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Silently installing Portal for ArcGIS

Portal for ArcGIS can be installed without a user interface by running the setup using Windows Installer command line parameters.

Note:

Upgrading to 10.4.1? For more information, see About upgrading Portal for ArcGIS.

How to prepare to install Portal for ArcGIS

  1. Verify that your site meets the minimum system requirements. For more information, see system requirements.
  2. Log in as a user with administrative privileges.
  3. Open the ports as described in Ports used by Portal for ArcGIS.
  4. Close all noncritical applications on your server.
  5. Run the installation commands as described below.

Install Portal for ArcGIS silently

The following are the Windows Installer command line parameters to be used when installing Portal for ArcGIS silently. Use these commands to specify the installation location of Portal for ArcGIS or your portal's content directory.

  • INSTALLDIR=<installation location>

    This property allows you to specify the installation location of Portal for ArcGIS from the command line. If you do not set this property, the default installation location of C:\Program Files\ArcGIS\Portal is used.

  • CONTENTDIR=<installation location content>

    This property allows you to specify the portal's content directory. The location you specify must be a local directory; you cannot choose a shared network directory. This is because the Portal for ArcGIS service is configured to run under Windows' native LocalSystem account by default. The LocalSystem account cannot access network locations. For more information, see The Portal for ArcGIS account. If you do not set this property, the default installation location of C:\arcgisportal is used.

For example:

<path to the Portal for ArcGIS setup download>\setup.exe /qb INSTALLDIR=C:\myportal CONTENTDIR=C:\arcgisportal

Configuring the Portal for ArcGIS account using command line parameters

The Portal for ArcGIS account must be configured when Portal for ArcGIS is installed silently. For production systems, it is recommended that you designate a preexisting account that resides in your domain or Active Directory and follows your organization's security policy. If command line parameters are not used to configure the Portal for ArcGIS account during silent installations, the account will be set to the Local System account. This is primarily for the convenience of quickly installing Portal for ArcGIS.

Use the command line parameters below to configure the Portal for ArcGIS account.

Passing Portal for ArcGIS account credentials directly

Caution:

If the Portal for ArcGIS account is not defined during a silent (/qb) installation, or the credentials are not valid, the Portal for ArcGIS setup displays a warning message during installation. The message can be closed by clicking OK. Under these circumstances, the Portal for ArcGIS account is set to the Local System account.

  • USER_NAME=<operating system account>

    The account can be a domain account or a local account. If you are using a domain account, it must already exist. If you are using a local account, the account will be created if it does not already exist. If the account is not valid, a message box will appear during installation indicating the account and/or password is invalid.

  • PASSWORD=<account password>

    Password for the account specified for the USER_NAME parameter. If the password is not valid, a message box will appear during installation indicating the account and/or password is invalid.

For example:

Using a domain account

<path to the Portal for ArcGIS setup download>\setup.exe /qb USER_NAME=mydomain\mydomainaccount PASSWORD=my.password

Using a new or existing local account

<path to the Portal for ArcGIS setup download>\setup.exe /qb USER_NAME=myaccount PASSWORD=my.password

Caution:

Command line parameters are case sensitive. If you are having trouble getting your command line installation working, confirm the case matches the properties as shown in the examples.

Importing Portal for ArcGIS account credentials using a portal configuration file

The two command line parameters below must be used together to import Portal for ArcGIS account credentials using a portal configuration file.

  • ACCOUNT=UseConfigFile

    Use the ACCOUNT command line parameter exactly as shown above. There are no other valid values for this property.

  • CONFIGPATH=<full path and name of portal configuration file>

    Used in conjunction with ACCOUNT=UseConfigFile, this property allows you to specify the portal configuration file that will be used to configure the Portal for ArcGIS account. Portal configuration files are created by exporting a portal configuration file when installing Portal for ArcGIS (earlier installations or from other machines).

For example:

<path to the Portal for ArcGIS setup download>\setup.exe /qb ACCOUNT=UseConfigFile CONFIGPATH=\\networkmachine\portalconfigs\standardaccount.xml

Caution:

Command line parameters are case sensitive. If you are having trouble getting your command line installation working, confirm the case matches the properties as shown in the examples.

Exporting Portal for ArcGIS account credentials to a portal configuration file

Note:

When exporting a portal configuration file to a network share, the Local System account on the machine where Portal for ArcGIS is being installed must have write permissions to the network share. For example, if you're installing Portal for ArcGIS on a machine named Quick, the Local System account on Quick must have write permission to the network share. If the permissions are not set, the portal configuration file may not be exported successfully. If you are unsure how to correctly set permissions for the network share, contact your system administrator or export the portal configuration file locally and copy it to the network share.

The two command line parameters below must be used together to export Portal for ArcGIS account credentials to a portal configuration file.

  • EXPORTCONFIG=Yes

    Use this property to export the account information entered with the USER_NAME and PASSWORD command line parameters. The account information will be stored in an encrypted XML file, known as a portal configuration file. This property is set to No by default.

  • CONFIGPATH=<full path and name of portal configuration file>

    Used in conjunction with EXPORTCONFIG=Yes, this property allows you to define the name of the portal configuration file and the location where it will be stored. The file name must end with .xml and the specified folder must already exist. If the file does not have an .xml extension and the specified directory does not already exist, the portal configuration file creation may not be successful.

For example:

<path to the Portal for ArcGIS setup download>\setup.exe /qb EXPORTCONFIG=Yes CONFIGPATH=\\networkmachine\portalconfigs\standardaccount.xml

Caution:

Command line parameters are case sensitive. If you are having trouble getting your command line installation working, confirm the case matches the properties as shown in the examples.