This article discusses automating the deployment and installation of the PaperCut application server on multiple servers. It is intended to be read by administrators will be installed automatically on multiple independent servers (e.g. administrators of state or district-wide networks). This article is not applicable to most installations where PaperCut installed once on an organization's network.

For information about automating the client deployment using methods such as zero-install, please consult the application manual. There is also a section about automating a secondary print server installation.

PaperCut has been deployed on a state-wide and district-wide basis in a number of regions. Some of these deployments have involved a progressive or simultaneous roll-out across thousands of sites and networks. PaperCut provides a number of automated and pre-configured install mechanisms to help maintain a common and consistent server environment. This includes:

• Installer command-line options to define install paths, install options, and automatically trigger installation without the need for an interactive setup.exe wizard.
• The ability automatically install the license during the install process.
• A mechanism to automatically pre-populate the configuration wizard with various defaults such as costs, user import settings, etc.

Installer Command-Line Options

The following batch file will automatically start the PaperCut NG installer installing into C:\Applications

do-install.bat

  
    REM Installing PaperCut
    pcng-setup.exe /TASKS="full" /SILENT /DIR="c:\Applications" 
    REM Installation complete.  
    REM Open browser to http://localhost:9191/ to complete configuration.
    pause
  

Some other commandline switches include:

License Install

If the supplied digitally signed license file is renamed to application.license and placed in the same directory as the pcng-setup.exe installer program, the file will be detected and automatically installed. This is useful as it avoids the need to manually install the license after initial configuration.

Default Configuration

After PaperCut NG is installed for the first time (this does not apply to upgrades) and the browser is opened for the first time on port 9191, the system will enter the initial configuration wizard. The configuration wizard can be pre-populated avoiding the need to complete the full wizard. Instead the user is taken directly to the final Verify screen.

To pre-populate the setup wizard, create a plain text file called setup-defaults.properties in the same directory as the pcng-setup.exe installer program. Use the following file format to define the defaults:

setup-defaults.properties

   

   # 
   # The default admin password. This may also be defined using
   #    the one-way hashed format as seen in the server.properties file in an
   #    existing install.
   #
   admin-password=testing

   #
   # Set to Y if the print control module should be enabled.
   #
   enable-print-module=Y

   #
   # Set to Y if the internet control module should be enabled.
   #
   enable-net-module=N

   #
   # The default page cost defined intially on all printers.
   #    Set if the print control module is enabled.
   #
   print-default-page-cost=0.10

   #
   # The default internet cost per Mb.
   #    Set if the Internet control module is enabled.
   #
   net-default-mb-cost=

   #
   # The default internet time cost.
   #    Set if the Internet control module is enabled.
   #
   net-default-time-cost=

   #
   # The default internet time interval in seconds.
   #    Set if the Internet control module is enabled.
   #
   net-time-interval-seconds=

   #
   # The starting credit assigned to all users.
   #
   initial-user-credit=10.00

   #
   # Set to Y if all users should be initially restricted.
   #
   users-initially-restricted=Y

   #
   # Define the user import/sync source.  Options include:
   #   WIN_AD   = Windows Active Directory
   #   WIN_STD  = Windows Standard
   #   UNIX_PAM = Unix Standard
   #   MAC_PAM  = Mac Standard
   #
   user-sync-source-type=WIN_STD

   #
   # Set to Y if users should be imported from a group rather than
   #    the whole domain (default).
   #
   user-sync-import-from-group=N

   #
   # The name of the import group.  Set only if the import-from-group
   #    option is selected.
   user-sync-source-group=

   #
   # If the user source type is WIN_AD, this option may be used to
   #    define multiple domains as user sources.  This value should be
   #    a semicolon (;) separated list of domains.  e.g.
   #        mydomain1.com;mydomain2.com
   #
   user-sync-ad-multiple-domains=

   #
   # Set to Y if the configuration wizard will be displayed at the last screen
   #    ready for the user/admin to press the Finish button.
   jump-to-verify-page=Y

   #
   # Set to Y if the Back/Previous button should be disabled.  This
   #    will prevent the installer from being able to changing the 
   #    defaults in the configuration wizard.  This should be used in
   #    conjunction with the jump-to-verify-page option.
   disable-back-button=N

Please feel free to contact our development team if you have any questions, comments or require further configuration options.

Categories: Implementation, Deployment

keywords: silent install, push install, automatic