The Exchange Server 2010 Setup program
includes a powerful set of command-line options that can help you
completely automate an Exchange server setup or perform custom setup
options that you could not do through the GUI. The command-line setup
options are broken into seven categories of setup:
Installing Exchange server roles
Removing Exchange server roles
Recovering an existing Exchange server
Preparing the Active Directory to support Exchange
Creating delegated or pre-provisioned servers
Adding or removing Unified Messaging language packs
Adding or removing Exchange language packs
All of these options are used by running the setup.com program, not setup.exe.
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A lot of Exchange Administrators wonder why the
command line setup options even exist since the graphical user
interface is so easy to use and has most of the same options. Consider
the case of organization JCE that is installing 30 Mailbox servers, 18
Client Access servers, and 12 Hub Transport servers.
Due to their organization's requirements for
certifying a production IT system, all server builds have to be
thoroughly documented prior to being deployed. By generating the
installation scripts ahead of time, their Exchange team can ensure that
each server is built exactly to the design specifications and with the
necessary options. This speeds up the overall installation and ensures
that nothing is overlooked.
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1. Command-Line Installation Options
By and large, the server role installation options
are probably the most useful for a typical person installing or
configuring Exchange. They are certainly the most numerous. If you use
some of these setup.com options, they will have some required parameters. For example, if you use the /mode:install option, you will also have to specify which server role or roles you are installing. Table 1 lists the installation options.
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Most of the command-line switches and options have a
long and short option. For example, the following two commands
accomplish exactly the same thing (installing the Mailbox role):
We have chosen to spell out the
options completely to more clearly illustrate the commands and in the
hope that you will remember them more easily. However, once you learn
the long version of the options, you will probably find it easier to
use the shorter versions. They are just a bit cryptic when you are
learning.
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Table 1. Exchange Server 2010 Installation Options
| Option | Optional (O) or Required (R) | Explanation |
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| /mode or /m | R | Specifies whether the Setup program is installing a new role or removing it. Valid options are:
/mode:install
/mode:uninstall
/mode:upgrade |
| /roles or /r | R | Specifies which roles are being installed. Valid role types are:
Client Access, CA, C
Edge Transport, ET, E
Hub Transport, HT, E
Mailbox, MB, M
ManagementTools, MT, T
Unified Messaging, UM, U |
| /OrganizationName | O | Allows
you to specify an organization name; this is only necessary if this is
the first server being installed in the Active Directory forest and the
/PrepareAD step has not previously been done. |
| /TargetDir | O | Allows you to specify an optional path for the Exchange program files rather than the default location on the C:\ drive. |
| /SourceDir | O | Specifies the location for the Exchange installation files. |
| /UpdatesDir | O | Specifies a path to look for updates from after the installation is completed. |
| /DomainController | O | Allows you to specify the NetBIOS name or the FQDN of a domain controller. |
| /AnswerFile | O | Allows you to specify a text file that contains answers to some of the advanced setup parameters. |
| /DoNotStartTransport | O | Tells Setup to not allow the transport service on a Hub Transport or Edge Transport server. |
| /EnableLegacyOutlook | O | Tells
Setup to create a public folder tree and public folder database on a
mailbox. This is only valid for the first Mailbox server role that is
being installed in a new organization. |
| /LegacyRoutingServer | O | Tells
Setup to create a routing group connection to an Exchange 2003
bridgehead server. This option is only valid for the first Hub
Transport server that is being installed in an Exchange 2010
organization. |
| /EnableErrorReporting | | Configures
Exchange Server to report errors automatically to Microsoft. All server
roles can use this option. The default is not to enable this feature. |
| /CustomerFeedbackEnabled | O | Configures
Exchange Server to report usage information to Microsoft automatically.
All server roles can use this information. This is used with the /Industry switch. |
| /Mdbname | O | Specifies the name of the default mailbox database when installing a Mailbox server. |
| /DbFilePath | O | Specifies the path and name to the default database file. This is used in conjunction with the /Mdbname and the /LogFolderPath switches. |
| /LogFolderPath | O | Specifies the path for the log files for the default database when installing a Mailbox server role. |
| /ExternalCASServerDomain | O | Allows
to you to specify the external URL that will be used by Internet
clients accessing the Client Access server. This is only used for
Client Access servers. |
| /NoSelfSignedCertificates | O | Instructs Setup not to create self-signed certificates for the Client Access or Unified Messaging server roles. |
| /AdamLdapPort | O | Specifies the LDAP port number to be configured for an Edge Transport server's ADAM database. |
| /AdamSslPort | O | Specifies the LDAPS port number to be configured for an Edge Transport server's ADAM database. |
