WiX installer added

[NickMRamirez]

Adds 64-bit and 32-bit MSI installers.

Installers do the following:

• Adds entry to Program and Features
• Can be installed from the command line: msiexec /i Redis-Windows-x64.msi
• Can be installed by double-clicking MSI
• Creates a Windows service for Redis that runs as NetworkService
• Adds an exception to the Windows firewall for Redis service
• Copies Redis executables and documentation to Program Files

Outstanding issues:

WiX binaries are included here in the source. Further discussion needed about why this might not be desired. Submitting it this way for now so as not to hold anybody up on accepting this pull request if binaries in the source are okay.

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[orangemocha]

Thank you @NickMRamirez for contributing this pull request!

A WiX installer would certainly be a useful addition. I reviewed the proposed changes and I think that - while this in the right direction - there are some issues that would need to be addressed before we can accept this contribution:

1. The 32-bit part should be removed (both the redis 32-bit project and the installer). With version 2.8.9 we dropped support for 32-bit (so that we could focus our limited resources on the most common usage scenario). It’s possible that we will decide to bring 32-bit back at some point, but that will require more testing and should be done outside of the context of this PR.
2. The installer currently doesn’t have any UI dialogs that would help the user control the process (or give feedback). At a minimum, it would need the following dialogs:
   a. A way to accept a license agreement
   b. A way to customize the installation folder
   c. A way (checkbox) to control the firewall exception. Currently the user is not informed that this happening and it might open some security risks to do it silently.
   d. Confirmation of completion/success at the end
3. As you pointed out, including the WiX binaries in the source tree is not the most desirable option. A better option would be to list this as a pre-requisite in the readme. (In an ideal world, we would have a script to check for installed pre-requisites and download them, but this is probably overkill now as our list of prerequisites is very small).
4. I am not convinced that installing Redis as a service with the default/sample configuration will make the user’s life easier, if then the user needs to go stop the service, edit the configuration file, and start the service in order to enable any useful scenarios and/or avoid port conflicts. Can we think of a better way to do this? At best, this should be an optional step.
5. When I tested this on my machine, the installation folder did not get removed after uninstalling.

Thanks,
Alexis (MS Open Tech)

[NickMRamirez]

I'll update it soon, possibly this weekend. For #4, which config settings can we default and which should the installer ask for? I think it's better to at least default some things. What settings would a user most likely change when they first install? For #5, can you give more information about the steps you took to install (OS, for example)?

[orangemocha]

Thanks @NickMRamirez !

I suppose that for service default settings, the redis.windows.conf that comes as a sample is a good starting point. I am wondering if there are any settings specific to running as a service that would justify creating a separate redis.service.conf. The only one I can think of is logfile (for a service, we don't want to log to stdout, but rather to a file in the same directory). But your installer already overrides the logfile option, correct?

For #5, I just ran the installer on Windows 8.1 64-bit, then uninstalled from "Programs & Features".

[orangemocha]

Adding a minor suggestion:
6. Currently the wix project redises under RedisWindowsX64, which is not very explanatory. I would put that under a "msi" directory.

[NickMRamirez]

I have made the following changes to the WiX setup:

• Moved in a folder called "msi"
• Added a user-interface that lets the user accept the EULA, set the install directory, update the port and opt out of the firewall exception
• Added a new WiX custom action project that's used by the installer to update the redis.windows.conf file with the port that the user set in the installer
• Updated the Word doc in the install folder to explain how the MSI setup works
• Removed the x64 MSI
• Removed the WiX binaries

Tested on:

• Windows 8.1 x64
• Windows 7 x64
• Windows Server 2012 R2 x64
  --> install via the UI and via command-line worked, as well as uninstall. Note that the install folder will not be removed if you have a file open that's in that folder, such as might happen if you have a command prompt open to the CLI tool.

Changes I did not make (since I didn't know the best way to do it):

• Update the README to explain where to get the MSI and how to use it in a silent install
• Update the README about the WiX binaries dependency (WiX can be downloaded form wixtoolset.org)

Command-line usage:

default install (port 6379 and firewall exception ON):
msiexec /i Redis-Windows-x64.msi
set port and turn OFF firewall exception:
msiexec /i Redis-Windows-x64.msi PORT=1234 FIREWALL_ON=""
set port and turn ON firewall exception:
msiexec /i Redis-Windows-x64.msi PORT=1234 FIREWALL_ON=1
install with no user interface:
msiexec /quiet /i Redis-Windows-x64.msi

[NickMRamirez]

Forgot to mention, about the logfile, if it's a good default, would it make sense to default it in the redis.windows.conf file? Not programmatically by the MSI?

[orangemocha]

Forgot to mention, about the logfile, if it's a good default, would it make sense to default it in the redis.windows.conf file? Not programmatically by the MSI?

redis.windows.conf is a port of the sample redis.conf that ships with antirez\redis. I feel it would be best to keep it in line with redis.conf as much as possible, while adding documentation for windows-specific config options.

So if such redis.windows.conf doesn't fit the usage scenario of a service installation, I would rather add a redis.service.conf for that purpose.

[NickMRamirez]

Added service config file

[orangemocha]

Landed in 199eb9f, with a few additional tweaks.

Thank you, @NickMRamirez, great work !