Have you looked at the ''quick'' installation guide for Commerce Server 2007?
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=79888.
21 pages of step by step instructions?
Most customers I know just sort of wing it trying to get Commerce Server going and then run into problems because they missed a step.
1. If I make the machine using evaluation software, next time I want to use the virtual machine much of the time periods are just about to expire.
2. If I use my own versions of software, I cannot leave the virtual machine with the customer. Plus I would like to teach him how to install and change his own machine.
For some situations it is enough to use the virtual labs for Commerce Server, but see that they do not have the Starter Site installed. If I just want to check something on the CSharp site, they are the quickest way I know: (see previous blog)
What makes it real quick is that we have already downloaded everything we need onto a USB disk! The 30 days evaluation only starts with Step 1 and with a MSDN Windows 2003, is easily extensible to 120 days. (1 year if you use MSDN Commerce Server and Visual Studio).
Step 0 Download
Download everything you need. This is the longest part of the procedure, but only has to be done once! In class we go directly to step 1.1.
0.0 Download Virtual PC 2007 (30MB).
? Why not VMWare? Because we want to use the evaluation Virtual machine from Microsoft with Windows 2003 and SQL 2005 Preinstalled.
? Why not Virtual Server 2005 FP1? Because most of our developers have workstations.
I have Virtual PC 2007 already installed, but I have some students who bring their own laptops, and so loaded this down all the same.
We had a DVD already with 180 Day Trial, and just uploaded to disk to speed up the installation. If our students have a MSDN licence, then we use that version.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/comm/2007/downloads/trials/privacy.mspx
Save yourself time later and unpack this file now.
If our students have a MSDN licence, then we use that version.
This came out after the release of Commerce Server, but rolls up many of the smaller patches mentioned in the long installation instructions.
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=63706
Save yourself time later and extract KB913393.exe from the CAB file now.
Save yourself time later and unpack this file now.
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=59276.
This is the big one! I left it running overnight. Extract the files by clicking on the EXE, but do not start the virtual machine. This step took me 13 minutes. Make a copy now of the extracted files, if something goes wrong during activation you will not have to load them down again.
? Would it not be quicker to create my own virtual machine? As long as you have Windows 2003 installed and the whole of SQL 2005 including Reporting and Analytics, this is fine. But we have done our testing on the Evaluation Virtual Machine we downloaded
? I do not want my version to expire in 30 days. You are given an opportunity later to give a MSDN Windows key, so that the Windows version will not expire.
0.10 Create a virtual disk in an existing Virtual PC using the Wizard. Copy all the downloaded and extracted files from 0.2 to 0.8. into this disk.
1.0 Install Virtual PC 2007, if needed.
1.1 Setup and Start the Virtual PC (3 minutes).
In Virtual PC, run the wizard for new virtual computer. Use an existing virtual computer and point to the vmc file you extracted under Step 0.9. Leave the box checked to enter the configuration. You will get an error message that it is expecting Virtual Server. Click the box not to show this message again and OK. Click Settings and adjust the memory to 700MB or more. Click on Disk2 and link the installation disk you created on Step 0.10. Then, start the Virtual Machine
1.2. Sign in as Administrator and password Evaluation1. Use disk manager to give a drive letter to the installation hard disk.
1.3. Apply Windows 2003 SP2. 20 minutes. Restarts.
1.4 Apply SQL Server 2005 SP1. 20 minutes
1.5 Install Visual Studio 2005. 13 minutes
To speed up the installation I deselected the following:
Visual Basic,
Visual C++
Visual J++
Dotfuscator
Tools for Redistibuting
SQL Express Edition
Optional (Install MSDN 15 min)
1.6 Add the following components: (2 minutes)
Indexing Service
Application Server: ASP.Net, DTC
Application Server, IIS: FTP, SMTP Service
When you are asked for the CD browse to the c:\WindowInstallationFiles
1.7 Add the following components:
Run the KB913393.exe from the installation drive you made in step 0.10. (1 minute)
Run ndp20kb916002-x86.exe from the same installation drive (2 minutes) Reboots.
1.8 Add the administrator to the IIS_WPG.
Change the identity of the DefaultAppPool to Administrator
Do this first so can benefit from reboot
2.0 Install Commerce Server 2007
Select all options. It will not reboot. 8 minutes. Uncheck the box for configuration wizard.
Install the Business User Applications ( 1 minute)
Configure Commerce Server with the default options.(but I checked the box for create Virtual Root for staging). Ignore the warnings about Admin privileges and ASP net. (1 minute)
Use the Commerce Server Site Packager and unpack the StarterSite. (4 minutes)
Select Programs>IIS Resources > SelfSSL > SelfSSL
From the command prompt type selfssl /t /V:400
From the Install drive, where you had the starter.pup file.
Type:
Sampledataimport c:\Inetpub\wwwroot\StarterSite
And you are done! The installation itself takes just over an hour, which is doable in class. What is not possible in class of 10 students is to expect students to follow 21 pages, and have each student with an installation that works.
Perhaps having everything running as adminstrator might be strange, but wasn't that the way we always used to build evaluation software before? In class, I first demo the working software, and the starter site. When the students are confident that their virtual machine works, we then introduce your favorite utility Azman and start locking things down.
I don't expect that even my 4 page SpeedSmith Installation is without bugs, but I think it is a foundation to build upon. Let me know what you find. I will add blog entries for bugs I find in class. Can we speed it up still further? Windows 2003 SP2 is not strictly necessary, we could do individual hotfixes and save the 20 minutes, but that sounds like a temporary solution. We also want to do some performance tests with updating the virtual machine utilities.
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