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Windows Core Server 2008

You can compare the differences in the Server versions on Microsoft's site here 

Windows Server 2008 Requirements

My virtual server is running on a 1.6 Ghz Laptop with 1 Gb ram. The Virtual server is using 512 Mb ram.

Lets run through the installation and setup together.

Installation

The installation was very straight forward. The basic system images to your drive, It asks for the CD key, region and then asks you to change the Administrator password.

I opted to not use a CD key (trial mode) and then had to select the Core version I wanted. (Just like Vista, everything is on the DVD disk. It depends on your CD key what is installed).

You do not get any options to partition the drive. This is due to the imaging technology used for the install. You will end up with one big partition with everything in it.

Now that you know what this is all about, you can log in.

Once you have logged in, you are greeted with a floating command prompt. If you close this, you need to use Cntl+Alt+Del to bring up task manager (One of the GUI components) and then run "CMD.EXE" to get back to a command window.

The Server Core installation does not include the traditional full graphical user interface (GUI). Therefore, once you have configured the server, you can only manage it locally at a command prompt, remote MMC's or remotely using a Terminal Server connection (Still in a CLI when remote).

You will really need to remember your old DOS commands and a few of the new Windows commands (Like ipconfig, netsh and Dcpromo). I wanted to poke around a little so I started looking through the directory structure using "Dir /a" to show all files and folders (Including the hidden ones).

My first observation, there are hardly any files in C:\Windows. There is an Internet Explorer folder in "Program Files" but except for one Dll file, it is empty. The folder structure is really quite foreign. In reality there is actually very little installed and very little you can do.

I also noticed that a lot of the folder structure was made up of Junctions. (Much like Vista and similar to Linux).

Why do we need Core installations and how can it be used?

A Server Core installation provides a minimal environment for running specific server roles, which reduces the maintenance and management requirements and the attack surface for those server roles.

A server running a Server Core installation supports the following server roles:

To actually work with Core, we need some basic GUI tools. There are not many however here is a quick list for you.

Task Manager
Notepad
Time, Date, and Time Zone
Regional Settings

Every thing else is done at the command prompt or remote management in MMC's.

My first stumbling block was how to set the IP address on this machine. There are no GUI utilities and my use of ipconfig and netsh is limited. I need to also allow RDP through the firewall so that I can remotely administer my Virtual server. By default Core servers are hardened and the firewall blocks even ping.

Time to get the initial configuration out of the way and make this server useful.

We can forget the ever trusted ipconfig tool. It is not like the ifconfig in Linux. We need netsh here. At a command prompt, type in "netsh interface ipv4 show interfaces"

Look at the number shown in the "Idx" column of the output for your network adapter. If your computer has more than one network adapter, make a note of the number corresponding to the network adapter for which you wish to set a static IP address.

Now to assign the IP address you want to type

"netsh interface ipv4 set address name="<ID>" source=static address=<StaticIP> mask=<SubnetMask> gateway=<DefaultGateway>"

In addition to add DNS servers:

"netsh interface ipv4 add dnsserver name="<ID>" address=<DNSIP> index=1"

Repeat this last step for each DNS server that you want to set, incrementing the index= number each time. (I am on a closed private network so I did not bother with DNS in my tests)

Now you can check your settings by using "ipconfig /all" and check that all the addresses are correct.

 
Don't forget that the server is hardened by default. You can't even ping it yet.

Now is a good time to change the Administrators password.

At the command prompt, type "net user administrator *"

When prompted to enter the password, type the new password for the administrator user account and press ENTER.

When prompted, retype the password and press ENTER.
 

Next, lets change the computer's name, as the default name is a randomly generated name (unless you configured it through an answer file or OPK)

First lets determine the current name of the server with the hostname or "ipconfig /all" commands.

Type

"netdom renamecomputer <ComputerName> /NewName:<NewComputerName>"

Restart the computer by using the shutdown command (This tool has been around since Windows XP/Server 2003 or as a resource kit tool for Windows 2000).

shutdown /r /t 0 or shutdown /s (If you want to shut it down). You can also logoff (type in "logoff") and use the red shutdown button.

After having done all this, it is time to think about remotely administering this machine.

Although Server Core doesn't utilize explorer.exe as its shell and doesn't offer the Computer Properties screen to enable Remote Desktop or select users to remote desktop towards the server, Server Core does offer Remote Desktop. This is not a magical GUI interface to your Core server. You get the same interface as if at the Core servers desktop.

To enable Remote Desktop you can use the SCregEdit.wsf script in the System32 subfolder of your Windows folder. Simply type the following commands:

cd C:\windows\system32
cscript SCregEdit.wsf /AR 0


This command will also automatically create the Firewall exception for you.

Just like on a full server installation, the firewall is on by default in a Server Core installation and most inbound traffic is blocked at the end of setup.

There are then three scenarios for remote management via MMC:

Server Role

When a server role is installed, the appropriate ports are opened to allow the role to function as well as to allow remote management, so no additional configuration is required. Using the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) feature on a full server installation, you can install just the MMC snap-ins for a role and use them to remotely manage the role on Server Core.
 

Domain joined

Once domain joined, the firewall profile is changed to the domain profile which allows remote management. Again, no additional configuration is required.
 

Workgroup server

This is the scenario in which you may need to make firewall configuration changes to allow remote management. If you just want all remote management to work you can use:
 

"Netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group=“remote administration” new enable=yes"
 

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