Now that you have done that, you probably want to start installing server roles, right? Windows Server 2008 Server Core supports the following server roles:

• Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)
• Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS)
• DHCP Server
• DNS Server
• File Services
• Print Services
• Hyper-V
• Streaming Media Services
• Web Server (IIS)

There are a couple of things you need to understand before you start installing server roles in Server Core, otherwise you will be very confused!

• If you are configuring a Print Server, you will have to remotely configure the print server using the Print Management Console from a Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 computer.
• If you are configuring a DHCP server, you must use a static IP address on the Server Core installation.
• On a Server Core install, you cannot use the dcpromo.exe wizard to promote or demote a domain controller. You have to create an unattend file and then use that with dcpromo. The best thing is to run dcpromo on another computer with Server 2008 and choose the option to save an unattend file.

If you want to see a list of available server roles on Server Core, type the following command:

oclist

Now you can start installing the server roles you want. Here are the commands for some of the most common roles:

Install DNS Server Role:

start /w ocsetup DNS-Server-Core-Role

To configure a new DNS zone, you can use the dnscmd or you can create a zone remotely by using the DNS MMC snap-in from another computer.

Install DHCP Server Role:

start /w ocsetup DHCPServerCore

Again, use the DHCP MMC snap-in to remotely manage your DHCP scopes, etc. Note that the DHCP service will not start automatically, you have to type in the following command:

sc config dhcpserver start= auto

You can start the service for the first time by typing in:

net start dhcpserver

Install Hyper-V Server Role:

start /w ocsetup Microsoft-Hyper-V

To manage Hyper-V, you have to download the Hyper-V management tools onto a Vista or Server 2008 computer.

Install Print Server Role:

start /w ocsetup Printing-ServerCore-Role

If you want to install a printer onto a Server Core Print Server, you have to open the Print Management console on another computer and add the server running Server Core.

Then expand the server and right-click Drivers and choose Add Driver. Install the print driver and then right-click Printers and choose Add Printer. Click Add a TCP/IP or Web Services printer by IP address or hostname and choose Next. Enter the IP address and click Next and Finish.

Install Active Directory Services Role:

dcpromo /unattend:<unattendfile>

Once you create an unattend file, enter the path in the above command. This will allow you to promote a server to domain controller or demote.

Install Web Server (IIS) Role:

start /w pkgmgr /iu:IIS-WebServerRole;WAS-WindowsActivationService;WAS-ProcessModel

This will install IIS on Windows Server 2008 with the default options. Finally, you can use Terminal Services to remotely log into a Server Core installation by typing in the following command:

cscript C:\Windows\System32\ Scregedit.wsf /ar 0

This will enable Remote Desktop administration to accept new incoming connections. You can then remotely log into the server by going to Start, Run and typing in mstsc from another computer.

That’s a quick overview of how to install server roles on Windows Server 2008 Server Core. If you have problems, post a comment! Enjoy!

Thanks for reading, check out Help Desk Geek - Help Desk Tips For IT Pros for more WordPress news!

• You cannot upgrade a previous version of Windows Server, such as 2003, to Server Core installation. You must perform a clean install.
• You cannot upgrade a Server Core installation to the full version of Windows Server 2008. If you need the GUI interface, an Internet browser, or a server role not included with Server Core, then you must perform a clean install of Windows Server 2008.

It’s actually pretty easy to install Server Core onto a computer. Pop in the CD, boot to the media, and choose Install Now when the dialog appears.

Make sure to pick the Server Core edition of Windows Server 2008.

You’ll have to accept the License Agreement and choose which disk you want to install Server Core onto. Now you’ll see the setup dialog installing Server Core.

Once setup completes, you have to manually set the Administrator password. Press CTRL + ALT + DEL, click Other User and type in Administrator for the user name. Leave the password blank and press Enter. You’ll be prompted to enter a new password for the Administrator account.

If, for some reason, you login without setting a new password, you can manually set the local Administrator password using the command line. Here is the command:

net user administrator *

Now that you have set the local admin password, you need to activate the Server Core install. Note that if you close the command prompt in Server Core, you will not be able to manage the server. You can recover the command prompt by pressing CTRL + ALT + DEL and clicking on Task Manager. Then click File, Run and type in cmd.exe. This will bring back the command prompt in Server Core.

To activate Windows Server Core, type in the following command at the command prompt:

slmgr ““ ato

You’ll get a pop up window once Server Core is fully activated. The computer gets a random name during the install, but you can change the name of the computer in Server Core by using the following command:

netdom renamecomputer %computername% /NewName:newname

The only thing you have to replace in the above command is “newname” with the name that you want to rename the Server Core computer to.

By default, Server Core gets an IP address from a DHCP server. If you can configure a static IP address for Server Core, but I’ll write about that in another post. To join a Server Core computer to a domain, type the following command:

netdom join <ComputerName> /domain:<DomainName> /userd:<UserName> /passwordd:*

You’ll be prompted to enter the password for the domain user account that has permission to join a computer to the domain. Once joined, you can restart a Server Core install computer by typing in this command:

shutdown /r /t 0

Finally, if you want to configure a firewall on Server Core, you can use the following netsh command:

netsh advfirewall

An easier way to manage the firewall is to enable remote management of the Server Core firewall by typing in:

netsh advfirewall set currentprofile settings remotemanagement enable

Now you can use the Windows Firewall snap-in from Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 to connect to the Server Core installation and remotely manage the firewall.

I’ll write up another post later on how to list server roles and install server roles in a Windows Server Core installation. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading, check out Help Desk Geek - Help Desk Tips For IT Pros for more WordPress news!

I’ve actually been using Windows Server 2008 for a few weeks now and didn’t have any problems until yesterday. I restarted the server and logged in like I normally do, only to be greeted with a blank screen! Very strange.

After playing around with it for a while, I figured out what the problem was. Here are a few things you can try to fix the issue:

1. Restart the server in Safe Mode and see if the problem occurs. If you are able to log in fine, then your problem has to do with either your resolution or because of drivers.
2. Update the BIOS on your server and restart to see if that fixes the issue. This problem is known to occur on some models of HP ProLiant ML servers. Updating the BIOS can fix the issue.
3. Update all hardware firmware and device drivers including video drivers, audio drivers, network drivers, etc. Note that you can do this using Safe Mode if you are not able to log in normally.

That fixed the problem for me and hopefully it’s fixed it for you! If not, post a comment and I will try to help out!

Thanks for reading, check out Help Desk Geek - Help Desk Tips For IT Pros for more WordPress news!

It also reduces the attack surface area since the server runs with the minimal services required to support the main server roles. The most interesting aspect of Server Core is emphasis on using command line tools to manage the server and the absence of the traditional GUI interface.

At first, I found this a bit difficult, since I am so used to Microsoft making everything GUI friendly, but it seems that Windows 2008 is reverting back to a more technical server management style. The only GUI tools you will see in Server Core are Task Manager, Notepad, Time and Date dialog, and Regional Settings! That’s it!

Of course, it’s great since the installation takes up far less space than a traditional full install of Windows Server 2008 and there are less bugs since there is less code.

Create System State Backup in Server Core

Ok, now to the actual point of this post which was to show you how to create a System State backup. Unless you love the command line, do not install Server Core. Just about everything you would want to do to manage the server requires using the command line!

Here is the command you need to run:

wbadmin start systemstatebackup -backuptarget:C:

Pretty easy eh!? There are of course hundreds of commands you can run in Windows Server 2008, so if you are managing a 2008 Server, you should start learning them! Check out the Windows Server 2008 Command Reference to an A to Z list of all commands and their syntax, parameters, and examples of usage. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading, check out Help Desk Geek - Help Desk Tips For IT Pros for more WordPress news!