IIS6, Creating an Answer File

Creating an Answer File in The Network Encyclopedia Tutorials and Documentation (IIS 6.0 Deployment Guide)

Creating an Answer File

To set up unattended installation for IIS 6.0, you must create an answer file containing parameters with appropriate settings, depending on how you want to customize your installation of IIS. You have two options for unattended installation of IIS 6.0:
Install and set up IIS 6.0 at the same time that you install the Windows Server 2003 operating system.
Install IIS 6.0 after the Windows Server 2003 operating system has been installed.

If you install IIS 6.0 simultaneously with the operating system, you need to create a complete answer file and include a [Components] section, as well as an optional [InternetServer] section that contains IIS–related parameters. Use the Winnt32.exe command-line utility to run your answer file. For more information about using Winnt32.exe, see Installing IIS 6.0 with the Operating System. For more information about creating and using a Windows unattended setup answer file, see Planning for Unattended Setup in Help and Support Center for Microsoft Windows Server 2003.

If you install IIS 6.0 after the Windows Server 2003 operating system has been installed, you can create an answer file containing only the [Components] and optional [InternetServer] sections. Use the Sysocmgr.exe command-line utility to run this answer file. For more information about using Sysocmgr.exe, see Installing IIS 6.0 After the Operating System.

Table B.1 lists the unattended installation parameters for IIS that you include in the [Components] section of the answer file. The default setting for all of the following parameters is off unless a component is required by some other component that you are installing. For example, if you are installing the World Wide Web Publishing Service (WWW service), then Common Files, IIS Manager, and network COM+ access are turned on by default.

Table B.1   IIS Unattended Installation Parameters


 
Parameter Description
aspnet = on/off Enable ASP.NET .
complusnetwork = on/off Enable network COM+ access.
dtcnetwork = on/off Enable network Distributed Transaction Coordinator (DTC) network access.
bitsserverextensionsisapi = on/off Enable the BITS Server Extensions ISAPI.
bitsserverextensionsmanager = on/off Enable the BITS Server Extensions snap-in.
iis_common = on/off Enable Common Files.
iis_ftp = on/off Enable the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) service.
fp_extensions = on/off Enable FrontPage®  2002 Server Extensions from Microsoft.
iis_inetmgr = on/off Enable IIS Manager.
iis_nntp = on/off Enable the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) service.
iis_smtp = on/off Enable the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service.
iis_asp = on/off Enable Active Server Pages (ASP).
iis_internetdataconnector = on/off Enable Internet Data Connector (IDC).
sakit_web = on/off Enable Remote Administration (HTML).

You cannot perform an unattended installation of this feature simultaneously with performing an unattended installation of the operating system.

You can perform an unattended installation of this feature if you install IIS after you have installed the operating system by using the Sysocmgr.exe command-line utility.

This feature is not available on Itanium-based computers running Windows XP 64-Bit Edition; the 64-bit version of Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition; or the 64-bit version of Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition.

tswebclient = on/off Enable remote desktop Web connection.
iis_serversideincludes = on/off Enable server-side includes (SSI).
iis_webdav = on/off Enable WebDAV publishing.
iis_www = on/off Enable the WWW service.
appsrv_console = on/off Enable Application Server Console.

This feature is not available on Itanium-based computers running Windows XP 64-Bit Edition.

inetprint = on/off Enable Internet printing.

Table B.2 lists the optional IIS unattended installation parameters. You include these parameters in the [InternetServer] section.

Table B.2   Optional IIS Unattended Installation Parameters


 
Parameter Description
SvcManualStart = www and/or ftp If WWW or FTP is present, those services will be set to manual start. If you specify both www and ftp, separate them with a comma (,). When installed, the default service state is to automatically start.
PathFTPRoot = path to FTProot Alternate path to which the FTP service is installed. The default is systemroot\Inetpub\Ftproot.
PathWWWRoot = path to WWWroot Alternate path to which the WWW service is installed. The default is systemroot\Inetpub\Wwwroot.
ApplicationDependency = ApplicationName, GroupID, GroupID Adds application and dependencies.

For example:

ApplicationDependency = CommerceServer, ASP, IndexingService

ApplicationDependency = ExchangeServer, ASP60

ApplicationDependency = MyApp, ASP.NET v1.1.4322

This example makes Commerce Server dependent on ASP and the Indexing Service, Exchange Server dependent on ASP, and MyApp dependent on ASP.NET v1.1.4322.

ExtensionFile = <Enabled Flag>,<File Path>[ ,<UI Deletable Flag> [ ,<Group ID> [ ,<Description> ] ] ] Specifies an extension file. The UI Deletable Flag, Group ID, and Description settings are all optional. However, if you specify any of the optional settings, you must include all of the previous settings.

The parameters represent the following:

Enabled Flag is set to 0 (zero) for disabled and 1 for enabled.

File Pathis the path to the file, and it can contain environment variables.

UI Deletable Flag specifies whether the item can be deleted using IIS Manager. Set to 0 for not deletable and 1 for deletable.

Group ID allows you to group different dynamic-link libraries (DLLs) and Common Gateway Interfaces (CGIs) and have dependencies for the applications. 

Description is the description of the extension file.

For example:

ExtensionFile = 1, windir\MyISAPIS\Myisapi.dll, 1, MyGroup, My Custom ISAPI

–Or–

ExtensionFile = 1, windir\MyCGIs\Mycgi.cgi, 1, MyGroup, My Custom CGI

DisableWebServiceOnUpgrade = True/False The default for this parameter is True for upgrades from the Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Server operating system, unless you have run the IIS Lockdown Tool or added the registry entry RetainW3SVCStatus to the registry. Please see Caution below.

For more information about when the WWW service is disabled after an upgrade has been performed, see Upgrading an IIS Server to IIS 6.0.

 
Caution:
  Do not edit the registry unless you have no alternative. The registry editor bypasses standard safeguards, allowing settings that can damage your system, or even require you to reinstall Windows. If you must edit the registry, back it up first and see the Registry Reference in the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit.