Firewall management in Server Core, Part 2

A little while ago I showed how to manage the basic firewall in Windows Server 2008. Recently I found out the firewall team wants us to move to the Advanced Firewall commands, because netsh firewall can't: enable groups of rules; create rules for service; create rules that support multiple filtering criteria. Although netsh firewall will get … Continue reading "Firewall management in Server Core, Part 2"

How to determine your Windows Server 2008 version

Microsoft has recently decided to supply every Windows Server 2008 test version with the same major revision number. This number, also known as the Build number, is used often to distinguish test versions. When submitting a bug or asking a question in the TechNet forums you might even get asked for it. (or at least get … Continue reading "How to determine your Windows Server 2008 version"

Lifting the shroud off MinWin

Windows 7 isn't due for a very long time, but one of the most interesting things from the next version of Windows Operating System was publicly shown by Eric Traut on October 13th, 2007 at a presentation at the University of Illinois. (view links below) The feature I'm talking about is MinWin. It's basically a highly efficient Windows kernel … Continue reading "Lifting the shroud off MinWin"

Firewall management in Server Core, Part 1

In Server Core installations of Windows Server 2008 the Windows Firewall is enabled by default. This means it's locked up by default and offers little weakness towards unfriendly administrators and users. When you want to do something with your Server Core box you might want to open up the Windows Firewall a little bit to allow … Continue reading "Firewall management in Server Core, Part 1"

Handling Server Core Events

Windows Server 2008 Server Core doesn't have a graphical event viewer. There is a tool called wevtutil.exe that allows you work your log magic on the console, you can use the Event Viewer on another (graphical) machine to open the event logs of your Server Core box, but you might also opt for a nice event log … Continue reading "Handling Server Core Events"