[wix-users] Suitability of MSI

[Ven H]

Hi Edwin,

Thanks a lot for the details. I know it's been a while. I agree with you on
Database. After burning my fingers a lot, I have come to the same
conclusion that MSI is not suitable for DB installation or upgrades or
patches.

But I feel with the same with IIS also. There are lots of IIS settings
which are not supported by MSI. We can achieve them using Custom Actions,
but these come with their set of issues like managing uninstall, Upgrades,
patches etc.

Also, we cannot control the sequence of installation of components.
Managing clean installation & uninstallation of prerequisites is another
challenge. Even areas like Upgrades and Patches bring in their own
challenges.

Also, my client has some specific requirements like retaining some config
files post install / upgrade.  This adds another layer of challenge.

Again, with all due respect, I am not complaining about WiX or the authors
or even the community (since you guys have been really great in terms of
technical help and support), but wondering whether there is a packaging and
deployment mechanism which can address requirements like IIS, Databases,
Patches, Upgrades etc in Microsoft world. Also wondering how other
platforms like Linux manage complex deployments.


On Fri, Feb 7, 2020 at 12:26 AM Edwin Castro <egcastr at gmail.com> wrote:

> You should be able to do nearly everything you need to do with the Windows
> Installer, MSI. You should be able to write custom actions for those things
> that the Windows Installer engine doesn't do on it's own. The WiX Toolset
> should provide most of the functionality you need that is not provided by
> MSI. I'm thinking things like IIS and MS SQL Server database deployments.
> That said I would caution against using MSI to install your database.
>
> Databases are rarely installed on the same server where other application
> components are installed. Often you install the front end web site and/or
> web service APIs to many servers for horizontal scaling. Which of these
> servers should the database be installed on? Likely none of them as likely
> the database is a different server all together. In fact, the only server
> that likely makes sense is the database server itself but your DBAs likely
> will not allow that. Instead, you'll have to designate a server that will
> have the database MSI installed that will not actually have the database
> installed because the database will actually be deployed to another server.
> You'll also need to guarantee that this "proxy server" is always the server
> used to upgrade the database otherwise it will try to install the database
> from scratch as the MSI product was not previously installed on a different
> "proxy server".
>
> In my opinion, the Windows Installer is not the best option to manage
> datastore deployments. On upgrade you change schema *and* migrate data from
> old schemas to new schemas. In complicated deployments you'll want that
> process to run outside the context of the Windows Installer. I think the
> Windows Installer is a good option to install database deployment tools
> which can then be used to manage the database deployment.
>
> The WiX Toolset does provide actions to create empty databases and execute
> SQL scripts, inline and script files, which can be useful for very simple
> deployments. The Windows Installer and WiX cannot know what actions, if
> any, are appropriate for a rollback. You'll need to provide the scripts
> that do that work. WiX will just execute them for you.
>
> I'd instead recommend looking into database migration tools instead. My
> quick google search found Flyway DB as an example. There were other options
> years ago when I used them more regularly, including tools from Microsoft
> for MS SQL Server. Some of these tools track changes and can migrate a
> database from some snapshot to a future snapshot applying all changes in
> between. Some of those tools allow you to undo those changes which could be
> useful for rollback scenarios. Other tools work of a model which is
> compared to the target database at runtime and the change script is
> generated at runtime. Some DBAs do not trust these tools but they generally
> rock! Highly recommended! The Microsoft offering used to work this way. Not
> sure if it still exists nor how it has changed since 2013 when I last used
> it.
>
> --
> Edwin G. Castro
>
> On Thu, Feb 6, 2020, 09:14 Ven H via wix-users <
> wix-users at lists.wixtoolset.org> wrote:
>
>> I need to take care of the installation / configuration of the following
>> features. Is MSI a best fit for all these requirements, especially
>> Database?
>>
>> Prereqs Check (no installation / uninstallation)
>> Enable / Disable Features
>> Create / Update / Remove Registry Entries
>> Register / Unregister COMs (with Heat)
>> Register / Unregister GAC (with Heat and XSL transform)
>> Set / Remove ACL
>> Update IIS Settings (Web Site, Binding, Auth, Default Document, App Pool
>> Props, Mime Types etc)
>> Create / Remove Event Viewer Categories
>> Start / Stop Services
>> Add / Remove MSMSQ
>> Add / Remove Shortcuts
>> Install / Upgrade Databases (including Create / Update tables, Stored
>> Procedures, Indexes, Triggers and so on)
>> Lots of files (with Heat)
>> Manage web.config files
>> Custom Actions
>>
>> HotFix
>> Repair
>> Upgrade
>> Rollback (including DB)
>>
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>