Running an unattended install of the Content Manager server

You can run the installer executable from the command prompt, specifying a number of switches so that it can run and complete its task unattended. Running an unattended install of the Content Manager server is useful if you need to install Content Manager on a large number of machines.

Before you begin

If you want to perform an unattended install of the Content Manager server on a computer with User Account Control (UAC) enabled, it is recommended that you perform the installation from an elevated command prompt in order to avoid the display of a UAC Confirmation Dialogue.

Procedure

  1. If you have previously run an unattended install on this machine, it is recommended to clean the installer logs first. To do so, navigate to the following location:
    • the subdirectory SDL\Tridion\Logs\ of the path indicated by the %PROGRAMDATA% environment variable (defaults to c:\ProgramData\).
  2. Delete all files in this location.
  3. Open a command prompt, navigate to the folder Content Manager\ on the SDL installation media, and enter a command in the following format:
    SDLTridion2013SP1CM.exe -s [<param1>=<value1> [<param2>=<value2> [...]]]

    The following example is the most basic call (written on one line):

    SDLTridion2013SP1CM.exe -s

    Running the command installs Content Manager server with default settings. It does not display a wizard or any graphical user interface, nor does it provide any feedback on screen.

  4. You can verify that the unattended installation finished successfully from the Windows Start menu (see step 4) or from a command prompt (see step 5).
  5. To verify that the unattended installation finished successfully:
    1. From the Windows Start menu, access the your list of installed software components in the Windows Control Panel.
    2. Select SDL Tridion 2013 SP1 and select Change.
    3. In the overview of packages and features, the ones that have their check box selected are installed. If all check boxes are selected and the Next button is enabled, installation was not successful.
  6. To verify that the unattended installation finished successfully:
    1. Open a command prompt .
    2. Navigate to the path indicated by the %PROGRAMDATA% environment variable (defaults to c:\ProgramData\ and then to the subdirectory SDL\Chainer\Logs\.
    3. Find files with names that start with Install- and end with a timestamp indication corresponding to the moment you started up the unattended installation, or later. The string between Install- and the timestamp indicates the specific software component of which this is an installation log. For example, Install-SDL Tridion Template Builder 2013-2010-11-16T144320.log is an installation log for Template Builder, dated 16 November 2013 at 2:14:43.20 PM.
    4. Open each of these files in turn and search for the string return value 3. If you do not find this string in the log file, the installation of that software component was successful. If you do find this string in the log file, the installation of that software component failed and its installation has been undone. Examine the text surrounding this string to get information on the nature of the failure.