1. Automated SharePoint Installation: Past, Present & Future
Presentation Title
Brian Lalancette, Premier Field Engineer
Microsoft
@brianlala

2. Thank You Sponsors!
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3. Who am I? Premier Field Engineer at Microsoft SharePoint consultant
PowerShell dude
Automation fan (i.e. lazy)

4. Session Info & Approach
Level 200
Basic (or no) demos
Not a technical deep-dive
Self-guided research is encouraged!
Go ahead and ask (relevant) questions at any time

5. PAST

6. Back in the day… The grandparent of SharePoint!
Presentation Title
Back in the day…
The grandparent of SharePoint!
Detailed installation document; updated nearly every time I did an installation
Pre-requisites and tweaks

7. AutoMOSSInstaller DOS batch (.bat/.cmd) based installation scripts
Mainly leveraged classic SP console commands: stsadm.exe and psconfig.exe (with a tiny bit of PowerShell)
Input parameters defined directly in the SetInputs.cmd file
Automatically installed prerequisites
Logged output

8. AutoMOSSInstaller – design Goals
Basic input/parameter/environment validation
Re-run repeatedly if needed
Avoid unnecessary or prone-to-obsolescence documentation
Accommodate slipstreamed installations

9. AutoSPInstaller
PowerShell! Using new cmdlets provided with SharePoint 2010
XML-based input parameter config file
Greatly expanded functionality of AutoMOSSInstaller:
Standardized database names (hint: no GUIDs)
Pick up where you left off (pre-DSC DSC )
Detailed screen output + logging
Unattended installation of prerequisites, binaries, plus creation of farm and initial configuration
Best practices compliant wherever feasible
Grew organically based on feedback and community input

10. AutoSPInstaller Created and originally written by a non-developer
Presentation Title
AutoSPInstaller
Created and originally written by a non-developer
Refactored later in 2010 into proper functions etc.
Over time, picked up functionality such as:
Office Web Apps 2010 installation
Centralized, remote installation
Extensibility (AutoSPInstallerFunctionsCustom.ps1)
Support for SharePoint 2013
Support for Project Server 2013
The refactoring was a key moment in AutoSPInstaller’s growth and adoption

11. AutoSPInstaller Massive growth and community adoption
Lots of community how-to’s and tips
Dozens of contributors
Editing the XML was always a bit of a challenge
Significant risk of typos
Tough to troubleshoot
Enter AutoSPInstallerGUI (and similar offerings)
Desktop client/console apps
Attempted to ease the pain of XML configuration
Somewhat limited adoption/use

12. PRESENT

13. AutoSPInstaller – Current State
Presentation Title
AutoSPInstaller – Current State
AutoSPInstaller.com
Finally brought easy XML config maintenance to the masses
Create new configurations, or modify/validate existing ones
Real-time, smart validation
Single-Page Application (SPA) in Azure Websites
No data transmitted; can be used offline
SharePoint 2016 support:
MinRole
Project Server service application
One of the most popular CodePlex projects
Currently sitting at over 130,000 downloads
Recently migrated to GitHub:
Easing into maintenance mode; few enhancements planned
DEMO: – create new and/or load existing XML

14. AutoSPInstaller – Design Goals
Ease of use
Drag & drop launch using a batch file
Semi-verbose output
Helps to pinpoint where things went wrong
Re-runnable
Skip the stuff we’ve already completed
Run individual functions in semi-isolation (more info)
“DR on the cheap”
Build a farm identical to Production, in a fraction of the time

15. Imperative Vs Declarative
So far all the approaches we have described have been imperative in nature
We issue instructions
“Go do a, b, c”
Final state of the system is in the mind of the agent configuring and running the program/script
What if we could just provide a description of the final state?
We present a picture of the finished product
“Go make things look/be like x, y, z”
Let the platform/engine decide how the final state is to be achieved, and how we get there

16. SharePointDSC Enter PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC)
Declarative approach
Instead of worrying about the how, we’re concerned with the what
Began as xSharePoint, created and maintained by Brian Farnhill (PFE) and his team (yeah, real devs)
Became SharePointDSC, an official PowerShell project on GitHub and the PowerShell Gallery:
Install-Module –Name SharePointDSC –Verbose -Force
Closing in on feature parity with AutoSPInstaller

17. SharePointDSC Configuration now back inline with the code (!)
Defined in a runnable .ps1 file, vs AutoSPInstaller’s XML:

18. SharePointDSC vs AUTOSPINSTALLER
Feature
AutoSPInstaller
SharePointDSC
Learning Curve
Medium
High
Readability
Very Good
Good
Declarative Language
XML
PowerShell
SP Supported Version
2010, 2013 and 2016
2013 and 2016 only
PowerShell Version
SP-Specific (1.0 +)
4.0 +
Install Language Packs
Yes
No(t yet?)
Install Updates
Only if slipstreamed
Extraction
3rd party tools ($)
ReverseDSC
Applicability
Configure a Farm based on definition
Configure and prevent configuration drifts
Templating
Search and Replace XML
Parameterized Data

19. FUTURE

20. Reverse DSC Created by fellow PFE Nik Charlebois
Extract DSC configuration from existing SharePoint farms
Replay the extracted configuration (as-is, or modified) to create new farms
Dev / Pre-Prod DR
Reproduce issues in a lab
Upgrade and migration scenarios
Compare farms
Etc.

21. Reverse DSC Another fine GitHub project
Also available in the PowerShell Gallery:
Install-Module -Name ReverseDSC –Verbose -Force
Promises to ease some of the learning curve of DSC, and accelerate its adoption

22. Presentation Title
DSC Studio - DEMO
JavaScript/browser-based GUI tool to help build DSC configurations
Yet another GitHub project:
Install-Module -Name DSCStudio –Verbose -Force
In early stages of development, but like Reverse DSC, has potential to drastically increase adoption
DEMO Get-DscStudioTemplate -ModuleName SharePointOnboardingAccelerator | Start-DscStudio

23. Useful Links Nik Charlebois’ Blog & GitHub Repos:
Presentation Title
Useful Links
Nik Charlebois’ Blog & GitHub Repos:
AutoSPInstaller, My Blog & GitHub Repos:
SharePointDSC:
Brian Farnhill’s Blog:
Nik’s blog is a great starting point for tips and pointers

24. Thank you and see you next year!
Join us for SharePint after the 5:30pm
6982 Financial Dr. (Drake A Firkin) and don’t forget to submit feedback after each session for your chance to win great prizes at the end of the day!
Survey Link:
Thank you and see you next year!