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In this video from ITFreeTraining, I will look at exporting install configurations from
the “add remove” wizard in server manager. Using this configuration, you can install
the same roles or features on another server. Let’s have a look at some of the reasons
that you may want to do this.
Using Server Manager, you can easily install roles or features in Windows server. For example,
you could add DNS and BranchCache to a server. This is a simple process using server manager,
but let’s say you have an application that requires additional features like DNS, BranchCache
and the internal database. If you start having a lot of roles and features that need to be
added, this can start to become complicated and if you need to repeat the install on multiple
servers, it can be tricky to get it right. Remember also that some roles like IIS have
a lot of components in the role that can be either installed or left out.
When installing roles and features using server manager, the wizard gives you the option to
export the settings used to a configuration file. This configuration file is in XML format
which can be read on another server and the same set of roles and features installed on
a different server.
This may seem like a good tool for migration of roles and features between servers. However,
the following should be remembered. The settings exported are only for installing the role
or feature on the server. It does not configure it. For example, roles like Active Directory
Domain Services and DHCP have a post configuration wizard that needs to run to finish the installation.
The procedure used in this video will not configure the roles or features if they require
any configuration - it will only install them. It is up to the administrator to perform any
configuration required at a later date.
I will now change to my Windows Server 2012 R2 computer to look at how to export configuration
settings from server manager.
First of all I will open Server Manager from the quick launch bar and select the option
‘Add roles and features’. Once past the welcome, I will leave it on the default option
of “Role-Based or feature-based installation” and move on.
On the next screen I will select the server NYDC1. Even though you do not need to install
the roles and features that I am about to select, it is important to select a server
that does not have the roles and features currently installed that you wish to install
on the next server. If that does not make sense, don’t worry it will in a moment.
On the next screen, I need to select any roles that I want to add. In this case I will select
the role “Web Server (IIS)”. When selected, it will prompt me to add the IIS Management
console as well, which I will.
When I move onto the next screen I can select features. Notice the feature “Client for
NFS” is already installed. In this case, imagine that “Client for NFS” is required
by the application that is going to be installed. Since this feature is already installed, I
cannot select it. Since it cannot be selected, the problem is that this feature will not
be included in the settings file when I export it. You can see why a production server may
not always be the best choice to perform the export on. The production server may already
have roles or features installed and these will not be captured in the export file.
The next part of the wizard is the welcome screen for the IIS role. If I move onto the
next screen, I can select additional components of the IIS Role. In this case I will select
the component “HTTP Redirection”. If you are selecting sub components of a role, you
can see why being able to export this configuration can save you a lot of time if you have a lot
of servers that need to be configured the same way. Server Manager can also configure
multiple servers at the same time. The export settings option is useful if the servers you
want to configure have not been installed as yet or are not ready to be set up yet.
The next screen allows you to confirm the settings before starting the install. Notice
the option “Export configuration settings”. When I hover over this, notice that an information
message appears stating the command that needs to be used in PowerShell to install the roles
and features using the exported XML settings file. In a moment I will run this command
on another server.
When I select the option to export the settings, the next step is to save the file. In this
case I will save the file to my USB key. Once the setting file is saved, notice that I do
not have to complete the wizard, I can cancel out of the wizard without completing the install.
Of course you could complete the wizard and install the roles and features if you wanted
to. I will change to another Windows Server running Server Core and install the roles
and features that I just looked at on that server.
To start with I just need to start PowerShell by entering PowerShell at the command prompt.
I have already placed the USB key in this computer that I used to the save the configuration
file on from the previous server.
To install the roles and features, I will use the command ‘Install-WindowsFeature’.
This command requires the parameter ‘ConfigurationFilePath’ followed by the location of the XML configuration
file.
Once I run this command, any roles or features in the configuration file will be install
on the server. The install took a minute or so but I have sped up the process so that
we do not have to wait.
Once the install is complete, notice I get a message stating that the server needs to
be restarted and also automatic updates has not been configured on this server. Remember
also that this command only installs the roles and features and it does not configure them.
For example, if you install Active Directory Domain Services, this command will install
the role but you will need to perform the steps in order to configure the server.
This covers everything about exporting server manager configuration and installing it on
another server. I hope you have found this video useful and I hope to see you in the
other free videos from us. Thanks for watching and see you next time.