Okay now that we took care of the prerequisites, it is finally time to install Sitecore. With the introduction of Sitecore we introduced something called the Sitecore Installation Framework, also known as SIF (you know we love those three letter acronyms).
SIF is a PowerShell module for handling the installation and configuration of Sitecore instances. This could be a local developer installation but also production setups. It will install and configure your web instances, windows services, databases, search engine configuration, certificates and much more.
SIF uses configuration files to install the Sitecore instance. These configuration files are shipped with each version of Sitecore, together with the WDP packages which contain all the application files needed.
Besides SIF, the configuration files and WDP packages there is one more PowerShell module that the installation needs. This is the Sitecore Fundamentals module, and this helps you to install a Sitecore instance which is secure by default. It will help setup SSL and create self-signed certificates.
The Sitecore Installation Framework and the Sitecore Fundamentals modules are both PowerShell modules. This means that these modules are not tied to a particular Sitecore installation. You can use these modules to install multiple Sitecore instances.
So, to summarize for a Sitecore installation you will need:
- Sitecore Installation Framework
- Sitecore Fundamentals
- Web Deploy Packages
- Configuration Files (included in the WDP package)
All the required downloads you can get from https://dev.sitecore.net.
Now you know that SIF is, it is time to install it on your machine.