Windows 2008 r2 core server commands

When installing Windows Server R2 Server Core, the actual installation process is very similar to a regular server install. As in a normal Windows Server installation, an administrator agrees to the licensing terms, supplies configuration responses, and the Windows Server R2 Install Windows Wizard copies the files and configures the server. However, unlike a traditional installation of Windows, when the installation is complete and you log on, there isn't a GUI to configure the server.

The server can only be configured and managed via the command prompt. The Server Core installation will reboot your machine or virtual server a couple of times when device detection and the installation takes place. Eventually, you'll be presented with the logon screen.

Insert the Windows Server R2 media. The Install Windows page will automatically be launched; otherwise, click on Setup. Click Next to continue. Because you cannot upgrade a legacy Windows operating system to Server Core, the Upgrade option will not work. Alternatively, you can click on the Drive Options to create, delete, extend, or format partitions. In addition, click Load Driver to install drivers for the Windows Server R2 installation that are not available on the media.

If the only drive available is Unallocated Space, Windows Server R2 will automatically create a partition based on the largest size and format the partition with NTFS. The installation process will commence by copying the files, installing the Windows operating system, and configuring features. First, remember that Server Core is not a different version of Windows Server but simply an installation option that you can select when installing Windows Server onto a system.

This implies the following:. Figure shows a simplified view of the architecture of both a Full installation and a Server Core installation of Windows Server The dotted line indicates the architecture of Server Core, while the entire diagram represents the architecture of a Full installation.

The diagram illustrates the modular architecture of Windows Server , with Server Core being constructed upon a subset of the core operating system features. For the same hardware architecture and edition, every file present on a clean install of Server Core is also present on a Full installation, with the exception of two special files Scregedit. These special files were included on Server Core to simplify the initial configuration of a Server Core installation and the addition or removal of roles and optional components.

The architectural diagram of Server Core shown in Figure is obviously simplified; one thing it doesn't show is the difference in device driver support between Server Core and Full installations. A Full installation of Windows Server contains thousands of in-box drivers for different types of devices, which enable you to install products on a wide variety of different hardware configurations.

Client operating systems like Windows Vista include even more drivers to support devices such as digital cameras and scanners that are normally not used with servers. If a new device is connected to or installed in a Full installation of Windows Server , the Plug and Play PnP subsystem first checks whether an in-box driver for the device is present.

If a compatible in-box driver is found, the PnP subsystem automatically installs the driver and the device then operates. On a Full installation of Windows Server , a balloon popup notification may be displayed, indicating that the driver has been installed and the device is ready for use. On a Server Core installation, the driver installation process is the same the PnP subsystem is present on Server Core with two qualifications.

First, Server Core includes only a minimal number of in-box drivers, and only for the following types of devices:. Note that for each of the three device categories shown here, Server Core includes the same in-box drivers that are found on a corresponding Full installation for the same hardware architecture.

Also, when the PnP subsystem automatically installs a driver for a new device, it does so silently—no balloon popup notification is displayed. Why not? Because there is no GUI on Server Core there's no taskbar, so there's no notification area on the taskbar!

So what do you do when you add the Print Services role to a Server Core installation and you want to install a printer? You add the printer driver manually to the server—Server Core has no in-box print drivers. Because Server Core is a minimal installation, it has a smaller system service footprint than a corresponding Full installation of the same hardware architecture and edition. For example, about 75 system services are installed by default on a Full installation of Windows Server , of which approximately 50 are configured for automatic startup.

By contrast, Server Core has only about 70 services installed by default, and fewer than 40 of these start automatically. Table lists the services that are installed by default on a Server Core installation, with the startup mode for and account used by each service. Skip to main content. This browser is no longer supported. The fact that you can manage Server Core remotely with GUI tools should be convenient enough in most cases.

Want to write for 4sysops? We are looking for new authors. Read 4sysops without ads and for free by becoming a member! Then you probably tried to Microsoft recommends Windows Server Core for most infrastructure services and for applications such as Exchange You can also Microsoft made two changes to the Server Core installation option in Windows Server a smaller container image footprint Learn how to administer Windows Server running in the Server Core configuration.

We will focus on the new In the latest version, not One of In the previous article in this series, I showed you how to promote a Windows Server based Server Core In the first part of this series, I discussed the benefits of the available Server Roles in Server Core In my previous article, I showed you how to remotely manage Windows Server —based Server Core installations with the That's true.

However, I think the sconfig version in Hyper-Server R2 is a little different. For example, you can configure the Failover Clustering Role. I haven't tried it myself though. Your email address will not be published.

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Author Leaderboard — 30 Days. Author Leaderboard — Year. Paolo Maffezzoli posted an update 6 hours, 33 minutes ago. Paolo Maffezzoli posted an update 6 hours, 34 minutes ago.