Not all options in the unattend file are documented

[njpaul]

We are trying to automate the installation of Azure DevOps Server 2019. Not all of the configuration options in the unattend INI file are documented, nor are they all generated with /create. Unlike SQL Server, the INI file does not appear to be generated as part of the installation process.

For instance, trying to configure the search and the first error I get is about the undocumented ElasticsearchUser and ElasticsearchPassword options not being set. It's was simple enough to add them, but then I encounter another error regarding the location of the search index. I cannot find the name of the option for configuring that location. Same with the checkbox for accepting the Azul Zulu terms of service for installing Java - although in production Java will be installed separately.

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Document Details

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• ID: da9e0f8a-b291-2b56-482e-36a47d79a73e
• Version Independent ID: 36c2d859-eafd-21b2-d693-77ee525b77d1
• Content: Perform an unattended install - Azure DevOps Server
• Content Source: docs/install/unattended.md
• Product: devops-server
• Technology: tfs-admin
• GitHub Login: @aaronhallberg
• Microsoft Alias: kaelli

[LairdWilliams]

Agree that this is a huge issue with the unattended stuff. That said, we were able to peel apart the property names used in one of the DLLs and get "ExistingSearchServiceUrl" as the correct parameter to use for when you have elasticsearch running on a separate server. Here is the relevant (redacted) block from our INI file:

; Configure Search in Azure DevOps deployment.
ConfigureSearch=True
ExistingSearchServiceUrl=
ElasticsearchUser=
ElasticsearchPassword=
; To enable code search on all collections (does not impact wiki or WI search)
EnableSearchOnAllCollections=True

[njpaul]

I've finally had occasion to revisit this. Thanks @LairdWilliams for the info about looking into the DLLs to try to unravel the config options. I found a "SearchIndexFolder" backing field in Microsoft.TeamFoundation.Admin.dll. Sounds like what I want, but I get the error "Input SearchIndexFolder is not a valid input name."

I think I'll give AutoIt a try. If that doesn't work out, I guess I'll fall back to documenting configuration using our change control software instead of version control, in which case I believe I can use the "clone" option of "TfsConfig unattend" to copy configuration changes around.

[njpaul]

Today I discovered that the search index location setting name in the unattend file is "IndexLocation".