Project Description
Automated SharePoint 2010/2013/2016 PowerShell-based installation script.
Introducing AutoSPInstaller v3 with numerous enhancements including:
Be sure to check out the new AutoSPInstaller Online - it's AutoSPInstallerGUI in a browser (& on steroids!)
AutoSPInstaller works with SharePoint 2016 (including Feature Pack 1 found in the November 2016 PU), SharePoint 2013 (including SP1) and SharePoint 2010 with Service Pack 1 & 2. It takes advantage of some of the cmdlet updates in the newer
SharePoint releases, while remaining largely backward-compatible older versions.
Newer versions often include updates to the input file XML schema, so make sure you compare any of your existing XML files to the newest AutoSPInstallerInput.XML. See below for highlights of changes in v3.x.
This being a CodePlex open-source project, it must be stressed that AutoSPInstaller itself is not supported by Microsoft - if you contact them with a SharePoint support issue, please mention to them if AutoSPInstaller was used to perform your farm build. This does not mean your farm and servers won't be supported, instead it will help support engineers better assess your particular issue.
AutoSPInstaller has been used as the go-to SharePoint installation method for hundreds of SharePoint practitioners & partners worldwide! If you or your organization find AutoSPInstaller useful, making a donation (any amount) is a great way to support the ongoing development & improvement of the project.
New! Frequently Asked Questions
This project consists of PowerShell scripts, an XML input file, and a standard windows batch file (to kick off the process) which together provide a quick and near-unattended installation and initial configuration (Service Apps, My Sites) of Microsoft SharePoint
Server 2010/2013/2016. With SharePoint-specific OS requirements in mind, AutoSPInstaller works on Windows 2008 (though I hardly test on that OS these days), 2008 R2, Windows 2012 / 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview 4 (x64 only of
course).
Perfect for repeated Virtual Machine-based installs/tear-downs, etc., but also great for production installs where you want to guarantee consistency and minimize data entry glitches. The immediate value is for installing and configuring the first/only server
in a farm, but also supports using either server-specific input files or a single, all-encompassing input file for running the script on all farm servers (with parameters - e.g. for the service apps - set according to your desired topology).
"But doesn't SharePoint have a nice wizard now that does all this for me??" - Yes, and it's a huge improvement over what was available in MOSS 2007. However if you've ever seen the 'DBA nightmare' left behind on your SQL server after the Farm Configuration
Wizard has completed (GUID'ed databases with inconsistent naming, etc.):
...then you'll see the value in having consistently-named but automatically-created databases:
The scripts (Franken-scripts, really...) leverage previously-available resources (as PowerShell has now taken its place as
the automation platform for SharePoint) such as:
Zach Rosenfield's blog, Jos Verlinde's script for creating a Farm,
Gary Lapointe's Enterprise Search script functions and other miscellaneous tidbits in the wild.
The scripted process will:</form>
There are several input parameters to define in the input XML file (which illustrates how much stuff you really have to plan & gather during a regular SharePoint install). However this is a one-time-per-install effort, and the trade-off includes hours saved and better spent elsewhere (see lunch above) and an avoidance of the risks involved (typos, missed settings etc.) during manual installations.
New in v3:
The full v3 change log can be found within the CodePlex source code changesets for the project. Also, see the post on my blog at spinsiders.com that provides an overview of the new features & fixes.
New in v2.5:
The ability to use a single AutoSPInstallerInput.XML file for your entire farm, and simply include the names of servers (comma-delimited) on which you want particular service instances or service applications installed. This works by using the Provision=""
and Start="" attributes; for example, to provision the managed metadata service on your 2 app servers, you would specify:
<ManagedMetadataServiceApp Provision="SPAPPSRV1, SPAPPSRV2"
...
Further, the old way of specifying <ManagedMetadataServiceApp Provision="true"... still works, if you want to continue using a different XML input file for each server.
See the release notes associated with the original 2.5 changeset
here for a more complete list of changes.
New in v2:
In addition to the scripts, you should create an installation source (local or shared) containing
the entire extracted contents of the SP201x install package. The zip package will by default create most of this folder structure when you extract it. When you're done, your folder structure should look something like this (Note: updated for v3):
\SP\AutoSPInstaller\AutoSPInstallerLaunch.bat
\SP\AutoSPInstaller\AutoSPInstallerInput.xml
\SP\AutoSPInstaller\AutoSPInstallerMain.ps1
\SP\AutoSPInstaller\AutoSPInstallerFunctions.ps1
\SP\AutoSPInstaller\AutoSPInstallerFunctionsCustom.ps1
\SP\AutoSPInstaller\AutoSPInstallerConfigureRemoteTarget.ps1
\SP\AutoSPInstaller\config.xml
\SP\201x\SharePoint\<installation files & folders>
\SP\201x\SharePoint\PreRequisiteInstallerFiles\
\SP\201x\SharePoint\Updates\ (extract Service Pack + Cumulative Updates here. NOTE not all updates support slipstreaming!)
\SP\201x\ProjectServer\ (optional; copy/extract the contents of the Project Server 2013 DVD/ISO here)
\SP\201x\ProjectServer\Updates (optional, for slipstreaming Service Packs and Public/Cumulative Updates. NOTE not all updates support slipstreaming!)
\SP\201x\LanguagePacks\xx-xx\ (optional)
\SP\201x\LanguagePacks\xx-xx\Updates\ (optional; extract Language Pack Service Pack / Cumulative Updates here)
OR
\SP\201x\LanguagePacks\<ServerLanguagePack_XX-XX.exe> (optional)
\SP\2010\OfficeWebApps\ (optional; only required/supported with SP2010)
\SP\2010\PDF\ (optional; only required/supported with SP2010)
\SP\2010\ForeFront\<ForeFront Protection 2010 for SharePoint install files> (optional, only required/supported with SP2010)
Note that x in the paths above is a
0, a 3 or a 6 depending on whether you're installing SP2010, SP2013 or SP2016. Spaces in the path to AutoSPInstallerLaunch.bat will cause
the script to blow up, so avoid them.
Useful references:
Finally, I highly recommend working on your XML input file using a good editor like Notepad++ or good old Visual Studio - this helps a ton, especially to highlight any errors.
Be especially mindful of invalid characters such as $ & " in your passwords etc.! Many script blow-up errors can be attributed to illegal characters or syntax errors in the XML. Finally, once you've populated your XML file with your environment/server
specifics and before you attempt to run the script, pass the XML through a validator like
this or better yet at
https://autospinstaller.com.