Installshield vs Wix vs NSIS for website and windows services deployment?

Question

Hi, the company I work for is looking at different options for installers. The product consists of a ASP.NET web site, some web services, and windows services. We'd like to be able to install everything in one go, but be able to uninstall or update services individually. We'd also like to be able to configure/edit xml files (like app.config or custom xml files) from an installer dialog, without too much of a hassle.

Of Installshield, Wix, and NSIS, is any particularly well suited for doing this?

Answer 1

WiX and InstallShield can both do it but both will take a huge learning curve either way. NSIS can do it also, if you consider running vbscripts during an installer elegant. Someone with experience could help you ramp up faster.

Answer 2

I just finished an installer that needed to support IIS7 and I have to say some things are easier with WiX compared to InstallShield once you worked in MSI development for a while.