How to determine if you are installing on Windows Client vs. Windows Server.

Q: How do I determine if my MSI is being installed on Windows Client or Windows Server?

A: The Windows Installer provides the MsiNTProductType Property that is set to “1” for Workstations (aka: Client) and “2” for Domain Controllers (a Server albeit a rare Server) and “3” for Server (aka: uh, Server).

Here are a couple independent (and hopefully) self-explanatory examples using WiX syntax:

<Condition Message="[ProductName] is a consumer application and is not
                    supported on Windows Server.">
  Installed OR 1=MsiNTProductType
</Condition>

<Condition Message="[ProductName] modifies the Active Directory and
                    therefore should only be installed on your Domain
                    Controller.">
 Installed OR 2=MsiNTProductType OR OVERRIDE_DC_RECOMMENDATION
</Condition>

<Condition Message="Windows Server is required by [ProductName].">
  Installed OR 1 &lt; MsiNTProductType
</Condition>

Remember the Installed Property is in all of those Conditions to ensure that the MSI can always be uninstalled. It may take some imagination to bypass each Condition (like an OS upgrade) but better safe than sorry.