Install Microsoft Dynamics AX in Silent Mode

When you run the Setup wizard, Setup is running in interactive mode. This means a graphical user interface (GUI) prompts you for required information.
Alternatively, you can run Setup in silent mode, with no GUI displaying. In this mode, required information is supplied at the command prompt or in a parameter file. You can install any Microsoft Dynamics AX component in silent mode.
NOTE: A silent installation is especially useful when deploying multiple clients at one time.

Deploy Multiple Clients
To deploy multiple Microsoft Dynamics AX Windows clients at one time, it is recommended that you use the following process.
1. Copy the contents of the Microsoft Dynamics AX DVD to a shared directory on the network.
2. Create a common configuration file in a shared directory on the AOS computer that clients will connect to.
3. Create a batch file to install clients with a shared configuration. The file must be located in a shared directory in  the Microsoft Dynamics AX DVD shared folder, at the same level as Setup.exe.
4. Test the batch file on a local computer.
5. Use a mass deployment tool such as Group Policy or Microsoft Systems Management Server to run the batch file from a logon script.

For more information about using Group Policy to deploy software, refer to: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=92736.
For more information about using Systems Management Server to deploy software, refer to: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=115327.
The following procedures contain more detailed information about creating a shared configuration file and creating a command file.

 

Determine Which Parameters to Use
The same parameters are available whether you enter them at the command prompt or create a parameter file. For information about individual parameters, refer to the Setup parameters reference (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=191476) on TechNet.
To determine which parameters to use, it is recommended that you install a client on a single computer and then review the Setup log file, which is located at <Drive>\Program Files\Microsoft Dynamics AX\Dynamics AX\60\Setup
logs\Date Time\DynamicsSetupLog.txt. The log lists the parameters used in the installation.

Specify Installation Parameters at the Command Prompt
Use the following procedure to run the installation by entering parameters at the command prompt.
1. Open a Command Prompt window.
2. At the command prompt, type the following information: <Path to DVD or shared directory>\Setup.exe parameter1="value" parameter2="value". When using multiple parameters, insert a single space between parameters.
WARNING: If you enter duplicate parameters, Setup will fail silently.
3. After you have listed all parameters, press Enter.

Specify Installation Parameters Using a Parameter File
Use the following procedure to run the installation by specifying a parameter file at the command prompt.
1. Create a text file that lists the appropriate installation parameters and their values. In the parameter file, the Name=Value combination for each parameter must be on a separate line.
WARNING: If you enter duplicate parameters, Setup will fail silently.
2. Do not include double quotation marks in parameter files. Because a line return is used as a delimiter in a parameter file, values that otherwise require the use of double quotation marks do not require them here. To prevent a line in a parameter file from being read, type a number sign (#) before the line. The line will be treated as a
comment rather than a command or parameter.
3. Open a Command Prompt window.

4. At the command prompt, type the following information: <Path to DVD or shared directory>\Setup.exe ParmFile=<path to file\FileName.txt>. The path can be fully qualified or relative to the location of the Setup.exe file. Relative paths can include upward qualifiers such as "..\..\".
5. Press Enter.

NOTE: To set up clients to use a shared configuration file, set the ClientConfigFile path parameter to the file in the shared directory. ClientConfigFile="X:\<name of configuration file>.axc"

Sample Parameter File
The following is an example of a parameter file that can be used to install the databases and the Application Object Server (AOS). Your parameter file will vary, based on the components that you are installing.
HideUI=1
AcceptLicenseTerms=1
DbSqlServer=SQLServerName
DbSqlDatabaseName=DatabaseName
InstallApplication=1
ApplicationInstanceName=ApplicationInstanceName
InstallAos=1
AosInstanceName=AOSInstanceName
AosApplicationPath="C:\Program Files\Microsoft Dynamics AX\60"
AosReportErrors=0

Procedure: Create a Group Policy Logon Script
To install clients using Group Policy, follow these steps:
1. Open Start > Administrative Tools > Group Policy Management.
2. Expand Group Policy: Management > Forest: Contoso.com > Domains > Contoso.com.
3. Right click Contoso.com, and select Create a GPO in this domain, and Link it here.

4. In the Name field, type "Dynamics AX Logon Script", then click OK.
5. Right-click "Dynamics AX Logon Script", then click Edit.
6. Expand User Configuration > Policies > Windows Settings > Scripts (Logon/Logoff).
7. In the right pane right click Logon, and then click Properties.
8. Click Show Files. This will bring up a file dialog in a logon folder.
9. Right-click the folder and then click New > Text Document to create a new text document in this directory.
10. Double-click the new file to open it in Notepad.
11. Enter the following script and save the file: D:\Setup.exe HideUI=1 AcceptLicenseTerms=1 InstallClientUI=1
ClientAosServer=Company1 ClientLanguage=en-US ClientHelpLanguages=en-US

NOTE: The directory path for Setup.exe should be a network path.

12. Right-click and rename "New Text Document.txt" to "AxInstallClient.cmd", then confirm the change of the file name extension when you are prompted.
13. Close the Windows Explorer menu.
14. Click Add, then click Browse.
15. Select "AxInstallClient.cmd", and then click Open.
16. Click OK.
17. Notice that the script has been added to logon properties, and then click OK.
18. Close Group Policy Management Editor.

NOTE: This setup can be proven by uninstalling the client, look to verify that the client has been removed, logoff the Virtual Machine (VM), logon to the VM, and verify that the client has been reinstalled. It might take several minutes after the logging on for the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 to apply.

NOTE: Scripts can also be set to run on the startup and shutdown of a server.

Include cumulative updates and hotfixes in a new installation (slipstreaming) AX 2012

Applies To: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Feature Pack, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

If you are installing Microsoft Dynamics AX components for the first time, and cumulative updates, binary hotfixes, or service packs for Microsoft Dynamics AX are available, you can incorporate the updates into the installation by using a process that is known as slipstreaming.

When updates are slipstreamed, Setup automatically detects and applies them. In this way, the time that is required to install the whole Microsoft Dynamics AX solution is reduced.

Note

Components that were previously installed are not updated during a later slipstream installation. For example, an instance of Application Object Server (AOS) is installed on a server. Later, you add updates to the installation source, and you also install another Microsoft Dynamics AX component on the same server. In this scenario, the existing AOS instance is not updated.

You can slipstream the following kinds of updates:

• Cumulative updates
• Binary hotfixes
• Help content updates
• Service packs

Application (database) hotfixes cannot be included in the slipstreaming process. They must be installed by using AxUpdate.exe.

The Updates folder

Before you install Microsoft Dynamics AX, you copy the DVD to a network location. This lets you modify the installation media to create a slipstream installation. Incorporate updates into the installation process by copying files to the Updates folder in the shared network location.

Note

For more information about how to install Microsoft Dynamics AX from a shared network folder, see Create a shared directory for installation.

In the Updates folder, create a subfolder for each update package that you download. We recommend that you use the Knowledge Base article numbers of the updates as the names of the subfolders. For example, for the update that is associated with Knowledge Base article number 123456, create a subfolder that is named KB123456.

Extract each update into the appropriate subfolder. The following illustration shows an example of the recommended folder structure:

Any time that you apply a cumulative update package or a binary hotfix to your environment, we strongly recommend that you add the installation package to the Updates folder. This practice ensures that you can deploy new servers, clients, and other components of the correct version quickly. You should also make a copy of the updated installation media per your system recovery strategy.

The slipstreaming process

The following is a high-level overview of the slipstreaming process:

1. To find cumulative updates, visit the hotfix pages for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 or Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 on the CustomerSource web site. Logon is required.
2. Create a shared network location from which to install Microsoft Dynamics AX.
3. In the Updates folder, create a subfolder for each update package that you download. Then extract each update into the appropriate subfolder.
4. Run Setup and select the components that you want to install. Setup detects and installs the updates.

Follow the usual installation procedures to install Microsoft Dynamics AX components. For detailed installation instructions for each Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 component, see Install Microsoft Dynamics AX.

To install updates for Help content, you must select the Help Server component, and then select the updated content sets on the Language and content selection page.