Here are my thoughts. Many in the web world seem to think that websites are "published". I.E. you jump through a bunch of manual steps to get the base foundation deployed and from their you just sync out your content. For many in house enterprise applications, this probably works fine for them as the ROI might be small when comparing the deployment development effort vs the number of pain points they are currently experiencing.
I've also worked at places where the web application needs to be shrinkwrapped as a product. In these cases I've gone full blown with packages that deploy prereq packages via a bootstrapper, support multiple instance installations, build up and upgrade their SQL layers and manage all of the IIS metabase applications, tweak needed XML files to point to the datalayer, configure background windows services and even setup application event log sources. Basically n-Tier SOA / SaaS. It can be done, but it does take a lot of effort. Products like Microsoft Team Foundation Server need this type of story so I guess in the end, it's up to you. Eric Hexter recently did an Austin Code Camp session on this topic but I wasn't able to attend. I'm also not sure how deep he dives since 1) he's not known to be a setup expert and 2) his description is somewhat conflicting in that he says he gets in to where to stop and yet also says it can all be automated. Maybe you could contact him and see what his materials and thoughts were. "Session Abstract: Build and Deployment automation are a cornerstone of enabling other great development practices. It seems hard to get your head around what to tackle first and where to stop with your automation. Learn and see examples of automating everything from deploying your production applications to setting up new development servers. It can all be automated and I will show you how. " http://www.adnug.org/AustinCodeCamp09/sessions/Project%20Automation%20-%20Learn%20about%20Build%20and%20Deployment%20Automation --- On Mon, 6/15/09, Kai Chung Lui <kaich...@gmail.com> wrote: > From: Kai Chung Lui <kaich...@gmail.com> > Subject: Re: [WiX-users] How much of a web application deployment process > should be packaged in a WiX MSI? > To: wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net > Date: Monday, June 15, 2009, 7:26 PM > [Reposting to see if I can get some > response] > > Is it good practice to package the following logics in an > MSI using WiX? > (Let's say I can assume that the MSI will always be > installed on a freshly > set-up server OS and that server environment can be > controlled.) > > Install and configure SQL databases > > - I see that there's support in WiX to > run SQL scripts. However, for the > "uninstall" scenario, do I have to > produce a set of complementary scripts to > undo the original SQL scripts? > > > - Similarly, if I am to create an MSP for > adding a row in a database > table, I need to make sure the MSP will > remove this record on uninstall, > even though it might no longer be there. > > Share folders and configure file/folder permissions: are > there native > support in WiX to do so or do I have to write custom > actions? > Configure IIS: is it easy to configure IIS through WiX MSI, > such as setting > up a site/virtual directory, configuring SSL and Windows > authentication, > etc? > Deploy Reporting Services reports and report models. > It's easy to script > them via SOAP API, but I know that it's evil to use script > custom actions. > Thanks, > Anthony > > > On Sat, Jun 13, 2009 at 1:00 AM, Kai Chung Lui <kaich...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > > Hi all, > > > > I'm reviewing the design of one of my clients' web > application. One thing > > in their system that stood out was a very long > document that explains every > > manual step of setting up their web app on a clean > server. They currently > > have an MSI for the web app built using a VS > deployment project, plus a lot > > of other batch scripts for installing SQL databases, > creating shared > > folders, configuring file/folder permissions, > etc. I'm thinking if things > > can become cleaner and more centralized by building > one MSI that handles > > everything. Then later, they can build > uninstallable MSPs to service their > > applications instead of sending their customers some > zip archives with > > updated scripts and DLLs. Since WiX exposes a > lot of the power in MSI, I'm > > thinking that WiX might allow such an all-in-one > installer to be built. > > > > However, the more I think about it, the more I wonder > if that's the right > > approach. Is it really good practices for a > WiX-authored MSI to do the > > following? > > > > - Install and configure SQL databases: I > see that there's support in > > WiX to run SQL scripts. However, I > don't fully understand how to handle the > > "uninstall" scenario - I have to produce > a set of complementary scripts to > > undo the original SQL scripts, right? > > Similarly, if I am to create an MSP for > adding a row in a database > > table, I need to make sure the MSP will > remove this record on uninstall, > > even though it might no longer be there. > > - Share folders and configure file/folder > permissions: are there native > > support in WiX to do so or do I have to > write custom actions? > > - Configure IIS: is it easy to configure > IIS through WiX MSI, such as > > setting up a site/virtual directory, > configuring SSL and Windows > > authentication, etc? > > - Deploy SQL Server related material such > as Reporting Services reports > > and report models. It's easy to > script them, but I know that it's evil to > > use script custom actions. > > > > I'm new in WiX so my apology if the questions above > sound stupid. I just > > want to see if there's something I can/should do to > improve my client's > > set-up story. Thanks a lot for reading my > message! > > > > Kind regards, > > Anthony > > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Crystal Reports - New Free Runtime and 30 Day Trial > Check out the new simplified licensing option that enables > unlimited > royalty-free distribution of the report engine for > externally facing > server and web deployment. > http://p.sf.net/sfu/businessobjects > _______________________________________________ > WiX-users mailing list > WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Crystal Reports - New Free Runtime and 30 Day Trial Check out the new simplified licensing option that enables unlimited royalty-free distribution of the report engine for externally facing server and web deployment. http://p.sf.net/sfu/businessobjects _______________________________________________ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
