tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985159635193633235.post2268380275903235664..comments2024-03-25T00:30:02.127-07:00Comments on ISWIX: Life After Windows Installer: Install.NET?Christopher Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12167478740431444267noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985159635193633235.post-66164698116861844762007-04-30T10:16:00.000-07:002007-04-30T10:16:00.000-07:00I don't think we will be using it much longer....I don't think we will be using it much longer. 85% of my deployment development time is spent on CAs and not MSI tables. What does MSI buy me anymore? Automatically rolling back files if a CA files? Automatically in Add Remove Programs?<br><br>There has been a lot of focus on PowerShell (We have more deployment flexibility then many vendors because we deploy enterprise software so the servers we deploy to are dedicated to our software.) With PowerShell and things like Remote Runspaces (http://www.hanselman.com/blog/ScriptBlockAndRunspaceRemotingInPowerShell.aspx) you can perform an install across several servers from one central server. This isn't a simple PUSH pattern either. The central server actively communicates with the target server and the target server responds back. You could have all the other servers rollback if one server failed or any other type of logic.<br><br>Sure, this stuff is pretty "out there" but just as you, our frustration with MSI has lead us to drastic measures. MSI just doesn't buy us anything anymore.<br><br>Some of the things we do in CAs that MSI AND IS doesn’t do or does so badly that we don’t use the support:<br><br>DCOM configuration<br>SQL server script execution<br>Adding Windows Users to groups<br>XML document manipulation<br>.config file management like adding probing paths, assembly redirects, etc<br>IIS management<br>Launching exes and capturing the output<br>Windows Account password validation<br>And a ton of other stuff.<br><br>MSI just doesn't help us with any of these things.<br><br>It is hard to suggest others to use MSI when it has one of the worst learning curves ever. What does it buy you to take the time to learn it? I have taken the time ( 6+ years developing with it) and if feels like a dead end to me. We can’t use managed code, we can’t write standard unit tests, and only a few people know it. How can it ever fit into a modern software development lifecycle?Peter Thomasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985159635193633235.post-85692010704304137752009-04-27T21:56:00.000-07:002009-04-27T21:56:00.000-07:00Peter, One of the overall benefits windows install...Peter, <br><br>One of the overall benefits windows installer offers is one many people dont even have a view on. <br><br>People often look at windows installer as a single application deployment mechanism. However it is much more than that. It's core design is around 100's or 1000's of applications playing nicely together throughout an organisation. I only know of one company in the world which levarages this capability. Does this mean other vendors are not aware of it ? <br><br>No other deployment solutions offer this on the market today however virtual technologies are coming to the forefront more regularly which offer similar conflict management type solutions using entirely different methodology.jmcfadyennoreply@blogger.com