Wix Installer for CouchDB

WARNING: this MSI installer is very alpha at this point

In particular it may not handle uninstall correctly. Make sure you have backed up your couch data in a safe location. Your help in testing is appreciated

Purpose

This guide covers how to build an MSI install package, via WiX, for both Erlang R14B01 and higher, and also CouchDB.

Context

The current CouchDB installer based on InnoSetup has limitations for both upgrading and also managing large deployments in a standard Windows-like way.

MSI is the Microsoft-provided packaging tool for Windows. Key advantages are:

• installation of MSI packages in GUI, silent, or scripted modes
• Group Policy (GPO) deployments leveraging Active Directory membership
• advanced features such as firewall management, services and reg/file updates

WiX is the de-facto open-source toolset, used to build XML-based scripts that subsequently are compiled down to an MSI.

Requirements

The key requirements for the Erlang installer are:

• deploy bundled erlang binaries
• run "Install.exe -s" to install

What's been ignored:

• handling an existing, running Erlang application during (un)install
• the uninstaller needs to "epmd -kill" to avoid hanging due to stray epmd
• handling an upgrade to erts and libraries via upgrade
• setup of windows firewall to support epmd & other erlang functionality
• any service manipulation e.g. via erlsrv.exe
• removing reg entries on uninstall

The key requirements for the CouchDB installer are:

• deploy bundled CouchDB binaries
• run erlsrv.exe to set up CouchDB service
• edit local.ini to point data files to appropriate non-admin file locations
• update windows firewall with a valid exclusion for werl,erl,epmd
• play nicely with the erlang installation
• be able to be chained/merged into other people's installations for bundling

What's been ignored:

• removing reg entries on uninstall (other than calling erlsrv.exe)
• avoiding deleting your data, logfiles, & local.ini on uninstall
• so far your data should be safe, & the log, just not local.ini

What's needed?

You'll need to install a fresh build of CouchDB in its own directory for bundling. Don't run it, but go in & prune out database files & other crud.

    var/lib/couchdb/*
    var/log/couchdb/couch.log
    bin/erl.ini
    erts-5.8.2/bin/erl.ini

Lastly, convert etc/*.ini to PC/ANSI instead of UNIX file format.

Install the compiler wix and warsetup

TODO:

• add more detail on what happens next...
• how to setup warsetup to find your couchdb vanilla install
• testing & running the build

How to build it?

• made a basic installer using warsetup
• created a new CouchDB install banner
• created shortcuts for the wiki, couchdb project, futon admin interface

TODO:

• modify this base package with wix
• include firewall, running as a service
• include start menu icons, shortcuts + URLs
• figure out how to call custom actions using warsetup
• how can we set windows firewall where required?
• worry about UAC etc

Useful Links

No websites were irreparably harmed during the making of these notes but some were mightily abused:

WiX & Tools

• http://wix.codeplex.com/
• http://wix.sourceforge.net/
• http://wix.sourceforge.net/coretoolset.html
• http://wixedit.sourceforge.net/
• http://wix.sourceforge.net/votive.html

Freeware Tools

• http://warsetup.jgaa.com/

Commercial Tools

Many of the following offer a free variant:

• http://www.instedit.com/
• http://www.instyler.com/setup/default.aspx
• http://www.advancedinstaller.com/

MSI and WiX Tips & Tutorials

• http://www.codeproject.com/KB/install/WixTutorial.aspx
• http://www.tramontana.co.hu/wix/
• http://robmensching.com/blog/posts/2007/11/20/WiX-editors
• http://blogs.msdn.com/b/jrock/