ColdFusion 2016 Silent Install on Windows DataCenter 2016

[David5F9D]

Hi ColdFusion Community.

I am rebuilding our ColdFusion Webfarm and have the ColdFusion 2016 Windows X64 install media, and have identified the pre-requisites I need to build ColdFusion:
Microsoft Visual C++ 2009 32bit Redistributable: vcredist_x86.exe
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 32bit Redistributable: vcredist_x86.exe
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 64bit Redistributable: vcredist_x64.exe
.NET 4.5 64bit Development Suite: NDP46-KB3045560-Web.exe
I have the latest Hotfix jar.

  

The silent install installs the above components but the coldfusion service can't be started as the installation is incomplete.

I am using the silent install option, please see my silent installer properties attached, with sites paths and password redacted.

#Webroot(s) folder for chosen website in IIS (comma separated) Ex: C:\inetpub\site1,C:\inetpub\site2
INSTALLER_UI=SILENT
SILENT_WEBROOT_IIS_WEBSITES=<websites>
SILENT_INSTALLER_TYPE=standalone
SILENT_PREV_CF_MIGR_DIR=C:\\ColdFusion2016
#Update ColdFusion to the latest update. Allowed : 1, if you want to update ColdFusion, 0 if not.
UPDATE_CF_TRUE=0
SILENT_LICENSE_MODE=trial
SILENT_ENABLE_DEV_PROFILE=true
SILENT_INSTALL_ADMIN=true
SILENT_INSTALL_SOLR=true
SILENT_INSTALL_PDFG=true
SILENT_INSTALL_ODBC=true
SILENT_INSTALL_JNIBRIDGE=true
###
SILENT_ADMIN_USERNAME=Admin
SILENT_ADMIN_PASSWORD=*******
SILENT_ENABLE_RDS=false
SILENT_RUNTIME_USER=Administrator
#Provide password when enable RDS is true
SILENT_RDS_PASSWORD=
#username/password of remote administrator component for server remote start/stop
SILENT_JETTY_USERNAME=admin
SILENT_JETTY_PASSWORD=*******
###
#Allowed : 1 for Automatic Update, 0 for Manually updating ColdFusion
AUTO_UPDATE_CF_TRUE=0
#If auto-update is false, provide the path where hotfix.jar is present. Give full path.
HF_UPDATE_JAR_PATH=D:\hotfix\dev\jars\hotfix-016-320445.jar

#ColdFusion Configuration
#Enter the ColdFusion Administrator credentials and the built-in Web Server port.
CF_ADMIN_USERNAME=Admin
CF_ADMIN_PASSWORD=*******
CF_ADMIN_PORT=8500

#OS Administrator Account Details.
#Enter the user account details of the OS administrator.
SYSTEM_ADMIN_USER=Administrator
SYSTEM_ADMIN_PWD=*******
SYSTEM_ADMIN_DOMAIN=LocalComputer

# Allowed :1 if you have a user already created for running CF Services, 0 otherwise.
USER_CF_SERVICE_TRUE=1

#Enter the user account to run ColdFusion with, post lockdown.
#The user account will be granted file system permissions to ColdFusion and the Web Server webroot(s)/document root.
CF_USER_UNAME=Administrator
CF_USER_DOMAIN=LocalComputer
CF_USER_PWD=*******

# Allowed :1 if you want to change the shutdown port, 0 otherwise
CHANGE_SHUTDOWN_PORT_TRUE=0

# New shutdown port number
SHUTDOWN_PORT_NEW=

**************************

Can you advise please how I can get more output out of ColdFusion as to why it's not installing, or an install log?

Thanks in advance for your help.

David.

[Charlie Arehart]

Hi David, I have a few other observations/questions that I hope may help you. I'll divide them into groups.

First, you show some info about prerequisites:

• You show getting 32- and 64-bit versions of the visual c++ redistributable. I don't know that you need the 32-bit ones, since you are using a 64-bit CF install
• You mention a .net "development suite". CF has no requirement for that. Did you read somewhere that it did?

Next, as for getting CF running:

• Your screenshot shows the CF service not starting. Have you confirmed in Task Manager that CF is not already running perhaps? It could have been started as a process rather than as a service. Look in the "details" tab of Task Manager, and sort it by name. Is there a coldfusion.exe already running?
• If it is NOT running as a task, go to the command line, and cd to the ColdFusion folder, then its cfusion/bin folder. Run cfstart.bat. That will start CF NOT as a service, and may well report information explaining what's amiss (though it may not be obvious what it means, or how the problems it reported came to be). What does doing that report?

As for how any settings affecting that startup may be different from what you have in your silent install properties:

• Did you try to launch the CF Admin (on the server where you show the services)? As localhost:8500 (as indicated in your properties)? Did it work then? Does it work now?
  • If it does, but your web sites do not, that's a separate issue, having to do with a need to perhaps configure the CF web server connector (wsconfig) after the install, especially if you added any sites AFTER running the CF installer. (As of CF2018, you MUST run that after the CF install, as its installer no longer offers the option to do that connection.)
• If you DID run the CF Admin initially, and it worked, did it run the "migration wizard", if it found another CF version on the server? Or did you run the ColdFusion Archive feature to import CF Admin settings from some other server?

As for trying to assess now where things stand (regardless of or perhaps related to what I share above):

• If you look in the root of the CF folder, you will find an installation log for CF. In that, do you see it reporting "0 fatalerrors"? If you did, then something went amiss during the install.
• If nothing did, but it fails to start now, then look in the CF cfusion/logs folder, and see if you may find "migration" or "car" logs, related to such an initial CF admin migration or use of the CAR migration.

Finally, FWIW, it should be noted that you are trying to get CF2016 running, which I realize may be what you currently run elsewhere.

• Just note that it stopped being updated this year (5 years after its release). The final update for it came out last week. Just beware that your clock is ticking. There will be no more updates to CF2016. The next updates for CF will be only for CF2018 and 2021. 
• Along those lines, I see your silent install file indicating that you did not want CF to update itself, so do beware that once you get things running, you will of course want to get to SOME later update, whether the latest (update 17) from last week (which some folks are having trouble with), or perhaps 16 (which was out for several months without incident). 
• Finally, do note that once you update beyond update 14 (from Mar 2020), it will be mandatory to update any web server connector you may have created BEFORE applying that update, or your web sites will break (not the CF Admin, served via its built-in web server port).

Finally, I will say that I have not closely inspected every line of your props file (let alone try to run it), in case there's some other issue. Perhaps some other eagle eye here may see something important that I've not thought to mention here.

Anyway, let us know if these things get you going.

Sure, it would be nice if things would "just work", and they can. 🙂 It's just that there are a LOT of moving parts to CF, and if even one goes amiss, it can leave you stuck in the boat you're in. Hope I'm sending useful floation devices or buckets to help bail out the water if you may feel like your sinking. 🙂 I can also help more directly, if that may be helpful. See my signature below.

[David5F9D]

Hi Charlie.  Thankyou for your time looking over my post, I'll address each of your points.

*Prerequisites*
I was told by Priyank@Adobe that I needed to install the Microsoft VCC Redistributable 32bit versions.
I can see also I need VCC++ version 9.
We use IIS as a webserver so that's where the requirement for .NET 4.5 comes from.

*CF Running*
The CF Service doesn't start.  CF is not running in Task Manager.
I can run the cfstart.bat file from C:`ColdFusion2016\cfusion\bin, however I am unable to load the console at: http://127.0.0.1:8500/CFIDE/administrator/index.cfm after doing so. IE tells me the page can't be loaded.

*Settings* I ensure my IIS settings are loaded prior to attempting the silent install of ColdFusion.

C:\ColdFusion2016\cfusion\logs shows no log data, and no install log data which is somewhat worrying, see screenshot.

The installer is hanging up at the same point regarding the contents of C:\ColdFusion2016, with 1.21Gb of data in the directory and 7890 files.  I am attempting to run ColdFusion as the Local Administrator account in the LocalSystem domain.

With gratitude for your ongoing help.

Thanks.

David.

[Charlie Arehart]

Well, first, I am still inclined to think you would only need the 32-bit vc++redist if you are going to use a 32-bit IIS app pool and so a 32-bit CF web server connector. Do you know if you will? If you will not, again I'd think it unneeded.

As for the ".net" installer you refer to, I am again not aware of CF requiring that. When you say you need .net support for use of CF with IIS, that is indeed true. And the enablement of that is about the enablement of the features in IIS to support that, as well as such things as isapi filters, isapi extensions, CGI, and asp.net. These are all things you'd do in Windows, without need of any such exe as that. First, if not using the command line one would use the Windows Server Manager to add those (on Windows Servers, or use the "turn windows features on or off" for Windows desktop versions). For you scripting things, you'd use the powershell install-windowsfeature cmdlet. For more, see such resoures as this.

As for whatever problems you are having, I notice one of your screenshots of task maanger shows a powershell error behind it, but we can't see that. What was that about?

And you show the "processes" tab, but I had proposed you look at the "details" tab. The latter has useful details (like the exact name of the process) that is lost in the simpler process tab view of things.

For example, you say you ran the cfstart from the cmd line, but you don't clarify if you feel CF is running. You say only that you can't access the Admin. Again, I asked specifically that you go to the Details tab and sort it by name and see if a coldfusion.exe is running. Please confirm that.

If it is not, then CF did not start...and the output of the cfstart should explain why. Or would you say there is no output from it on screen, at all?

Finally, you say "The installer is hanging up at the same point". What point is that? You have not indicated previously that the installer failed. you'd said only that CF would not start, or that you could not access the CF Admin. This is again why I would like to know what the error was on the powershell screen. Is that related to running the installer?

And I had had asked also, "If you look in the root of the CF folder, you will find an installation log for CF. In that, do you see it reporting "0 fatalerrors"? If you did, then something went amiss during the install." Note that was DIFFERENT than when I proposed in the next point to look in the cfusion/logs folder. Let us know if you see an install log (it would have a long name, reflecting the date/time of the installation).

And I will repeat: if you would rather not have this dragged out over lots of back and forth and passing of days, I would likely be able to help very quickly via an online screensharing session, per my consulting services at carehart.org. But in that you are asking here, I am answering, and not only to help you but also future readers who may find this discussion.