Sitecore XP 9.1 Update 1 – Step by step Install Guide on your machine

Update (23-Jul-2019): for Sitecore 9.2 Initial Release (aka 9.2.0) installation, please have a look at this post

This one is a summary of my own experience with the Sitecore Experience Platform 9.1 Update 1 (aka Sitecore XP 9.1.1) installation on my machine. I’ve had much experience with Sitecore XP 9.0 and Sitecore XP 9.1 installations, so I decided to go only with:

• Installation Guide – On Premises(Thanks Sitecore team!)
  • Note: must log into https://dev.sitecore.net/before downloading

I do hope that this blog post is helpful for your own journey as well.

Note: personally, I wanted to use my own install directory rather than the default one

Setup Prerequisites

• Windows 10
• Windows PowerShell version 5.1 or later
• Sitecore License must have xDB enabled
• MS SQL Server 2016 SP2 or later
• .Net Framework 4.7.2 or later
• .Net Core 2.1 Runtime (v2.1.3)
• Web Deploy 3.6
• URL Rewrite 2.1
• SOLR 7.2.1
• Java Runtime Environment
• NSSM
• Sitecore Install Framework (SIF)1.0 or later
• Packages for XP Single (On Premises deployment)
  • Note: must log into https://dev.sitecore.net/before downloading
• ensure to enable the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol version 1.2

Step by step guide

1. create a new folder D:\sc911_install
2. install SOLR 7.2.1 if not yet
   • copy / paste install-solr.ps1 and helper.psm1 into D:\sc911_install
   • note 1: the original ones are from Sitecore.HabitatHome.Utilities
   • note 2: you may want to use your settings rather than default settings by opening install-solr.ps1 and editing the following ones:
   • 
   • open Windows PowerShell (run as administrator)
   • execute .\install-solr
3. (optional) install Sitecore Install Framework(SIF) if not yet
   • if you have never installed Sitecore 9 before, you will probably want to execute Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser Unrestricted
   • 
   • refer to 2.1 Installing the Installation Framework Module Using MyGet (Page 26) in Sitecore 9.1 Update 1 Installation Guide
   • open Windows PowerShell (run as administrator)
   • use the following commands to install the latest version of SIF
     1. Register-PSRepository -Name SitecoreGallery -SourceLocation https://sitecore.myget.org/F/sc-powershell/api/v2
     2. Install-Module SitecoreInstallFramework

4. (optional)if you already installed previous SIF versions, you would have upgraded it to a new version 2.1.0
   • open Windows PowerShell (run as administrator)
   • you should use the following command to get all the current SIF versions
     • Get-Module -Name SitecoreInstallFramework -ListAvailable
   • option 1: use the following command to update to the latest version of SIF
     • Update-Module SitecoreInstallFramework -force
   • option 2: use the following commands to remove the currents and then install the latest version of SIF
     • Uninstall-Module SitecoreInstallFramework -AllVersions
     • Install-Module SitecoreInstallFramework

5. enable Contained Database Authentication if not yet
   • refer to 1.6 Database Requirements (Page 09) in Sitecore 9.1 Update 1 Installation Guide
   • 
   • Note: you can download the query above here
6. download and unzip Package for XP Single – On Premises Deployment (Note: must log into https://dev.sitecore.net/ before downloading)
   • copy / paste the following ones to D:\sc911_install
     1. Sitecore 9.1.1 rev. 002459 (OnPrem)_single.scwdp.zip
     2. Sitecore 9.1.1 rev. 002459 (OnPrem)_xp0xconnect.scwdp.zip
     3. IdentityServer 2.0.1 rev. 00166 (OnPrem)_identityserver.scwdp.zip
   • unzip XP0 Configuration files 9.1.1 rev. 002459.zip and copy / paste all files to D:\sc911_install
   • 
7. override sitecore-XP0.json+ xconnect-xp0.json + IdentityServer.json + XP0-SingleDeveloper.json in order to inject the custom install directory
   • open raw and then copy / paste sitecore-XP0.json into D:\sc911_install\sitecore-XP0.json
   • open raw and then copy / paste xconnect-xp0.json into D:\sc911_install\xconnect-xp0.json
   • open raw and then copy / paste IdentityServer.json into D:\sc911_install\IdentityServer.json
   • open raw and then copy / paste XP0-SingleDeveloper.json into D:\sc911_install\XP0-SingleDeveloper.json
     • 

8. copy / paste your Sitecore licence file license.xml to D:\sc911_install
9. (optional)if you have never installed Sitecore 9 before, you will probably want to install the prerequisites
   • open Windows PowerShell (run as administrator)
   • execute Install-SitecoreConfiguration -Path .\prerequisites.json
10. download sc911_install.ps1 and copy / paste it to D:\sc911_install then open it to correct the following parameters:
    • (optional) $InstallDirectory (this one is to specify your own install directory)
      • Note: it’s “D:\websites\” by default, you should update it if the disk space is low
    • (optional) $Prefix
    • $SqlServer
    • $SqlAdminUser
    • $SqlAdminPassword
    • (optional)$SitecoreAdminPassword
      • Note: leave the example value “SIF-Default” unchanged, a random password is generated for you

11. open Windows PowerShell (run as administrator)
    • (optional)if you have various SIF versions on your machine, you will probably have to run 2.1.0 version of SIF by executing Import-Module SitecoreInstallFramework -Force -RequiredVersion 2.1.0
    • 
    • change directory to D:\sc911_install
    • execute .\sc911_install
    • 
12. hopefully there is nothing can stop the installation process and then note Sitecore Admin Password
    • 
13. open a browser:
    • navigate to http://sc911.local/to see the Sitecore default page
    • navigate to http://sc911.local/sitecore and then be redirected to https://sc911.identityserver.local/ (log into it by using account admin / Sitecore Admin Password)
    • 
14. DO NOT forget to perform Post-Installation Steps
    • follow Chapter 6 Sitecore XP Post-Installation Steps (Page 52 – 64) in Sitecore 9.1 Update 1 Installation Guide

How to uninstall it?

Option 1: using the uninstall function of SIF

• open D:\sc911_install\sc911_install.ps1 and uncomment the line 79 + comment out the line 76 then save it
• 
• open Windows PowerShell (run as administrator)
• change directory to D:\sc911_install
• execute .\sc911_install
• 

Option 2: using the custom script

• download sc911_uninstall.ps1 and put it into D:\sc911_install then open it to correct 07 parameters below:
  1. $Prefix
  2. $InstallDirectory
  3. $SolrService
  4. $PathToSolr
  5. $SqlServer
  6. $SqlAccount
  7. $SqlPassword
• open Windows PowerShell (run as administrator)
• change directory to D:\sc911_install
• execute .\sc911_uninstall
• 
• hopefully, it runs well and cleans everything up

Got issues?

Please send your issues (with screenshots if possible) to [email protected] so that I have a chance to understand your problem and be able to suggest a solution.

Happy Sitecore Experience Platform 9.1 Update 1 Installation!

This article originally appears on Walking on clouds.