2013 deployment creation fails

[patricks]

Trying to create a deployment for 2013 using the new option to use a custom Revit.ini file, and am running into the same issues as this (unsolved) thread from 2012 about errors saying "Copy function cannot be used" or some such nonsense.

http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?130769-Can-t-create-Building-Design-Suite-2012-deployment!

To get started I downloaded all the 2013 installation files from Subscription Center to my local hard drive to avoid bogging down our server. I ran the installation on my local machine (Win7 x64) and everything went just fine, no problems.

Next I copied all the downloaded 2013 content to a central location on the server.

Then I opened Revit 2013 and got it configured as needed with all the file locations and other options set up.

I followed this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QgVxfpsPoA and saved a Custom version of the Revit.ini file with all the settings, created a Content folder on the server, and changed all the file paths in the INI file to the Content folder. I thought I should set all the paths to the central 2013 Content location on the server. But when the deployment failed there I tried again with all the paths set as in the video with an empty Content folder in the same directory as the custom INI file.

After starting the deployment creation process, I get errors about copy function cannot be used, and the deployment creation fails.

Is there an issue with using installation files on my own hard drive and trying to create the deployment image on the server?

[patricks]

Has anyone else had success with Revit 2013 64-bit deployment creation? I want to try creating the deployment directly on the server, but I'm trying to figure out how to get the files from my workstation to the server. Downloading takes forever and bogs down our network. Transferring the files also royally bogs down our network and usually fails.

[patricks]

Just tried burning all the install files to a DVD, essentially creating a Revit 2013 install DVD. I stuck it into our server and tried creating a deployment directly from the DVD on the server itself. It got as far as 5 of 29 items remaining in the deployment creation, where it was copying the Revit program itself I think, and it told me to insert disk "Revit Architecture 2013". Made no sense to me as the DVD already in there WAS a Revit 2013 install disc. But it would not get past that error so I cancelled.

So now I'm copying all those install files from the DVD to a folder on the server (which is all the same files that were downloaded to my workstation), and next I'll try creating a deployment directly on the server using local files already contained there on the same HDD.

We are running Windows Server 2003 SBS x86. Can it still create a 64-bit deployment? It did let me choose the 64-bit option and didn't throw up any error in that regard.

If THAT doesn't work then I guess I'll just go around to every workstation with that 2013 install DVD, either that or download the 2013 EXE file from Autodesk to the server late at night when no one else is working, and then install and configure manually on each workstation. That's how I've always done it in the past. Good thing we only have 5 licenses.

[patricks]

Got the deployment to work Friday by creating the deployment directly on the server, from files stored on the server.

However just as I suspected, the custom INI file has to have "matching" paths specified or the deployment creation fails. I did this, ran the deployment on one machine, and of course it has all the wrong paths specified.

:banghead:

[heath.simone]

I've been having a lot of issues with this also.

I've found i can create a deployment image with NO Content selected and the files are locally stored on the machine i'm directly logged into (it didn't like me using remote desktop). I currently can't download any content to place on our network share - Autodesk are supposably going to send this to me.

I was getting the same copy issues on a Windows 7 64bit machine when i was trying to create a AutoCAD 2012 image from the Building Design Suite 2012. Autodesks solution of using a Windows XP (http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=16800261&linkID=16831209) didn't work for me or our supplier - I created a Vista 32bit machine but was getting Write Protection Errors when running the wizard from the USB pendrive and ended up copying all 65gb to the local machine and running it from there which worked.

What do you mean by matching paths?

I'm currently in my vbs script creating a user enviromental variable to set the script path as the global install location: i.e.
#==================== Global MSI Properties
ADMIN_IMAGE_LOCATION=%ADESK_INSTALL%

So regardless of which server the program is installed from the correct path is always used.

[patricks]

Well I tried it again with all the content paths set to our network location where I copied all the 2013 content, including family templates. In the past I have always downloaded content to each machine and had each machine reference the templates locally for families, but this time I'm trying to have all machines reference templates stored on the server.

I also had the Project Path set to users\public\documents, and the deployment creation still completed successfully. So I'm about to run it on one machine and see if it will work.

Still not sure if the deployment is going to actually download content to the workstation, though. I swear this stuff is still confusing and their documentation on this stuff is no help at all.

[heath.simone]

You will want to make sure that although no content is select you remove the extra information from the content xml files.

If you can wait till Sunday for you, i'll post up the xml files with non of the content information there, so there is no possibility of the content being installed locally.

If you want to try yourself it's the same as 2012 - i don't have the links on hand or the files so i'm going off memory but if you go i think to content/revit you will see the master.rac.xml, master.rme.xml, master.rst.xml files open those with a text editor like Notepad++ and you will see i think <content_data> then below that another series of <content tag> (don't remember the name) with a web address looking thing followed by </content tag> then </content_data>. All you need to do is delete all the content tags between the two content_data tags.

Again i'll post up the files so you can see on Sunday (my monday) when i'm back at work.

I tend to alter the ini files in the image deployment after the image has been created as i like to verify it's all correct.

Are you using this image on a single server or will it be used on multiple?

Edit: So my work proxy won't let me upload a file here. All you need to do is remove all the content between the <ContentPacks>
</ContentPacks> xml tags, as below.

,<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16" standalone="no"?>
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="http://manaechelp/schemas/cp/2012/master.xslt"?>
<!--(C) Copyright Autodesk, Inc. 1998-2011. All rights reserved.-->
<DocumentRoot xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="master.xsd">
<URL>http://revit.downloads.autodesk.com/download/2013RAC_RTM</URL>
<GroupOrder>English;Other English</GroupOrder>
<ContentPacks>
</ContentPacks>
</DocumentRoot>

[hermeytheelf]

I had the same file copy error when I tried to create deployments. I was using the Ultimate Building Design Suite image. I was logged onto a Windows 7 VM, connected via RDP. I was creating the deployment to a remote server on our domain. I am an admin on both the workstation and the server.
Rather than go down the xp64 route (which didn't even work for you, patricks) I chose to use the trial download of Revit http://usa.autodesk.com/revit/trial/ and was able to create my deployment without the file copy error :-)
This worked without getting any of the errors from windows.
Another thing I did was put all of the content up on a network location prior to creating a deployment. My deployment is using a custom .ini file that points to this location and when prompted by the deployment wizard, I chose the option to not overwrite the content that it saw already existed there. Running the deployment after its completion, I did not find that any of the content was copied locally which made me very happy.

[kyron.gustafson]

I had the same file copy error when I tried to create deployments. I was using the Ultimate Building Design Suite image. I was logged onto a Windows 7 VM, connected via RDP. I was creating the deployment to a remote server on our domain. I am an admin on both the workstation and the server.
Rather than go down the xp64 route (which didn't even work for you, patricks) I chose to use the trial download of Revit http://usa.autodesk.com/revit/trial/ and was able to create my deployment without the file copy error :-)
This worked without getting any of the errors from windows.
Another thing I did was put all of the content up on a network location prior to creating a deployment. My deployment is using a custom .ini file that points to this location and when prompted by the deployment wizard, I chose the option to not overwrite the content that it saw already existed there. Running the deployment after its completion, I did not find that any of the content was copied locally which made me very happy.

Installation will fail from Windows 7 64 bit workstation. Install deployment from Windows XP workstation (32 or 64 bit).

[hermeytheelf]

I have installed to many workstations without fail using this method. Pulls a license, all features work, even the customization works as long as the deployment does not get moved from one server to another.