If you were at my PowerShell for developers talk at the European SharePoint Best Practices Conference last week then you’ll know that I’ve never been all that happy with how I was approaching Farm Solution deployment, as detailed in an earlier post from sometime last year (Deploying SharePoint 2010 Solution Packages Using PowerShell). So what are some of the issues I have with what I created? Here’s a quick list:
- There are two functions – I really just want one function to call and let the function figure out what to do based on the parameters provided.
- I want to be able to provide a directory containing WSP files to deploy (sure, I could use
Get-ChildItem
to grab all my files, iterate through them, and then call the function, but that means I have to type more each time I want to execute and I’m way too lazy for that). - There’s no consideration for simply updating Solution Packages rather than retracting and redeploying.
- I was using the
Start-SPAdminJob
cmdlet and stopping and starting the admin service – something that we shouldn’t be doing and is really just an old throwback to 2007. It’s just a bad idea – don’t do it. - I was forcing information such as GAC and CAS settings in the XML when I could easily get the information via the
SPSolution
object once added. - And finally, there was no real help available so you had to really know what was going on to understand how to construct the XML file and to then call the file.
For all these reasons I’ve decided to completely rewrite the script. As a result it’s a bit more complicated at first blush but that’s mainly due to some additional error handling, progress reporting, and blocking code that I’ve added; as well as the additional parameter related code and associated help. I’ve essentially followed the pattern that I described with my earlier post on Feature activation and have made the function work more like a cmdlet (with full help, parameter sets, and use of PipeBind objects). Before I share the code, I’d like to show the complete help that is available for the function:
NAME
Deploy-SPSolutions
SYNOPSIS
Deploys one or more Farm Solution Packages to the Farm.
SYNTAX
Deploy-SPSolutions [-Identity] <String> [[-UpgradeExisting]] [[-AllWebApplications]] [[-WebApplication] <SPWebApplicationPipeBind[]>] [<CommonParameters>]
Deploy-SPSolutions [-Config] <XmlDocument> [<CommonParameters>]
DESCRIPTION
Specify either a directory containing WSP files, a single WSP file, or an XML configuration file containing the WSP files to deploy.
If using an XML configuration file, the format of the file must match the following:
<Solutions>
<Solution Path="<full path and filename to WSP>" UpgradeExisting="false">
<WebApplications>
<WebApplication>http://example.com/</WebApplication>
</WebApplications>
</Solution>
</Solutions>
Multiple <Solution> and <WebApplication> nodes can be added. The UpgradeExisting attribute is optional and should be specified if the WSP should be udpated and not retracted and redeployed.
PARAMETERS
-Config <XmlDocument>
The XML configuration file containing the WSP files to deploy.
Required? true
Position? 1
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters?
-Identity <String>
The directory, WSP file, or XML configuration file containing the WSP files to deploy.
Required? true
Position? 1
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters?
-UpgradeExisting [<SwitchParameter>]
If specified, the WSP file(s) will be updated and not retracted and redeployed (if the WSP does not exist in the Farm then this parameter has no effect).
Required? false
Position? 2
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters?
-AllWebApplications [<SwitchParameter>]
If specified, the WSP file(s) will be deployed to all Web Applications in the Farm (if applicable).
Required? false
Position? 3
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters?
-WebApplication <SPWebApplicationPipeBind[]>
Specifies the Web Application(s) to deploy the WSP file to.
Required? false
Position? 4
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters?
<CommonParameters>
This cmdlet supports the common parameters: Verbose, Debug,
ErrorAction, ErrorVariable, WarningAction, WarningVariable,
OutBuffer and OutVariable. For more information, type,
"get-help about_commonparameters".
INPUTS
OUTPUTS
-------------------------- EXAMPLE 1 --------------------------
PS C:\>. .\Deploy-SPSolutions.ps1
PS C:\> Deploy-SPSolutions -Identity C:\WSPs -WebApplication http://demo
This example loads the function into memory and then deploys all the WSP files in the specified directory to the http://demo Web Application (if applicable).
-------------------------- EXAMPLE 2 --------------------------
PS C:\>. .\Deploy-SPSolutions.ps1
PS C:\> Deploy-SPSolutions -Identity C:\WSPs -WebApplication http://demo,http://mysites
This example loads the function into memory and then deploys all the WSP files in the specified directory to the http://demo and http://mysites Web Applications (if applicable).
-------------------------- EXAMPLE 3 --------------------------
PS C:\>. .\Deploy-SPSolutions.ps1
PS C:\> Deploy-SPSolutions -Identity C:\WSPs -AllWebApplications
This example loads the function into memory and then deploys all the WSP files in the specified directory to all Web Applications (if applicable).
-------------------------- EXAMPLE 4 --------------------------
PS C:\>. .\Deploy-SPSolutions.ps1
PS C:\> Deploy-SPSolutions -Identity C:\WSPs\MyCustomSolution.wsp -AllWebApplications
This example loads the function into memory and then deploys the specified WSP to all Web Applications (if applicable).
-------------------------- EXAMPLE 5 --------------------------
PS C:\>. .\Deploy-SPSolutions.ps1
PS C:\> Deploy-SPSolutions -Identity C:\WSPs\MyCustomSolution.wsp -AllWebApplications -UpgradeExisting
This example loads the function into memory and then deploys the specified WSP to all Web Applications (if applicable); existing deployments will be upgraded and not retracted and redeployed.
-------------------------- EXAMPLE 6 --------------------------
PS C:\>. .\Deploy-SPSolutions.ps1
PS C:\> Deploy-SPSolutions C:\Solutions.xml
This example loads the function into memory and then deploys all the WSP files specified by the Solutions.xml configuration file.
RELATED LINKS
Get-Content
Get-SPSolution
Add-SPSolution
Install-SPSolution
Update-SPSolution
Uninstall-SPSolution
Remove-SPSolution
As you can see, this is a lot more useful for someone wishing to execute this script as not only does it provide information about the XML structure but it also provides several usage examples.
So, without further delay, here’s the new version of the deployment script (note that I changed the function name to Deploy-SPSolutions
so it won’t impact environments that depend on the old function):
1function global:Deploy-SPSolutions() {
2 <#
3 .Synopsis
4 Deploys one or more Farm Solution Packages to the Farm.
5 .Description
6 Specify either a directory containing WSP files, a single WSP file, or an XML configuration file containing the WSP files to deploy.
7 If using an XML configuration file, the format of the file must match the following:
8 <Solutions>
9 <Solution Path="<full path and filename to WSP>" UpgradeExisting="false">
10 <WebApplications>
11 <WebApplication>http://example.com/</WebApplication>
12 </WebApplications>
13 </Solution>
14 </Solutions>
15 Multiple <Solution> and <WebApplication> nodes can be added. The UpgradeExisting attribute is optional and should be specified if the WSP should be udpated and not retracted and redeployed.
16 .Example
17 PS C:\> . .\Deploy-SPSolutions.ps1
18 PS C:\> Deploy-SPSolutions -Identity C:\WSPs -WebApplication http://demo
19
20 This example loads the function into memory and then deploys all the WSP files in the specified directory to the http://demo Web Application (if applicable).
21 .Example
22 PS C:\> . .\Deploy-SPSolutions.ps1
23 PS C:\> Deploy-SPSolutions -Identity C:\WSPs -WebApplication http://demo,http://mysites
24
25 This example loads the function into memory and then deploys all the WSP files in the specified directory to the http://demo and http://mysites Web Applications (if applicable).
26 .Example
27 PS C:\> . .\Deploy-SPSolutions.ps1
28 PS C:\> Deploy-SPSolutions -Identity C:\WSPs -AllWebApplications
29
30 This example loads the function into memory and then deploys all the WSP files in the specified directory to all Web Applications (if applicable).
31 .Example
32 PS C:\> . .\Deploy-SPSolutions.ps1
33 PS C:\> Deploy-SPSolutions -Identity C:\WSPs\MyCustomSolution.wsp -AllWebApplications
34
35 This example loads the function into memory and then deploys the specified WSP to all Web Applications (if applicable).
36 .Example
37 PS C:\> . .\Deploy-SPSolutions.ps1
38 PS C:\> Deploy-SPSolutions -Identity C:\WSPs\MyCustomSolution.wsp -AllWebApplications -UpgradeExisting
39
40 This example loads the function into memory and then deploys the specified WSP to all Web Applications (if applicable); existing deployments will be upgraded and not retracted and redeployed.
41 .Example
42 PS C:\> . .\Deploy-SPSolutions.ps1
43 PS C:\> Deploy-SPSolutions C:\Solutions.xml
44
45 This example loads the function into memory and then deploys all the WSP files specified by the Solutions.xml configuration file.
46 .Parameter Config
47 The XML configuration file containing the WSP files to deploy.
48 .Parameter Identity
49 The directory, WSP file, or XML configuration file containing the WSP files to deploy.
50 .Parameter UpgradeExisting
51 If specified, the WSP file(s) will be updated and not retracted and redeployed (if the WSP does not exist in the Farm then this parameter has no effect).
52 .Parameter AllWebApplications
53 If specified, the WSP file(s) will be deployed to all Web Applications in the Farm (if applicable).
54 .Parameter WebApplication
55 Specifies the Web Application(s) to deploy the WSP file to.
56 .Link
57 Get-Content
58 Get-SPSolution
59 Add-SPSolution
60 Install-SPSolution
61 Update-SPSolution
62 Uninstall-SPSolution
63 Remove-SPSolution
64 #>
65 [CmdletBinding(DefaultParameterSetName="FileOrDirectory")]
66 param (
67 [Parameter(Mandatory=$true, Position=0, ParameterSetName="Xml")]
68 [ValidateNotNullOrEmpty()]
69 [xml]$Config,
70
71 [Parameter(Mandatory=$true, Position=0, ParameterSetName="FileOrDirectory")]
72 [ValidateNotNullOrEmpty()]
73 [string]$Identity,
74
75 [Parameter(Mandatory=$false, Position=1, ParameterSetName="FileOrDirectory")]
76 [switch]$UpgradeExisting,
77
78 [Parameter(Mandatory=$false, Position=2, ParameterSetName="FileOrDirectory")]
79 [switch]$AllWebApplications,
80
81 [Parameter(Mandatory=$false, Position=3, ParameterSetName="FileOrDirectory")]
82 [Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell.SPWebApplicationPipeBind[]]$WebApplication
83 )
84 function Block-SPDeployment($solution, [bool]$deploying, [string]$status, [int]$percentComplete) {
85 do {
86 Start-Sleep 2
87 Write-Progress -Activity "Deploying solution $($solution.Name)" -Status $status -PercentComplete $percentComplete
88 $solution = Get-SPSolution $solution
89 if ($solution.LastOperationResult -like "*Failed*") { throw "An error occurred during the solution retraction, deployment, or update." }
90 if (!$solution.JobExists -and (($deploying -and $solution.Deployed) -or (!$deploying -and !$solution.Deployed))) { break }
91 } while ($true)
92 sleep 5
93 }
94 switch ($PsCmdlet.ParameterSetName) {
95 "Xml" {
96 # An XML document was provided so iterate through all the defined solutions and call the other parameter set version of the function
97 $Config.Solutions.Solution | ForEach-Object {
98 [string]$path = $_.Path
99 [bool]$upgrade = $false
100 if (![string]::IsNullOrEmpty($_.UpgradeExisting)) {
101 $upgrade = [bool]::Parse($_.UpgradeExisting)
102 }
103 $webApps = $_.WebApplications.WebApplication
104 Deploy-SPSolutions -Identity $path -UpgradeExisting:$upgrade -WebApplication $webApps -AllWebApplications:$(($webApps -eq $null) -or ($webApps.Length -eq 0))
105 }
106 break
107 }
108 "FileOrDirectory" {
109 $item = Get-Item (Resolve-Path $Identity)
110 if ($item -is [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]) {
111 # A directory was provided so iterate through all files in the directory and deploy if the file is a WSP (based on the extension)
112 Get-ChildItem $item | ForEach-Object {
113 if ($_.Name.ToLower().EndsWith(".wsp")) {
114 Deploy-SPSolutions -Identity $_.FullName -UpgradeExisting:$UpgradeExisting -WebApplication $WebApplication
115 }
116 }
117 } elseif ($item -is [System.IO.FileInfo]) {
118 # A specific file was provided so assume that the file is a WSP if it does not have an XML extension.
119 [string]$name = $item.Name
120
121 if ($name.ToLower().EndsWith(".xml")) {
122 Deploy-SPSolutions -Config ([xml](Get-Content $item.FullName))
123 return
124 }
125 $solution = Get-SPSolution $name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
126
127 if ($solution -ne $null -and $UpgradeExisting) {
128 # Just update the solution, don't retract and redeploy.
129 Write-Progress -Activity "Deploying solution $name" -Status "Updating $name" -PercentComplete -1
130 $solution | Update-SPSolution -CASPolicies:$($solution.ContainsCasPolicy) `
131 -GACDeployment:$($solution.ContainsGlobalAssembly) `
132 -LiteralPath $item.FullName
133
134 Block-SPDeployment $solution $true "Updating $name" -1
135 Write-Progress -Activity "Deploying solution $name" -Status "Updated" -Completed
136
137 return
138 }
139
140 if ($solution -ne $null) {
141 #Retract the solution
142 if ($solution.Deployed) {
143 Write-Progress -Activity "Deploying solution $name" -Status "Retracting $name" -PercentComplete 0
144 if ($solution.ContainsWebApplicationResource) {
145 $solution | Uninstall-SPSolution -AllWebApplications -Confirm:$false
146 } else {
147 $solution | Uninstall-SPSolution -Confirm:$false
148 }
149 #Block until we're sure the solution is no longer deployed.
150 Block-SPDeployment $solution $false "Retracting $name" 12
151 Write-Progress -Activity "Deploying solution $name" -Status "Solution retracted" -PercentComplete 25
152 }
153
154 #Delete the solution
155 Write-Progress -Activity "Deploying solution $name" -Status "Removing $name" -PercentComplete 30
156 Get-SPSolution $name | Remove-SPSolution -Confirm:$false
157 Write-Progress -Activity "Deploying solution $name" -Status "Solution removed" -PercentComplete 50
158 }
159
160 #Add the solution
161 Write-Progress -Activity "Deploying solution $name" -Status "Adding $name" -PercentComplete 50
162 $solution = Add-SPSolution $item.FullName
163 Write-Progress -Activity "Deploying solution $name" -Status "Solution added" -PercentComplete 75
164
165 #Deploy the solution
166
167 if (!$solution.ContainsWebApplicationResource) {
168 Write-Progress -Activity "Deploying solution $name" -Status "Installing $name" -PercentComplete 75
169 $solution | Install-SPSolution -GACDeployment:$($solution.ContainsGlobalAssembly) -CASPolicies:$($solution.ContainsCasPolicy) -Confirm:$false
170 Block-SPDeployment $solution $true "Installing $name" 85
171 } else {
172 if ($WebApplication -eq $null -or $WebApplication.Length -eq 0) {
173 Write-Progress -Activity "Deploying solution $name" -Status "Installing $name to all Web Applications" -PercentComplete 75
174 $solution | Install-SPSolution -GACDeployment:$($solution.ContainsGlobalAssembly) -CASPolicies:$($solution.ContainsCasPolicy) -AllWebApplications -Confirm:$false
175 Block-SPDeployment $solution $true "Installing $name to all Web Applications" 85
176 } else {
177 $WebApplication | ForEach-Object {
178 $webApp = $_.Read()
179 Write-Progress -Activity "Deploying solution $name" -Status "Installing $name to $($webApp.Url)" -PercentComplete 75
180 $solution | Install-SPSolution -GACDeployment:$gac -CASPolicies:$cas -WebApplication $webApp -Confirm:$false
181 Block-SPDeployment $solution $true "Installing $name to $($webApp.Url)" 85
182 }
183 }
184 }
185 Write-Progress -Activity "Deploying solution $name" -Status "Deployed" -Completed
186 }
187 break
188 }
189 }
190}
When it comes to using the function I believe the help documentation speaks for itself so I won’t reiterate it here.
As always, I’m open to suggestions as to how to improve this function so please leave a comment if you find something wrong or have a suggestion for making it better.
-Gary