Citrix VDI-in-a-Box v5.2 does not install on Server 2012 Hyper-V (at first)

I’m currently in the process of setting up the latest version of Citrix VDI-in-a-Box on Server 2012 Hyper-V and have come across an interesting error while the installer attempts to install .NET Framework 3.5.1.

.NET Framework 3.5.1 is not installed and the installer was unable to install it automatically. Please install the .net framework 3.5.1 and run the installer again.

As it turns out in Server 2012 .NET 3.5.1 is not included with Server 2012 as an option to install without the use of the original install media (DVD/extracted ISO) and as such the VDI-in-a-Box installer can’t find it to install it.

The easy fix in this case is to run a manual install of .NET Framework 3.5.1 from the ‘Add roles and features’ option in server manager. There is an option on the confirmation screen where you can select to run the install from an alternative location just choose that, mount the Sever 2012 ISO (one of thouse very nice little features of Windows 8/Server 2012) and set the install path as the WinSXS folder and you will be up and running with VDI-in-a-Box in no time.

A little more info about installing .NET Framework 3.5.1 on Windows 8/Server 2012 is available on the Microsoft website at this link.