Batch Mode

Batch Mode

Batch mode allows you to configure a server automatically from a JSON file, with no interactive prompts (except for passwords and domain credentials). Place a batch_config.json file next to the executable or script, and RackStack will detect and execute it on launch.

This is ideal for deploying multiple servers with identical or similar configurations, or for standardizing builds across sites.

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How It Works

1. Create a batch_config.json file (generate a template or export from a live server)
2. Edit the file with your target server's settings
3. Place it in the same folder as RackStack.exe or the .ps1 script
4. Run RackStack as Administrator -- it auto-detects the file and runs in batch mode
5. After completion, delete or rename the file to return to interactive mode

RackStack validates the config before executing. If there are errors (invalid IPs, out-of-range values, missing required fields), batch mode aborts with a clear error list. Warnings (e.g., missing hostname) are displayed but don't block execution.

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Generating a Batch Config

From the main menu, navigate to Settings > Batch Config Generator. You have two options:

Option	Description
Generate Blank Template	Creates a template with example values and help text for every field
Generate from Current Server State	Scans the running server and pre-fills all values from its live configuration

The "Generate from Current State" option is particularly useful for cloning -- configure one server interactively, export its state, then edit only the hostname and IP for each additional server.

Both options save to %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\batch_config.json by default, with an option to specify a custom path.

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ConfigType: HOST vs VM

The ConfigType field controls which steps are executed:

ConfigType	Use Case	Network Behavior	Extra Steps
VM	Virtual machines	Configures IP/DNS/gateway on the specified adapter	Steps 1-16, 23-24
HOST	Hyper-V hosts	Skips network config unless AdapterName is specified (build SET via GUI first)	All 24 steps, including role templates, DC promotion, SET, storage, MPIO, Defender, agents, cluster

Set ConfigType to HOST when configuring a bare-metal Hyper-V server. The host-specific steps (17-22) are only executed in HOST mode. Steps 23-24 (agents, cluster validation) run for both config types.

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Idempotency & Transaction Rollback (v1.8.0)

All 24 batch steps are idempotent -- re-running the same configuration safely skips steps that are already in the target state. Each step checks the current system state before making changes. The summary line shows changed / skipped / failed counts.

Transaction rollback: 11 reversible steps (hostname, IP, timezone, RDP, WinRM, firewall, power plan, local admin, vSwitch, vNICs, Defender) register undo actions as they succeed. If any step fails, batch mode prompts to roll back all completed changes. Non-reversible steps (feature installs, domain join, DC promotion, updates, shared storage) are noted as non-undoable.

A drift baseline is automatically saved after batch mode completes (see Drift Detection).

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All 24 Batch Steps

Batch mode processes steps sequentially. Set a value to null or false to skip that step.

Step	Field	Description	Idempotent	Undoable
1	Hostname	Rename the computer (requires reboot)	Yes	Yes
2	IPAddress, Gateway, SubnetCIDR, DNS1, DNS2	Configure static IP, gateway, and DNS	Yes	Yes
3	Timezone	Set the system timezone	Yes	Yes
4	EnableRDP	Enable Remote Desktop and firewall rule	Yes	Yes
5	EnableWinRM	Enable PowerShell Remoting	Yes	Yes
6	ConfigureFirewall	Set firewall profiles	Yes	Yes
7	SetPowerPlan	Set the active power plan	Yes	Yes
8	InstallHyperV	Install Hyper-V role	Yes	No
9	InstallMPIO	Install Multipath I/O	Yes	No
10	InstallFailoverClustering	Install Failover Clustering	Yes	No
11	CreateLocalAdmin	Create a local admin account	Yes	Yes
12	DisableBuiltInAdmin	Disable built-in Administrator	Yes	No
13	DomainName	Join an AD domain	Yes	No
14	ServerRoleTemplate	Install server role template	Yes	No
15	PromoteToDC	Promote to Domain Controller	Yes	No
16	InstallUpdates	Install Windows Updates	No	No
17	InitializeHostStorage	Create VM directories, set Hyper-V paths (HOST)	Yes	No
18	CreateVirtualSwitch	Create a virtual switch (HOST)	Yes	Yes
19	CustomVNICs	Create custom vNICs on switch (HOST)	Yes	Yes
20	ConfigureSharedStorage	Configure storage backend (HOST)	No	No
21	ConfigureMPIO	Configure MPIO multipath (HOST)	No	No
22	ConfigureDefenderExclusions	Add Defender exclusions (HOST)	Yes	Yes
23	InstallAgents / InstallAgent	Install RMM/MSP agents (see Agent Management)	Yes	No
24	ValidateCluster	Run cluster readiness checks	N/A	N/A

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JSON Template Structure

Every field has a corresponding _Help field that explains its purpose. Help fields (any key starting with _) are ignored by the script.

{
    "_README": "RackStack - Batch Config Template v1.1.0",
    "_INSTRUCTIONS": ["..."],

    "ConfigType": "VM",
    "_ConfigType_Help": "'VM' for virtual machines, 'HOST' for Hyper-V hosts.",

    "Hostname": "123456-FS1",
    "AdapterName": "Ethernet",
    "IPAddress": "10.0.1.100",
    "SubnetCIDR": 24,
    "Gateway": "10.0.1.1",
    "DNS1": "8.8.8.8",
    "DNS2": "8.8.4.4",
    "DomainName": "corp.acme.com",
    "Timezone": "Pacific Standard Time",
    "EnableRDP": true,
    "EnableWinRM": true,
    "ConfigureFirewall": true,
    "SetPowerPlan": "High Performance",
    "InstallHyperV": false,
    "InstallMPIO": false,
    "InstallFailoverClustering": false,
    "CreateLocalAdmin": false,
    "LocalAdminName": "localadmin",
    "DisableBuiltInAdmin": false,
    "ServerRoleTemplate": null,
    "PromoteToDC": false,
    "DCPromoType": "NewForest",
    "ForestName": null,
    "ForestMode": "WinThreshold",
    "DomainMode": "WinThreshold",
    "InstallUpdates": false,
    "AutoReboot": true
}

HOST-Specific Fields

These fields are only processed when ConfigType is HOST:

{
    "InitializeHostStorage": false,
    "HostStorageDrive": null,
    "CreateSETSwitch": false,
    "SETSwitchName": "LAN-SET",
    "SETManagementName": "Management",
    "SETAdapterMode": "auto",
    "CustomVNICs": [
        {"Name": "Backup"},
        {"Name": "Cluster", "VLAN": 100},
        {"Name": "Live Migration", "VLAN": 200}
    ],
    "StorageBackendType": "iSCSI",
    "ConfigureSharedStorage": false,
    "ConfigureiSCSI": false,
    "iSCSIHostNumber": null,
    "SMB3SharePath": null,
    "ConfigureMPIO": false,
    "ConfigureDefenderExclusions": false
}

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Field Reference

Common Fields

Field	Type	Default	Description
ConfigType	string	"VM"	"VM" or "HOST"
Hostname	string	null	NetBIOS name, max 15 characters
AdapterName	string	"Ethernet"	Network adapter name. VMs: "Ethernet". Hosts: "vEthernet (Management)"
IPAddress	string	null	Static IPv4 address. Both IPAddress and Gateway are required together
SubnetCIDR	int	24	Subnet prefix length (1-32)
Gateway	string	null	Default gateway IPv4 address
DNS1 / DNS2	string	null	Primary and secondary DNS servers
DomainName	string	null	AD domain to join. Will prompt for credentials at runtime
Timezone	string	null	Timezone ID (e.g., "Pacific Standard Time", "Eastern Standard Time")
EnableRDP	bool	false	Enable Remote Desktop
EnableWinRM	bool	false	Enable PowerShell Remoting
ConfigureFirewall	bool	false	Set recommended firewall profiles
SetPowerPlan	string	null	"High Performance", "Balanced", or "Power Saver"
InstallHyperV	bool	false	Install Hyper-V role (requires reboot)
InstallMPIO	bool	false	Install Multipath I/O (requires reboot)
InstallFailoverClustering	bool	false	Install Failover Clustering (requires reboot)
CreateLocalAdmin	bool	false	Create a local admin account (prompts for password)
LocalAdminName	string	from defaults	Username for the local admin account
DisableBuiltInAdmin	bool	false	Disable the built-in Administrator account
ServerRoleTemplate	string/null	null	Role template key: DC, FS, WEB, DHCP, DNS, PRINT, WSUS, NPS, HV, RDS, or custom. null to skip
PromoteToDC	bool	false	Promote to Domain Controller after domain join
DCPromoType	string	"NewForest"	"NewForest", "AdditionalDC", or "RODC"
ForestName	string/null	null	Domain FQDN for New Forest (e.g., "corp.contoso.com")
ForestMode	string	"WinThreshold"	Forest functional level (New Forest only). See AD DS Promotion
DomainMode	string	"WinThreshold"	Domain functional level (New Forest only)
InstallUpdates	bool	false	Install Windows Updates (10-60+ minutes)
AutoReboot	bool	true	Auto-reboot after changes (10-second countdown)

HOST-Only Fields

Field	Type	Default	Description
InitializeHostStorage	bool	false	Create VM directories and set Hyper-V default paths
HostStorageDrive	string/null	null	Drive letter (e.g., "D"). null = auto-select first non-C fixed NTFS drive
CreateVirtualSwitch	bool	false	Create a virtual switch (replaces CreateSETSwitch)
VirtualSwitchType	string	"SET"	"SET", "External", "Internal", or "Private"
VirtualSwitchName	string	"LAN-SET"	Name for the virtual switch
VirtualSwitchAdapter	string/null	null	Physical adapter name. null = auto-detect
SETManagementName	string	"Management"	Name for the management vNIC (SET/External)
SETAdapterMode	string	"auto"	"auto" detects internet adapters, "manual" prompts (SET only)
CreateSETSwitch	bool	false	Deprecated: alias for CreateVirtualSwitch + VirtualSwitchType: "SET"
CustomVNICs	array	[]	Virtual NICs to create on External/SET. Each needs Name (required) and optional VLAN (1-4094)
StorageBackendType	string	"iSCSI"	Storage backend: "iSCSI", "FC", "S2D", "SMB3", "NVMeoF", or "Local"
ConfigureSharedStorage	bool	false	Configure the storage backend (iSCSI NICs, FC scan, S2D enable, SMB test, NVMe scan)
ConfigureiSCSI	bool	false	Configure iSCSI NICs (deprecated -- use ConfigureSharedStorage with StorageBackendType: "iSCSI")
iSCSIHostNumber	int/null	null	Host number (1-24) for IP calculation. null = auto-detect from hostname
SMB3SharePath	string/null	null	UNC path to SMB3 share (e.g., "\\\\server\\share"). Only used with StorageBackendType: "SMB3"
ConfigureMPIO	bool	false	Configure MPIO multipath for iSCSI or FC backends
ConfigureDefenderExclusions	bool	false	Add Defender exclusions for Hyper-V and VM storage paths
InstallAgents	array/null	null	Array of agent ToolNames to install (e.g., ["Kaseya", "Datto RMM"]). See Agent Management
InstallAgent	bool	false	Install the primary agent only (backward-compatible; use InstallAgents array for multi-agent)
ValidateCluster	bool	false	Run cluster readiness checks (nodes, quorum, CSVs, networks) after clustering steps

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Validation and Error Handling

Before executing any steps, batch mode runs a full validation pass:

Errors (block execution):

• Invalid ConfigType (must be VM or HOST)
• Invalid hostname format (must be 1-15 alphanumeric characters, hyphens allowed)
• Invalid IPv4 addresses in IPAddress, Gateway, DNS1, DNS2
• SubnetCIDR out of range (must be 1-32)
• IPAddress set without Gateway (or vice versa)
• Boolean fields with non-boolean values
• Invalid SetPowerPlan value
• Invalid SETAdapterMode (must be auto or manual)
• iSCSIHostNumber out of range (must be 1-24 or null)
• HostStorageDrive is C or not a single letter
• Invalid StorageBackendType (must be one of: iSCSI, FC, S2D, SMB3, NVMeoF, Local)
• Invalid DCPromoType (must be NewForest, AdditionalDC, or RODC)
• ForestName missing when PromoteToDC is true and DCPromoType is NewForest
• AdapterName specifies a network adapter that doesn't exist on this server (v1.80.0+)
• Duplicate vNIC names in CustomVNICs array (v1.80.0+)

Warnings (display but continue):

• Hostname not set (server keeps its current name)
• HOST mode without InstallHyperV
• DisableBuiltInAdmin without CreateLocalAdmin
• HOST mode with IP config but no AdapterName
• CreateSETSwitch without InstallHyperV
• Invalid ServerRoleTemplate key (template not found in built-in or custom)
• PromoteToDC without ServerRoleTemplate: "DC" (AD DS features may not be installed)
• PromoteToDC with DomainName and DCPromoType: NewForest — potential conflict (v1.80.0+)
• InitializeHostStorage without Hyper-V installed (v1.80.0+)

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Example: Full VM Config

{
    "ConfigType": "VM",
    "Hostname": "123456-FS1",
    "AdapterName": "Ethernet",
    "IPAddress": "10.0.1.100",
    "SubnetCIDR": 24,
    "Gateway": "10.0.1.1",
    "DNS1": "10.0.1.10",
    "DNS2": "10.0.1.11",
    "DomainName": "corp.acme.com",
    "Timezone": "Eastern Standard Time",
    "EnableRDP": true,
    "EnableWinRM": true,
    "ConfigureFirewall": true,
    "SetPowerPlan": "High Performance",
    "InstallHyperV": false,
    "InstallMPIO": false,
    "InstallFailoverClustering": false,
    "CreateLocalAdmin": true,
    "LocalAdminName": "localadmin",
    "DisableBuiltInAdmin": false,
    "InstallUpdates": true,
    "AutoReboot": true
}

Example: Full HOST Config

{
    "ConfigType": "HOST",
    "Hostname": "123456-HV1",
    "AdapterName": "vEthernet (Management)",
    "IPAddress": "10.0.1.50",
    "SubnetCIDR": 24,
    "Gateway": "10.0.1.1",
    "DNS1": "10.0.1.10",
    "DNS2": "10.0.1.11",
    "DomainName": "corp.acme.com",
    "Timezone": "Eastern Standard Time",
    "EnableRDP": true,
    "EnableWinRM": true,
    "ConfigureFirewall": true,
    "SetPowerPlan": "High Performance",
    "InstallHyperV": true,
    "InstallMPIO": true,
    "InstallFailoverClustering": true,
    "CreateLocalAdmin": true,
    "LocalAdminName": "localadmin",
    "DisableBuiltInAdmin": false,
    "ServerRoleTemplate": "HV",
    "PromoteToDC": false,
    "InstallUpdates": false,
    "AutoReboot": true,
    "InitializeHostStorage": true,
    "HostStorageDrive": "D",
    "CreateSETSwitch": true,
    "SETSwitchName": "LAN-SET",
    "SETManagementName": "Management",
    "SETAdapterMode": "auto",
    "CustomVNICs": [
        {"Name": "Cluster", "VLAN": 100},
        {"Name": "Live Migration", "VLAN": 200}
    ],
    "StorageBackendType": "iSCSI",
    "ConfigureSharedStorage": true,
    "iSCSIHostNumber": null,
    "ConfigureMPIO": true,
    "ConfigureDefenderExclusions": true,
    "InstallAgents": ["Kaseya"],
    "ValidateCluster": false
}

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Tips

• Clone servers fast: Configure one server interactively, use "Generate from Current State" to export, then change only Hostname and IPAddress for each clone.
• Skip with null: Set any value to null to skip that step entirely.
• Safe to re-run: All steps are idempotent -- running the same config twice skips everything that's already done. No duplicate changes, no errors.
• Order matters: Steps run in order 1-24. Domain join (step 13) runs before role templates and DC promotion (steps 14-15) so the server is domain-joined first. Updates (step 16) run after role installation. Agent install (step 23) and cluster validation (step 24) run last.
• Rollback on failure: If a step fails, you'll be prompted to undo all reversible changes made so far. This prevents half-configured servers.
• Credentials: CreateLocalAdmin, DomainName, and PromoteToDC will pause for interactive password/credential entry even in batch mode. All other steps are fully automated.
• Auto-reboot: When AutoReboot is true and changes require a reboot, there is a 10-second countdown. Press Ctrl+C to cancel.
• Baseline capture: A drift baseline is automatically saved after batch mode, so you can track any future configuration changes.
• Transcript logging: Batch mode creates a transcript log in the configured temp directory for audit purposes.

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See also: Configuration Guide | Storage Manager | Storage Backends | Server Role Templates | AD DS Promotion