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An Introduction to the Microsoft Web Platform Installer
By John Peterson | |
Rating: 4 out of 5
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Introduction
Getting a new ASP.NET Web development machine up and running isn't hard, but there are a lot of
steps involved and it takes a fair amount of time. That's why Microsoft is
working on a new tool called the Microsoft Web Platform Installer. It provides a
single interface for installation of the tools needed to start developing
Web applications on the Microsoft platform.
I'll leave the rest of the introduction to Microsoft. From the Microsoft Web Platform Installer page:
Overview
The Web Platform Installer Beta (Web PI) provides a single, free package for installing and configuring Microsoft's entire Web Platform, including IIS7, Visual Web Developer 2008 Express Edition, SQL Server 2008 Express Edition and the .NET Framework. Using the Web Platform Installer’s simple user interface, you can select specific components or install the entire Microsoft Web Platform onto your computer. To help you stay up-to-date with product releases, the Web Platform Installer always contains the most current versions and new additions to the Microsoft Web Platform.
System requirements
- Supported Operating Systems are: Windows Vista RTM, Windows Vista SP1, Windows Server 2008
- You must have administrator privileges on your computer to run Web Platform Installer Beta
- .NET 2.0 Framework
- Supported Architectures: x86 and 64-bit
As I write this, the program is still in Beta so use it at your own risk. I downloaded and played with the
Sept. 30, 2008 bits and didn't run into any problems but your results may vary.
Microsoft Web Platform Installer
You can get the Microsoft Web Platform Installer from the
Microsoft Web Platform Installer page
of the Microsoft /web site.
While you're there, do yourself a favor and take a look around... you'll find a
bunch of interesting articles and stuff.
Installation of the Microsoft Web Platform Installer program itself is a simple matter
of running the downloaded wpilauncher.exe file. There aren't any options
and, aside from clicking on the User Account Control dialog box that appears if you're
using Vista's User Account Control feature, you shouldn't need to so anything but sit
back and wait.
Once installed, the Microsoft Web Platform Installer runs automatically.
The first screen prompts
you to choose a type of installation. The "ASP.Net Developer" setting is probably the
best choice for most users. It installs IIS7 (configured to run ASP.NET apps), .NET Framework 3.5 SP1,
Visual Web Developer 2008 Express SP1, and SQL Express 2008.
If you want to take a more hands-on approach, the program also includes the "Your Choice"
option which lets you choose exactly what gets installed and what doesn't.
Once you've selected a preset configuration or have tweaked your own you'll be presented with a
page that lists everything you've chosen. Be sure to take a look at the the list and review your choices.
Once you agree to the license terms for all the software being installed...
...the installation process begins.
The installer seems pretty smart and appeared to download files in the background as other
components were being installed.
You may run into a situation where the installation is interrupted by a reboot or two.
If you need to, you can simply re-run the Microsoft Web Platform Installer via it's
Start Menu icon and re-select the same settings to continue where you left off.
Conclusion
While it's still in Beta and it doesn't always seem to resume after reboots, the
Microsoft Web Platform Installer is a great little tool that can help you get
Microsoft's Web server and development tools installed quicker then ever before.
I can't wait to get a hold of the released version and am expecting to see some
really great things from this tool as it matures.
For program updates and more information, watch the
Microsoft Web Platform Installer Web Page.
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