425 - Silent install of an Agent MSI

The ESE Agent can be configured to install in the background (silently) without any user intervention. 

In the Deployment Wizard, you can create an MSI that will automatically install silently. If this option is selected, the installation will run in the background without any user intervention. Should you not include any Account details: 

1. The Agent will use the Windows computer name as the Account name. 
2. The password and encryption keys are randomly selected during the Account creation process unless specified.
   If the encryption keys are random, you are advised to install a Group Certificate to the specific Groups (see Articles 009 and 010). Without this Group Certificate, you will not be able to connect to an Account to restore any data, should the computer crash. The password can be changed in the Storage Platform Console.

Some example install options are explained below:

1. Without Account and Storage Platform details (the details will be required when the Agent GUI opens)
2. With Account details (if not specified in MSI)
3. With other information

 

1. Silent install without Account details

1. Open a command prompt and navigate to the location of your Agent MSI 
2. Run: BackupClient.msi PREPACCOUNT=YES /passive /quiet

The Agent will be installed.

Note:

• No Account will be created on the Storage Platform if the MSI was created without default information. The Account and Storage Platform details will be required when the Agent GUI opens.
• If any errors are encountered, refer to the AccountServer activity logs in the Console and the Application logs in the Windows Event Log (Event Viewer).

 

2. Silent install with Account details

1. Open a command prompt and navigate to the location of your Agent MSI. 
2. Run: BackupClient.msi PREPACCOUNT=YES ACCOUNTNAME=MYACCOUNT ACCOUNTKEY=mypassword /passive /quiet

The Agent will be installed and an Account with the details specified will be created on the Storage Platform. No splash screen will be seen on the Agent machine. 

Note: If any errors are encountered, refer to the AccountServer activity logs in the Console and the Application logs in the Windows Event Log (Event Viewer).

 

3. Silent install with other information

1. Open a command prompt and navigate to the location of your Agent MSI. 
2. Run: BackupClient.msi PREPACCOUNT=YES SERVERIP=MYSERVERNAME GROUP=MYGROUP01 CREATEKEY=MYKEY021 ACCOUNTKEY=mypassword /passive /quiet

The Agent will be installed and an Account with the details specified will be created on the Storage Platform. No splash screen will be seen on the Agent machine. 

Tip: To output logging from the MSI installer, add the /L switch to the command:
/L*V <OUTPUT-LOG-NAME>
Example: BackupClient.msi PREPACCOUNT=YES SERVERIP=MYSERVERNAME GROUP=MYGROUP01 CREATEKEY=MYKEY021 ACCOUNTKEY=mypassword /passive /quiet /L*V installer.log

Note: If any errors are encountered, refer to the AccountServer activity logs in the Console and the Application logs in the Windows Event Log (Event Viewer)

 

Installation parameters

All the standard MSI parameters are also available. A few examples are: 

• /quiet – Quiet mode, no user interaction 
• /passive – Unattended mode, progress bar only 
• /help – Help information 

A full list can be seen by running “msiexec /?” in the command prompt (or by going here: http://www.advancedinstaller.com/user-guide/msiexec.html).

You can customise your installation by adding or removing parameters as listed below. These will override the default settings configured: 

• SERVERIP – IP address of the AccountServer 
• ACCOUNTNAME – Account name 
• ACCOUNTPASSWORD – Account password 
• GROUP – Group name 
• CREATEKEY – Group create key 
• ACCOUNTKEY – encryption key  

Note: When installing the Agent on Windows 7 using PREPACCOUNT and the /quiet parameter, you must have administrator privileges. If you don't, the installation will fail.