This article applies to:

[ Zend Server 5.x ]
[ Windows ]

Question

Can I install Zend Server 5.0 on multiple Windows machines in unattended (silent) mode?

Answer

The installation procedure has 2 steps:

1. Recording an answer's file when first installing.
2. Installing silently using the files generated answers instead of inputting the answers manually.

Unattended installation has some known limitations:

1. TCP Port 80 cannot be used (you can verify with netstat or portscan).
2. Windows 64bit must use "c:\Program Files (x86)\Zend" for installation path (default).
3. Custom and Full installation modes will not work - use only typical mode on first manual installation.
4. All target machines must have the exact characteristics of the first machine which is used for recording the answers file.
5. 3rd Party products should not be installed in typical mode. They can be installed later in silent mode (check the individual products guide for silent installation mode instructions).
6. Recommendation #1: ~200MB free disk space on the target disk (default "C:\Program Files").
7. Recommendation #2: Remove any former PHP installed on your Web Server.

To record an answer file on the source (first) machine

Run the installer from command line with the /r option to record and /f1 option to specify the answer file location as follows:

ZendServer-php-5.2.12-5.0.0-Windows_x86.exe /r /f1"C:\zend_server_silent.iss"

Dialog box input will be recorded to the above file for the next installation.

To run a recorded answers file with installer on target machine

Once the installation is done, you can use the answers file as following on any similar target machine.

ZendServer-php-5.2.12-5.0.0-Windows_x86.exe /s /f1"C:\zend_server_silent.iss"