt could come in handy here. Probably over-kill for what you are trying to do, but if you learn it now, you'll be able to apply it's uses in many different places.
You could use Windows Scheduler to trigger the build, which would then complete various operations such as deleting, copying, logging on to network shares.
However, perhaps to learn this you would probably need to learn more about the command line and command line programming.
Either way, I recommend you check out some of the NAnt examples that deal with copying and other basics etc..
I found one of the best references other than the Microsoft website that was mentioned in an earlier is: http://www.robvanderwoude.com/batchfiles.php I have been using this for many of the issues I have had and have been using it to learn more. I think since you have the premise of how batch files work, this will work out will for you.
I've been given the task of re-engineering a really old VB3 application. As part of this I have an XP virtual workstation upon which I've installed VB3 Pro, so I can create a running verison of it to help me emulate it, but the VB3 app uses a control called VBSQL.VBX, which didn't come with VB3 Pro, apparently. I've checked Microsoft's site, but there are only seven pages in the search result for VBSQL.VBX, and none of them offers an install.
Does anyone here have any idea where on earth I can obtain VBSQL.VBX?
Via http://support.microsoft.com/kb/111490, "Microsoft SQL Server Programmer's Toolkit for Visual Basic".
It looks like they offer the .ocx here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/186893, possibly there is a VBX as well?
Whenever I run into an issue like this I usually end up creating a mock object with the same public members as the class in question. Sometimes it works out better as I can fake the data I want to pass around so I can run tests that would otherwise prove difficult.
If you can't find this file this is the approach I would recommend.