.NET Framework 4 fwlinks and Media Links

.NET Framework 4 was released on 4/12. One thing developers noticed is that it looks like the x86 and ia64 installs are missing. Not true the links are there but buried in the instructions. Why?

This was done for assisting consumers in finding and installing .NET. Even with our developer community, we had a lot of wrong architecture errors (trying to install x86 package on x64)  during installation. Based on how Download Center pages are created and maintain our options were limited. A decision was made to use a single installer (x64 which installs on x64 and x86) and then inside the body of the page give links to the other installers (ia64 and x86).

I believe this is a good compromise. If you are a developer or IT person looking for a specific file then you can find it. While if your a non-technical person you will just click the button and get an installer that most likely will install on your machine.

To help the technical community here information with guidance on our media URL. The data contains

• Product e.g. Microsoft .NET Framework 4.
• Standard abbreviation for the product e.g Full.
• Type of installer standalone (meaning no network connection needed) or web installer.
• Download Center page URL this is a fwlink that will take a user to a localized Download Center page.
• Architecture the CPUs that can use the installer.
• Download size of the installer. For web installers it is not included since the size depends on what downloads are need by the target machine to install.
• Media URL this is the URL for getting the file directly without going through the Download Center page.
• Guidance on when to use a particular package.

• Microsoft .NET Framework 4 (Full)
  • Web Installer
    • Download Center page - http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=186913
    • Media
      • Target architecture - x64/x86/ia64
        • This is the recommended installer for redistribution of Full over the Internet.
        • Size - varies
        • URL - http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/B/E/1BE39E79-7E39-46A3-96FF-047F95396215/dotNetFx40_Full_setup.exe
  • Standalone
    • Download Center page - http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=186916
    • Media
      • Target architecture - x64/x86
        • This is the recommended installer for redistribution of Full on media or over an internal network.
        • Size - 47.9 MB
        • URL - http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/5/A/95A9616B-7A37-4AF6-BC36-D6EA96C8DAAE/dotNetFx40_Full_x86_x64.exe
      • x86
        • Only use when dealing only with a homogenous x86 environment and you will update your deployment procedures/package if a new architecture is introduced. In addition, you are not putting the deployment package on media CD/DVD/etc. Keep in mind that .NET 4 cannot be installed in WOW64. On x64 and ia64 architecture .NET installs x86 and x64 or ia64 binaries.
        • Size - 35.2 MB
        • URL - http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/6/4/5641DA81-E6FA-4550-9F80-A1D862D9CFAA/dotNetFx40_Full_x86.exe
      • ia64
        • Use when needing to install on ia64.
        • Size - 51.5 MB
        • URL - http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/5/A/65A3CE73-4F35-43A1-83FA-2D11D90163A9/dotNetFx40_Full_x86_ia64.exe
• Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile (Client)
  • Web Installer
    • Download Center page - http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=186914
    • Media
      • Target architecture - x64/x86 (Note: Client only installation is not supported on ia64.)
        • This is the recommended installer for redistribution of Client over the Internet.
        • Size - varies
        • URL - http://download.microsoft.com/download/7/B/6/7B629E05-399A-4A92-B5BC-484C74B5124B/dotNetFx40_Client_setup.exe
  • Standalone
    • Download Center page - http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=186919
    • Media
      • Target architecture - x64/x86
        • This is the recommended installer for redistribution of Client on media or over an internal network.
        • Size - 41 MB
        • URL - http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/6/2/562A10F9-C9F4-4313-A044-9C94E0A8FAC8/dotNetFx40_Client_x86_x64.exe
      • x86
        • Only use when dealing only with a homogenous x86 environment and you will update your deployment procedures/package if a new architecture is introduced. In addition, you are not putting the deployment package on media CD/DVD/etc. Keep in mind that .NET 4 cannot be installed in WOW64. On x64 and ia64 architecture .NET installs x86 and x64 or ia64 binaries.
        • Size - 28.8 MB
        • URL - http://download.microsoft.com/download/3/1/8/318161B8-9874-48E4-BB38-9EB82C5D6358/dotNetFx40_Client_x86.exe
      • ia64 – Client only installation is not supported on ia64.