Unattended installation

Components of Acronis Backup, such as Acronis Backup Agent for Windows, can be installed in the unattended mode, as opposed to the interactive mode.

This section describes unattended installation and update by using Windows Installer (the msiexec program). In an Active Directory domain, another way of performing unattended installation or update of a supported component is through Group Policy—see "Installing the agent through Group Policy".

Some components require a file known as a transform (an .mst file). Use of a transform for other components is optional.

The following table summarizes components and features that can be installed or updated in the unattended mode.

Preparation

To create a transform for a component, you need the configuration script mst_gen.vbs.

This script is located in the folder where Acronis Backup Management Console is installed. The default folder path is:

• %ProgramFiles%\Acronis\BackupAndRecoveryConsole in 32-bit Windows
• %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Acronis\BackupAndRecoveryConsole in 64-bit Windows

If the management console is installed on a different machine, you can copy the script from that machine. See also “Examples of creating a transform” later in this section.

Order of installation for an agent

When you install an agent, first install the Agent Core component (if it is not yet installed), then the agent itself, and then the agent features.

Installation procedure

To install or update a component in the unattended mode

1. Start the setup program.
2. Click Extract installation files (when using the standard setup program) or Save installation files (when using the Web-based setup program).
3. Extract the component's installation package.
4. If you are installing a component that uses a transform, create the transform by running the configuration script. Otherwise, skip this step.

   For example, the following command creates a transform to install Agent for Windows with the license key ABCDE-54321:

   mst_gen.vbs /msi_path C:\AcronisAgentWindows.msi /serial ABCDE-54321

   See the examples later in this section. The complete syntax of the configuration script is described in "Configuration script parameters".

5. Do either of the following, depending on whether you are installing or updating the component:
   • If you are installing the component, run Windows Installer (the msiexec program) as follows:

     When installing a component that requires a transform (in this example, Agent for Windows):

     msiexec /i c:\AcronisAgentWindows.msi TRANSFORMS=AcronisAgentWindows.mst /qb

     Otherwise (in this example, when installing the management console):

     msiexec /i c:\AcronisManagementConsole.msi /qb

   • If you are updating the component, run Windows Installer as follows:

     When updating a component that requires a transform (in this example, Agent for Windows):

     msiexec /i C:\AcronisAgentWindows.msi TRANSFORMS=C:\AcronisAgentWindows.mst ADDLOCAL=ALL /qb

     Otherwise (in this example, when updating the management console):

     msiexec /i C:\AcronisManagementConsole.msi ADDLOCAL=ALL /qb /l*v C:\log.log

Examples of creating a transform

Transform for Agent Core. The following command creates a transform for the installation package of the Agent Core component:

mst_gen.vbs /msi_path C:\AcronisAgentCore.msi /account mydomain\agentuser MyPassWd /ams_address managementsrv /ams_user adminname AdminPassWd

After unattended installation with this transform:

• The agents’ service will run under the agentuser domain user account (of the mydomain domain) whose password is MyPassWd.
• The agents will be registered on Acronis Backup Management Server installed on the managementsrv machine; adminname and AdminPassWd are respectively the user name and password of a management server administrator.

Transform for Agent for Windows. The following command creates a transform for the installation package of Agent for Windows:

mst_gen.vbs /msi_path C:\AcronisAgentWindows.msi /license_server licensesrv /product AS

After unattended installation with this transform:

• The agent will use a license for Acronis Backup Advanced for Windows Server, by taking it from the license server installed on the licensesrv machine.

Similarly, you can create transforms for the agent features.