Verba PowerShell Deployment Toolkit

The Verba PowerShell Deployment Toolkit simplifies the process of the Verba deployments and upgrades in large environments. The toolkit consists of two PowerShell files:

  • autoinstall.ps1 : Configurable PowerShell script for uninstalling, installing and upgrading Verba servers and components.
  • verba.psm1 : A PowerShell library which contains a collection of functions usable for Verba deployments. For the documentation of the functions see: Verba PowerShell Deployment Library

Preparations

Verba Prerequisites

The Verba PowerShell Deployment Toolkit does not install the prerequisites of the Verba services (Java, Visual C++, etc.) nor does the registration of the SfB/Lync Filter application in the SfB/Lync pool. These have to be done manually.

Deployment Toolkit Prerequisites

The CLR Types for Microsoft SQL Server 2014 (x64) and the SQL Server Shared Management Objects (x64) have to be installed on the machine where the script is started.

Group Memberships

The Windows User who runs the script (logged in to the server) must be added to the following local groups at all Verba serversIf Windows authentication is used for the SQL access, then the database user also have to be added to these groups at the Media Repository and/or Single Servers.

  • Administrators
  • Remote Management Users

CredSSP Authentication

If Windows authentication is used for the SQL access, then the CredSSP authentication has to be enabled on some of the servers.

The following command has to be executed on the Media Repository and/or Single Servers in order to enable CredSSP authentication in server mode:

Enable-WSManCredSSP -Role server

The following command has to be executed on the server where the script started in order to enable CredSSP authentication in client mode:

Enable-WSManCredSSP -Role client -DelegateComputer targetservername

*At the -DelegateComputer parameter the Media Repository and/or the Single Server hostname has to be provided. It accepts wildcard also ("*", "*.domain.com").

For more information about the CredSSP authentication see this article: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/reference/4.0/microsoft.wsman.management/enable-wsmancredssp

Database

If database mirroring is used, make sure that the primary database (based on the Verba configuration) is the principal!

Configuration

The Verba PowerShell Deployment Toolkit can be configured by editing the autoinstall.ps1 file. The configuration part can be found at the beginning of the file, between the "Configuration" and "End of configuration" lines. Edit the values of the following variables:

VariableDescriptionExample value
$pathA network folder which contains the Verba executables (VerbaRecording.msi, VerbaAdditionalRoles.msi). The network folder has to be accessible for the windows user which is used for running the script."\\storage\Verba\8.8\"
$tempPathFolder path for temporary files. This folder will be created on each server."C:\verba_install\"
$installpathVerba installation directory."C:\Program Files\Verba\"
$test

Tests the servers
The script test the following:

  • If the script can log into the server
  • If the Verba prerequisites are installed
  • If the server can reach the database server on the port 1433
  • If the database credentials are correct
  • Is there enough disk space
1
$uninstallSets whether the script will uninstall the specified servers. The script removes the Verba software, the registry set and the files from the server. This setting is ignored when $upgrade=1 is used.1
$install

Installs the Verba application on the servers. This setting is ignored when $upgrade=1 is used.

1
$upgrade

Sets whether the script will upgrade the specified servers. The upgrade involves the following process:

  • Backups the existing configuration in the registry and the list of activated Verba services.
  • Uninstalls the current Verba software.
  • Installs the new version using the executables specified at the $path value.
  • Restores the previously saved configuration (registry).
  • Activates and starts the Verba services based on the previous configuration.

If turned on, then the $uninstall, $install, $backupconfiguration and $restoreconfiguration values will be ignored.

1
$backupconfigurationBackups the list of the activated services and the registry from the servers. The filenames going to be hostnames of the servers. If the files already exist, the filename going to end with .bak. This setting is ignored when $upgrade=1 is used.1
$restoreconfigurationRestores the list of the activated services and the registry from the files named with the corresponding server hostnames. This setting is ignored when $upgrade=1 is used.1
$apiUsernameVerba API username.verbaapi
$apiPasswordVerba API password. 
$AdministratorUsernameVerba Administrator username.administrator
$AdministratorPasswordVerba Administrator password. 
$keepLogsSets whether the script should remove the log folder in case of uninstalling or upgrading.1
$resetApiPasswordSet to $true if you want to reset the API user's password. It is recommended when you are upgrading from 8.9.$false
$removeLegacyCertificateSettingsSet to $true if you want to delete old legacy certificate settings from the profiles. It is recommended when you are upgrading from 8.9.$true
$sslCertificate

The properties of the SSL certificate generated for the Media Repository or Single server. In case of multiple Media Repository server, this setting also has to be multiplied. ($sslCertificate1, $sslCertificate2, ...) Usage:

New-VerbaCertificateRequest  -Subject <string> [-SAN <string> -FirendlyName <string> -Country <string> -State <string> -City <string> -Organization <string> -OrganizationUnit <string>]

New-VerbaCertificateRequest  -Subject "testmr1.verbatest.local" -SAN "testm1, 10.4.0.12"
$servers

List of Verba servers and their role and certificate configuration.

Install server with legacy configuration without Advanced API
New-VerbaServer -FQDN <string> -Role <string> -UseLegacyAPI [<CommonParameters>]

Install server with Advanced API with existing certificate
New-VerbaServer -FQDN <string> -Role <string> -ServerCertThumbprint <string> [-UseAdvancedAPI] [<CommonParameters>]

Install server with Advanced API and generate Verba signed certificate
New-VerbaServer -FQDN <string> -Role <string> [-UseAdvancedAPI] [-GenerateCertificates] [-CA] [-CAFQDN <string>] [-CertificateRequest <CertificateRequest>] [-SSLCertifica
teRequest <CertificateRequest>] [<CommonParameters>]

Examples
Install server with legacy configuration without Advanced API
$servers = @(
(New-VerbaServer -FQDN "testmr2.verbatest.local" -Role MR -UseLegacyAPI -SSLCertificateRequest $sslCertificate),
(New-VerbaServer -FQDN "testrs1.verbatest.local" -Role RS -UseLegacyAPI)
}

Install 9.0 with Verba signed certificates
$servers = @(
(New-VerbaServer -FQDN "testmr1.verbatest.local" -Role MR -CA -UseAdvancedAPI -GenerateCertificates -SSLCertificateRequest $sslCertificate),
(New-VerbaServer -FQDN "testrs1.verbatest.local" -Role RS -CAFQDN "testmr1.verbatest.local" -UseAdvancedAPI -GenerateCertificates),
(New-VerbaServer -FQDN "testrs2.verbatest.local" -Role RS -CAFQDN "testmr1.verbatest.local" -UseAdvancedAPI -GenerateCertificates),
(New-VerbaServer -FQDN "testfe1sfb.verbatest.local" -Role LF -CAFQDN "testmr1.verbatest.local" -UseAdvancedAPI -GenerateCertificates),
(New-VerbaServer -FQDN "testfe2sfb.verbatest.local" -Role LF -CAFQDN "testmr1.verbatest.local" -UseAdvancedAPI -GenerateCertificates)
)

Install 9.0 with existing certificates
$servers = @(
(New-VerbaServer -FQDN "testmr1.verbatest.local" -Role MR -ServerCertThumbprint 7E3C477D6A308ADAAE1AA9E2C5AE8BE0744A6BD1 -UseAdvancedAPI -SSLCertificateRequest $sslCertificate),
(New-VerbaServer -FQDN "testrs1.verbatest.local" -Role RS -ServerCertThumbprint 7E3C477D6A308ADAAE1AA9E2C5AE8BE0744A6BD1 -UseAdvancedAPI),
(New-VerbaServer -FQDN "testrs2.verbatest.local" -Role RS -ServerCertThumbprint 7E3C477D6A308ADAAE1AA9E2C5AE8BE0744A6BD1 -UseAdvancedAPI),
(New-VerbaServer -FQDN "testfe1sfb.verbatest.local" -Role LF -ServerCertThumbprint 7E3C477D6A308ADAAE1AA9E2C5AE8BE0744A6BD1 -UseAdvancedAPI),
(New-VerbaServer -FQDN "testfe2sfb.verbatest.local" -Role LF -ServerCertThumbprint 7E3C477D6A308ADAAE1AA9E2C5AE8BE0744A6BD1 -UseAdvancedAPI)
)

 
$startupType

The startup type of the Verba services:

  • 0: Disabled
  • 1: Manual
  • 2: Automatic
  • 3: AutomaticDelayed
2
$windowsAuthSets whether Windows Authentication will be used for the SQL connection. If turned on, then the specified windows user will be used for all Verba services. If $sqlAuth is 0, then the windows user will be used for the SQL access. The user can be specified at the $windowsUser and $windowsPassword values.0
$windowsUsernameWindows username for the Verba services and SQL connection. In case of SfB/Lync Filter installation this account going to be used as service account."contoso\verba-service"
$windowsPasswordThe password of the windows user."P@ssw0rd"
$databaseHostThe hostname of the server where the Verba database hosted."SQLSERVER"
$databaseNameThe name of the Verba database."Verba"
$sqlAuthSets whether SQL Authentication will be used for the SQL connection. If turned on and $windowsAuth is 0, then all Verba services will run as Local System. The user can be specified at the $sqlUser and $sqlPassword values.1
$sqlUsernameSQL username for the SQL connection."verba-user"
$sqlPasswordThe password of the SQL user."P@ssw0rd"
$enableCouldModeSets whether cloud mode will be used for the Node Manager1
$mrPoolNameThe Media Repository pool name."testmr1"
$mrPortNumberThe port used at the Media Repository for the incoming registration requests.4432
$tokenPasswordThe password of the registration token."P@ssw0rd"

When the configuration is done, the script can be started.