Automating the Installation of a Suited Installer

Primary Software: NI Installers>>Installer Framework
Primary Software Version: 2.6
Primary Software Fixed Version: N/A
Secondary Software: N/A

Problem:
I have a software suite installer as opposed to a single product installer. How can I automate the installation of National Instruments software? How can I suppress the installer's dialog boxes, user interface, and progress bar?

Solution:
As of Installers 2.6.1, you can automate a suited installer in the same way as a single product installer. Refer to KnowledgeBase 4CJDP38M for instructions on creating a spec file to automate a single product installer. The information below is only should be used if you have a version earlier than Installers 2.6.1. Refer to KnowledgeBase 4CJDR18M to determine the version of your National Instruments Installer.

Note:

This KnowledgeBase covers suited installers. Suited installers are multi-product software bundles, like the LabVIEW Platform DVD for example.
Refer to KnowledgeBase 4CJDP38M for single product installers. Examples of single product installers include the LabVIEW installer CDs, and the Device Driver CDs. To determine the type of your installer, see KnowledgeBase 4CJDR18M.

Suited Installers Installers Background
Suited software installers contain single installers for each of the National Instruments products that it contains, typically contained in a subdirectory with a name like Distributions. The intent of suited installers, like the LabVIEW Platform DVD, is to simplify installation by keep all software in single distribution with all configuration before installing software. This prevents the installation progress from waiting for user input for each software product.

The idea of automated installations is similar to suited installers, but is more catered toward installing software on a large number of machines.

Limitations of Suited Installers and Working Around Them
As of the publishing date of this KnowledgeBase, there isn't a way to customize the configuration of the top level setup executable of a suited installer if your installer is older than version 2.6.1. Consequently, something like the LabVIEW Platform DVD would just install LabVIEW without any of the LabVIEW modules.

However, a solution is still possible by creating a customized configuration file for each of the individual single installers contained within the suited installers subdirectories.

Customizing Installation Configuration with a Silent or Basic Installation
National Instruments installers use a configuration file, called a spec file, as a replacement for the configuration dialogs. This spec file can contain information about the user, serial number information, which features to install and to not install, etc.

Create the spec file:
The installer can be run in a spec file generation mode. In this mode, you can enter in user information, the serial number, and select each feature that you would like to have installed or not installed. You can also leave fields to a default value. You can run the installer in spec file generation mode using the following command:
setup /generatespecfile [spec file location].

The installation dialog will appear. Instructions on the fields in each dialog exist at the bottom of the user interface. Once you walk through all of the dialogs, a spec file will be created which you can use to install the software silently.
- Note: The spec file does not need to exist in advance.
- Note: To find out how to manually edit the spec file, please see KnowledgeBase 3X8BAP96.
Running the installer with the spec file:
The installer can be run with the spec file by using the following command:
setup [SpecFile] /q /AcceptLicenses yes.
- Note: You can also use /qb and /qf in replace of /q. See the first section for more information.

You can view the installer options at any time by using the following command: setup /h. A dialog similar to the following will appear (click on the attachement for a full size version):

For a typical silent installation, use the /q and /acceptlicenses arguments. For example:

setup.exe /q /acceptlicenses yes

This silently installs the products that are configured to install by default if you launch the suite installer interactively. For an automated install with a custom configuration, bypass the suite installer by using a batch file to call the individual installers. When calling the individual installers, you can specify a spec file to customize the installation.

Related Links:
KnowledgeBase 4CJDP38M: Automating the Installation of National Instruments Software
KnowledgeBase 4CJDR18M: How Can I Determine the Type and Version of my National Instruments Installer?
KnowledgeBase 4CJDP38M: Automating the Installation of a Single Installer

Attachments:

Installers.PNG

Report Date: 12/17/2007
Last Updated: 06/30/2009
Document ID: 4GGGDQH0

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