Nice offer on a great Server Core book when you’re in the Netherlands! (and a little promotion of this blog)

For a limited time, Computer Collectief is offering books on Windows Server 2008 for a mere €10 each. While all these books would be great resources and a professional way to spend your holidays on the beach, I feel one particular book, should really make it to your reading list, when you’re working with Server … Continue reading "Nice offer on a great Server Core book when you’re in the Netherlands! (and a little promotion of this blog)"

Active Directory Services on Server Core installations

Windows Server 2012 is a major leap forward for Server Core installations of Windows Server. Not only are Full installations of Windows Server convertible back and forth to Server Core installations without reinstallation, a whole slew of new Server Roles have become available for installation on the mean, clean Server Core installations. Active Directory Domain … Continue reading "Active Directory Services on Server Core installations"

Server Core Anytime Upgrades

Windows Vista had a neat trick up its sleeve, that allowed admins to change the Vista SKU without the need for reinstallation or installation media. One could, for instance, 'transition' a Windows Vista Home Basic installation to Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate or Enterprise. This functionality is called Windows Anytime Upgrade (WAU) Windows 7 … Continue reading "Server Core Anytime Upgrades"

Server Core Roles and Features in 2008 R2

Server Core installations are versatile, secure and highly-optimized installations of Windows Server. Dubbed ‘Windows without Windows’ by some, these installation in Windows Server 2008 R2 are capable of providing more (infrastructural) services than ever! Just like Full installations of Windows Server 2008 R2, depending on the edition of your choice, or budget, the Server Roles … Continue reading "Server Core Roles and Features in 2008 R2"

How to get going with PowerShell in Server Core R2

Server Core installations of Windows Server 2008 R2 and installations of Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 offer Windows PowerShell. A lot has been written on the geekiness of PowerShell, how it wasn’t included in Server Core installations of Windows Server 2008 R2 and how you could enable it anyway. The question however is, how do you … Continue reading "How to get going with PowerShell in Server Core R2"

Windows on Windows (WoW) in Server Core R2

As you’re probably aware Windows Server 2008 R2 is not available in a 32bit (x86) version. Only 64bit versions (both x64 and IA64) are available, but Microsoft happily provides 32bit Windows on Windows (WoW) support, so admins can install their favorite 32bit programs on top of their 64bit installations. I’ve dedicated quite some blogposts to … Continue reading "Windows on Windows (WoW) in Server Core R2"

The Server Core Updates Estimation, Revisited

Microsoft touts the smaller attack surface as one of the biggest benefits of using Server Core, compared to a Full installation of Windows Server 2008. Because a Server Core installation is optimized, it doesn’t include most of the vulnerabilities found in Full installations. A consequence of these optimizations is a Server Core installation might need … Continue reading "The Server Core Updates Estimation, Revisited"

How to tell whether it’s a Server Core Domain Controller

Server Core installations of Windows Server 2008 can be utilized in a variety of ways. I’ve written about using them as Web 2.0 Servers with IIS 7, PHP and MySQL, as Streaming media (reverse) proxies, as branch office servers, loaded with DFS, DNS, DHCP and secured with BitLocker Drive Encryption and of course using them … Continue reading "How to tell whether it’s a Server Core Domain Controller"