Automated prerequisite installation via PowerShell for Exchange Server 2010 on Windows Server 2008 R2
05/07/2010 NOTE: This script has been updated to address several improvements. Please see Automated prerequisite installation via PowerShell for Exchange Server 2010 on Windows Server 2008 R2 - v2.0 for a list of those improvements. The link below is to the latest version of the script.
A while ago, fellow Exchange MVP Anderson Patricio released a script to help automate some of the tasks required before installing Exchange 2010 on Server 2008 R2. While it's fairly straightforward to do it manually, automating the tasks can help reduce errors and issues - especially for consultants who may install Exchange 2010 often. Not long after Anderson released his script, Paul Flaherty released a revised version Bhargav Shukla released a revised version that streamlined it a little and added some functionality. Now it's my turn.
More of an exercise to learn a method in PowerShell than anything else, I took Paul's version and added the following functionality:
- Automatically set NetTCPPortSharing service to auto start. This is done by inserting a command in the RunOnce registry key. I did this because you can't set the service to automatically start until after the reboot. By using the RunOnce key, this is accomplished without further intervention.
- If you choose any of the options that require the FilterPack (anything involving Hub Transport or Mailbox roles), the filterpack is automatically downloaded and installed.
- If any of the Add-WindowsFeature commands require a reboot when finishing, the server will automatically reboot
- Some sanity checks to verify the Operating System (verifies 64 bit and R2)
- Choosing a selection executes the command, then returns to the menu (assuming no reboot)
I'll likely tweak this some more when I have more time. But I've used this to build probably a dozen Exchange 2010 boxes so far, and it's worked well. I welcome any comments or suggestions.
The script is available here -> Set-Exchange2010Prereqs.ps1
UPDATE: Corrected some misinformation. Sorry about that Bhargav!