TFS 2012 (RTM and newer) added a new tfsconfigure unattend command that supports unattended configuration of the server, build proxy, and SharePoint extensions. There’s now a new whitepaper available that explains it. While the paper is titled Unattended Installation of TFS 2012, it’s really unattended configuration.

Unattended Installation of TFS 2012

Introduction

Unattended install is a feature of Team Foundation Server that lets a user pre-set all configuration parameters for a desired TFS instance in advance. This allows TFS to be configured from start to finish without pausing for input from the Configuration Wizard during the process. Unattended Installation takes place via the command prompt. This paper describes the two commands through which it is performed: Create and Configure.

Who Should Use Unattended Install?

This feature is ideal for users who are very familiar with TFS and the configuration process, and whose environment divides TFS functions over many different machines. For example, many large-scale enterprise systems have several servers that are designated to builds. Unattended install allows an administrator to quickly kick off the Team Build installation process on these machines without having to supervise each one independently. Furthermore, since the configuration for each build server will likely be almost or completely identical, it should be easy to set each machine’s configuration parameters quickly.

Feature Overview

The unattended install feature can be used to configure all different instance types of TFS. These include: Basic, Standard, AT-Only, Build, Proxy, and SharePoint Extensions. To do this, you must determine in advance how the instance should be configured — usually by creating an .ini file and editing it — and then run the specified configuration in the command prompt. This paper covers both the Create command to make this file and the Configure command to actually run the configuration. It explains the different options, or parameters, for these commands and touches on a few scenarios that unattended install does not support.

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