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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:

If you're upgrading to 10.8.1, see About upgrading Portal for ArcGIS for more information.

Preparing to install Portal for ArcGIS

  1. Verify that your site meets the minimum system requirements.
  2. Log in to your machine 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.

Installing Portal for ArcGIS silently

The following are the Windows Installer command line parameters to use 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 the 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.

The following is an example location:

<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're using a domain account, it must already exist. If you're using a local account, the account will be created if it does not already exist. If the account is not valid, a message appears during installation indicating that the account or password is invalid.

  • MSA=TRUE

    This parameter should only be used with a Managed Service Account. A Managed Service Account must already exist on your domain. Do not use this parameter with a local account or a domain account with password. A Managed Service Account will not use the PASSWORD parameter.

  • PASSWORD=<account password>

    This is the password for the account specified for the USER_NAME parameter. If the password is not valid, a message appears during installation indicating that the account or password is invalid.

Examples are below.

Caution:

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

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

Using a Managed Service Account

<path to the Portal for ArcGIS setup download>\setup.exe /qb MSA=TRUE USER_NAME=mydomain\mymsa

Importing Portal for ArcGIS account credentials using a portal configuration file

The following two command line parameters 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).

The following is an 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 that 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 export successfully. If you're 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 following two command line parameters 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 is 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.

The following is an 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're having trouble getting your command line installation working, confirm that the case matches the properties as shown in the examples.

Using the createportal command line utility to create a portal

You can use the createportal command line utility to create a portal once Portal for ArcGIS has been installed. You can use the createportal utility in the following ways:

  • Run the createportal utility as an administrator from a command prompt and specify the first name, last name, user name, password, email, secret question, answer, and content directory parameters.
  • Provide a createportal.properties file containing specified parameters.

To use the createportal command line utility, run the createportal.bat script with -h or -help as follows:

<Portal for ArcGIS Installation Directory>\tools\createportal\createportal.bat -help

Example usage with the utility: createportal.bat [-fn <arg>] [-ln <arg>] [-u <arg>] [-p <arg>] [-e <arg>] [-qi <arg>] [-qa <arg>] [-d <arg>] [-lf <arg>] [-ut <arg>]

Example usage with a file: createportal.bat [-f <FILE>]

Note:

When you reference a path in the createportal.properties file, you need to escape the backslash, for example, C:\\arcgisportal or \\\\<Absolute path to>\\<portal arcgisportal>.

OptionDescription

-fn; --firstname

First name for an initial administrative account used to configure the portal.

Ensure that multiple-word entries are enclosed in quotes.

-ln; --lastname

Last name for an initial administrative account used to configure the portal.

Ensure that multiple-word entries are enclosed in quotes.

-u; --username

User name for an initial administrative account used to configure the portal.

The user name can be composed of numbers 0–9, the ASCII letters a–z and A–Z, and the dot character (.).

-p; --password

Password for the initial administrative account used to configure the portal.

The password can be composed of numbers 0–9, the ASCII letters a–z and A–Z, and the dot character (.).

-e; --email

Email address for an initial administrative account used to configure the portal.

-qi; --question

Index of the secret question to retrieve a forgotten password. Available questions with respective index numbers are as follows:

  • 1, What city were you born in?
  • 2, What was your high school mascot?
  • 3, What is your mother's maiden name?
  • 4, What was the make of your first car?
  • 5, What high school did you go to?
  • 6, What is the last name of your best friend?
  • 7, What is the middle name of your youngest sibling?
  • 8, What is the name of the street on which you grew up?
  • 9, What is the name of your favorite fictional character?
  • 10, What is the name of your favorite pet?
  • 11, What is the name of your favorite restaurant?
  • 12, What is the title of your favorite book?
  • 13, What is your dream job?
  • 14, Where did you go on your first date?

-qa; --answer

Answer to the secret question you chose for the parameter -qi .

Ensure that multiple-word entries are enclosed in quotes.

-d; --contentDirectory

Absolute path and name of the content directory used to store data hosted in the portal.

By default, the portal content directory is created locally at this location:

C:\arcgisportal

or

\\<Absolute path to>\<Content Directory>

-lf; --licenseFile

The path to the portal license file.

-ut; --userTypeId

The ID of the user type for the initial administrator.

This parameter is optional. To generate a list of compatible user types available to your organization for the -ut parameter, run the listadministratorusertypes utility. If a user type ID is not specified, and the portal license file contains a single compatible user type, that user type will be assigned. If the license file contains multiple compatible user types, a temporary user type will be assigned, and the initial administrator will have to select a user type after logging in.

-f; --file

The properties file for the createportal utility.

By default, the createportal.properties file can be found at this location:

<Portal for ArcGIS Installation Directory>/tools/createportal

-h; --help

Displays the command line help and exits.

The following is an example of the createportal.properties file:

#
# Portal for ArcGIS site creation properties
#
# First name for initial administrator account
PORTAL_ADMIN_FIRSTNAME = 
# Last name for initial administrator account
PORTAL_ADMIN_LASTNAME =
# User name for initial administrator account
# Can only have the numbers 0-9, the ASCII letters a-z, A-Z and the dot character (.)
PORTAL_ADMIN_USERNAME =
# Password for primary site administrator.
# Can only have the numbers 0-9, the ASCII letters a-z, A-Z and the dot character (.)
PORTAL_ADMIN_PASSWORD = 
# Initially, leave PORTAL_ADMIN_PASSWORD_ENCRYPTED set to false.
# When you run the tool the first time, the password will be
# encrypted and PORTAL_ADMIN_PASSWORD_ENCRYPTED will change to true
PORTAL_ADMIN_PASSWORD_ENCRYPTED = false
# E-mail address for initial administrator account
# e.g username@domain.com
PORTAL_ADMIN_EMAIL =
#This is the index of the secret question to retrieve a forgotten password. 
#The list of questions with their respective index numbers is as follows:
#1, What city were you born in ?"
#2, What was your high school mascot?"
#3, What is your mother's maiden name?"
#4, What was the make of your first car?"
#5, What high school did you go to?"
#6, What is the last name of your best friend?"
#7, What is the middle name of your youngest sibling?"
#8, What is the name of the street on which you grew up?"
#9, What is the name of your favorite fictional character?"
#10, What is the name of your favorite pet?"
#11, What is the name of your favorite restaurant?"
#12, What is the title of your favorite book?"
#13, What is your dream job?"
#14, Where did you go on your first date?");
PORTAL_ADMIN_SECURITY_QUESTION_INDEX =
# Answer to the secret question
# e.g \"My Answer\"
PORTAL_ADMIN_SECURITY_QUESTION_ANSWER =
# Portal content directory where portal will store default and user-generated content.
# By default, the portal content directory will be created locally. 
# e.g. C:\\arcgisportal, or \\\\<Absolute path to>\\<portal arcgisportal>
PORTAL_CONTENT_DIRECTORY =
# The path to the portal license file
PORTAL_LICENSE_FILE =
# The ID of the user type for the Initial Administrator
PORTAL_USER_TYPE_ID =

You will receive a message that the portal was created successfully before the tool exits.

Using the listadministratorusertypes command line utility to identify compatible user types

To identify a list of user type IDs licensed for your organization that are compatible with the Administrator role, run the listadministratorusertypes command line utility. This will provide a list of inputs for the -ut parameter in the createportal tool. Run the tool with -la as shown below, using the portal license file as the input:

<Portal for ArcGIS Installation Directory>\tools\createportal\listadministratorusertypes.bat

Example usage with the utility: listadministratorusertypes.bat [-la <arg>] or listadministratorusertypes.bat [--listadministratorusertypes <arg>]