To finalize the export and deployment story from the previous blog post, given that we were working in a high-availability environment with multiple servers. And for those who are familiar with BizTalk Server, we need to:
- Register in the BizTalk Server databases the assemblies only once in any of the servers – this was done with the previous PowerShell script: Install and register assemblies in a BizTalk Application with PowerShell (Part II)
- We need to install the assemblies into the Global Assembly Cache (GAC) on all servers.
This is a relatively simple task to perform; it’s simpler because it doesn’t require following a strict installation order and is faster compared to registering the assemblies in the product database. You could also use the previous PowerShell script on those machines, but it is a heavier process, so, for the reasons explained before, on the other machines where you just need to install the DLLs in the GAC, it will be better to use a lightweight script.
📝 One-Minute Brief
This is a PowerShell script that goes to a folder containing assemblies and install them in the Global Assembly Cache (GAC).
We could do it in a bulk process and GAC the assemblies for all applications in a single script, but I chose to do it in a controlled fashion.
Here is a sample of the script:
# Collect DLLs
$files = Get-ChildItem -LiteralPath $SourceFolder -Filter *.dll -File -Recurse:$Recurse
if (-not $files -or $files.Count -eq 0) {
Write-Warning "No DLLs found in: $SourceFolder"
return
}
$results = @()
# Detect edition (Desktop == Windows PowerShell/.NET Framework)
$onDesktop = ($PSVersionTable.PSEdition -eq 'Desktop' -or $PSVersionTable.PSVersion.Major -le 5)
# Try .NET Framework Publish API first when on Desktop
$publisher = $null
if ($onDesktop) {
try {
[void][Reflection.Assembly]::Load("System.EnterpriseServices")
$publisher = New-Object System.EnterpriseServices.Internal.Publish
} catch {
Write-Warning "Could not create System.EnterpriseServices.Internal.Publish in this session. Will try gacutil.exe."
}
}
if ($publisher) {
foreach ($f in $files) {
try {
$publisher.GacInstall($f.FullName)
$results += [pscustomobject]@{ File=$f.FullName; Method="Publish.GacInstall"; Result="GACed" }
Write-Host "GACed: $($f.Name)" -ForegroundColor Green
} catch {
$results += [pscustomobject]@{ File=$f.FullName; Method="Publish.GacInstall"; Result="ERROR: $($_.Exception.Message)" }
Write-Warning "Failed: $($f.Name) -> $($_.Exception.Message)"
}
}
"`n===== SUMMARY ====="; $results | Format-Table -AutoSize
return
}
# Fallback: locate gacutil.exe
$gacutil = $null
$probeRoots = @(
'C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\Windows',
'C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio',
'C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows'
)
foreach ($root in $probeRoots) {
if (Test-Path $root) {
$found = Get-ChildItem -Path $root -Filter gacutil.exe -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
Sort-Object FullName -Unique |
Select-Object -First 1 -ExpandProperty FullName
if ($found) { $gacutil = $found; break }
}
}
if (-not $gacutil) {
throw @"
No valid GAC installer found:
- System.EnterpriseServices.Internal.Publish unavailable (likely PowerShell 7+ or missing .NET Framework)
- gacutil.exe not found in common SDK/VS locations
Fixes:
- Run in **Windows PowerShell 5.1** (x64) as Administrator; or
- Install Windows SDK / VS Build Tools to get **gacutil.exe**.
"@
}
Write-Host "Using gacutil: $gacutil" -ForegroundColor Cyan
foreach ($f in $files) {
try {
# Use Start-Process; do NOT pipe a null path (pre-validated above)
$p = Start-Process -FilePath $gacutil -ArgumentList @('/if', $f.FullName) -NoNewWindow -Wait -PassThru
if ($p.ExitCode -eq 0) {
$results += [pscustomobject]@{ File=$f.FullName; Method="gacutil /if"; Result="GACed" }
Write-Host "GACed: $($f.Name)" -ForegroundColor Green
} else {
$results += [pscustomobject]@{ File=$f.FullName; Method="gacutil /if"; Result="ERROR: ExitCode $($p.ExitCode)" }
Write-Warning "Failed: $($f.Name) -> ExitCode $($p.ExitCode)"
}
} catch {
$results += [pscustomobject]@{ File=$f.FullName; Method="gacutil /if"; Result="ERROR: $($_.Exception.Message)" }
Write-Warning "Failed: $($f.Name) -> $($_.Exception.Message)"
}
}
With this, all assemblies will be installed in the GAC within a few minutes.
Download
THIS POWERSHELL SCRIPT IS PROVIDED “AS IS”, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.
You can download the PowerShell Script used from GitHub here:
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