Server Core

Video: Converting Server with a GUI to Minimal Server

Ben Herila [MSFT] — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 18:20:00 GMT

The Minimal Server Interface provides a convenient way to enjoy some of the benefits of Server Core, including a reduced attack surface and fewer reboots, while still maintaining local graphical management capabilities with many MMC snap-ins, local Server Manager, and support for non-Windows-8-style and non-WPF graphical applications. This video, hosted by Senior Group Program Manager Andrew Mason and our Tech Writer, Jaime Ondrusek, demonstrates the ability to switch a server from Server with a GUI mode to the Minimal Server Interface.

View Video
Format: wmv
Duration: 2:40

Using Features on Demand with Updated Systems and Patched Images

Ben Herila [MSFT] — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 23:58:00 GMT

As we’ve discussed in the past, Features on Demand makes it easy to reduce the footprint of your Windows Servers by removing optional components you don’t need from your server’s local disk. When you install Server Core (the default installation option for Windows Server 2012), the files needed for the Server with a GUI functionality are removed in this way. We call features in this state “Disabled with Payload Removed,” or “Removed” for short.

If you later want to reinstall one of these features, Windows needs to use a remote installation source because, of course, the files aren’t available (“staged”) on the local disk.By default, we use Windows Update as an installation source. However, not all servers have connectivity or access to Windows Update. If you don’t have connectivity to Windows Update, you need to supply an installation source, e.g.

[PowerShell]
Install-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Shell -Source wim:d:\sources\install.wim:4

Note: WSUS is not supported as an installation source.

Let’s see how this breaks down:

First, the -Source flag tells Windows to use a specified source. You can specify a directory to a winsxs folder e.g. on a mapped network drive, mounted WIM or VHD, or local disk. You can also specify the path to a Windows Image (WIM) file directly, by using the wim: prefix and specifying the image index immediately after the filename, in this case :4 for Serverdatacenter. (If you are running Standard edition, :2 will give you the full Standard image).For completeness, the default image indices are as follows:

(e.g. dism.exe /get-wiminfo /wimfile:d:\sources\install.wim )

Index : 1

Name : Windows Server 2012 SERVERSTANDARDCORE

Description : Windows Server 2012 SERVERSTANDARDCORE

Size : 7,195,580,708 bytes

Index : 2

Name : Windows Server 2012 SERVERSTANDARD

Description : Windows Server 2012 SERVERSTANDARD

Size : 11,999,848,937 bytes

Index : 3

Name : Windows Server 2012 SERVERDATACENTERCORE

Description : Windows Server 2012 SERVERDATACENTERCORE

Size : 7,176,243,455 bytes

Index : 4

Name : Windows Server 2012 SERVERDATACENTER

Description : Windows Server 2012 SERVERDATACENTER

Size : 11,995,224,677 bytes

These correspond to:

Standard Core (with optional GUI features removed)
Standard (all features except .NET 3.5. present)
Datacenter Core (optional GUI features removed)
Datacenter (all features except .NET 3.5. present)

You can also use the path to a WinSxS folder as a -Source. If you mount the install.wim file from the Windows Setup media, you’ll find the WinSxS folder as a sub-folder of the Windows folder.

If you are using a source that is located on a network share, you might see an error message that resembles the following:

Install-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Shell -Source:wim:z:\install.wim:2

Install-WindowsFeature : The request to add or remove features on the specified server failed.

Installation of one or more roles, role services, or features failed.

The source files could not be downloaded.

Use the "source" option to specify the location of the files that are required to restore the feature. For more information on specifying a source location,

seehttp://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=243077. Error: 0x800f0906

At line:1 char:1

+ Install-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra,Server-Gui-Shell -Source:wim:z:\ins ...

+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

+ CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (@{Vhd=; Credent...Name=localhost}:PSObject) [Install-WindowsFeature], Exception

+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : DISMAPI_Error__Cbs_Download_Failure,Microsoft.Windows.ServerManager.Commands.AddWindowsFeatureCommand

Success Restart Needed Exit Code Feature Result

------- -------------- --------- --------------

False No Failed {}

Example: Installing Server-Gui-Shell (Server Graphical Shell) on a Windows Server 2012 Standard box.

That’s because Install-WindowsFeature uses the machine account credentials – not your local user account credentials – to access the installation source. If the installation source is located on a network share, ensure that the machine account has permissions to read from the network share.

If you were to install an optional feature immediately after installing Windows Server 2012, you would have the RTM version of the binaries both installed on your server and on your installation media source. That’s all well and good. However, let’s say you update your server using Windows Update and an old version of a feature is superseded. Later, you want to reinstall that updated feature but the binaries have been removed from your system. When Windows goes to look at your installation source, it won’t be able to find the files for the feature anymore because it is looking for the updated binaries. Therefore, you need to patch your installation source as well.

My colleague Joseph Conway has written a post about how to actually go about updating your Windows images (your installation sources) using patches from the Microsoft Update Catalog. Read more here: http://blogs.technet.com/b/joscon/archive/2012/11/14/how-to-update-local-source-media-to-add-roles-and-features.aspx

It is important to note that when you update your installation source, you are adding additional versions to the component store. Old versions of components remain available for servers that need those versions. However, when you install a Windows feature using Install-WindowsFeature, Windows kicks off a Windows Update scan immediately after installing the feature. This ensures that (at least for servers with Windows Update enabled), accidentally installing an old version of a feature won’t compromise the security of the system.

Please let me know if you have any issues using the new Features on Demand functionality. We’d love to hear our customers’ feedback and I look forward to answering any questions that you may have.

Configuring the Minimal Server Interface

Ben Herila [MSFT] — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:47:00 GMT

In our previous blog posting, we introduced the Minimal Server Interface. At the end, we noted that there are three particular Windows features (among others, of course) that can be installed on any server running Windows Server 2012:

Server Core – always installed and enabled; the baseline feature for all Windows Servers
Server Graphical Management Tools & Infrastructure – functionality for Minimal Server Interface
Server Graphical Shell – equivalent to Server with a GUI

We also promised to explain how to combine these features in order to minimize your server’s surface area while preserving just enough of the functionality you need; and indeed, that’s our topic today.
There are two ways to configure the Minimal Server Interface: either start with Server with a GUI and uninstall the Server Graphical Shell feature, or start with Server Core and install the Server Graphical Management Tools & Infrastructure feature.

What is affected when I uninstall the Server Graphical Shell?

In some cases, when you uninstall the Server Graphical Shell, Windows features that depend on Server Graphical Shell will also be uninstalled. In Server Manager, a pop-up dialog box will warn you about what will be uninstalled. Non-Windows features, such as third-party software and other Microsoft products that don’t ship as part of Windows Server 2012, are not affected by the Install-WindowsFeature and Uninstall-WindowsFeature cmdlets. If you aren’t sure what an installation or uninstallation action is going to affect, you can add the -WhatIf flag to see what will be installed or uninstalled along with your selection.

Uninstall-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Shell -WhatIf

Settings associated with uninstalled features are also removed in some cases. You should back up any settings associated with a feature before you uninstall that feature.

Installing Minimal Server Interface

Because the Minimal Server Interface is situated between the Server Core and Server with a GUI modes, you can either install features on Server Core or remove features from Server with a GUI to reach the Minimal Server Interface installation state.

Caveat: Features on Demand. When you start with a Server Core installation, the files needed to install graphical features aren't installed on the local disk. This is actually a feature called remotification which involves removing the binaries from the local disk while preserving metadata to allow the binaries to be securely reintroduced at a later date. When you try to install a GUI feature, the necessary files are downloaded from Windows Update using a feature called Features on Demand. An internet connection is required and several gigabytes of data will be downloaded. If you don’t want to download all this data, or if your server doesn’t have an internet connection, you can supply an alternate installation source on the command line or configure one via Group Policy. For more information, see the Using Windows Server “8” Installation Options document on technet.

To install Server Graphical Management Tools & Infrasturctureon Server Core:
1. Open PowerShell, then run the following command: Install-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra
2. Restart the server when prompted (or run Restart-Computer in PowerShell)

To remove Server Graphical Shellon Server with a GUI (either locally or remotely) using Windows PowerShell:
1. Open PowerShell, then run the following command: Uninstall-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Shell -WhatIf
2. You should see Collecting data... for a few moments, and then a listing of the installation summary will be displayed in the PowerShell window. This summary lists any other features that will also be uninstalled at this time.
```
PS C:\> Uninstall-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Shell -WhatIf
What if: Checking if running in 'WhatIf' Mode.
What if: Performing uninstallation for "[User Interfaces and Infrastructure] Server Graphical Shell".
What if: This server may need to be restarted after the removal completes.
           
Success Restart Needed Exit Code      Feature Result
------- -------------- ---------      --------------
True    Maybe          Success        {Server Graphical Shell}
```
3. Restart the server when prompted (or run Restart-Computer in PowerShell)

You can also use the Server Manager GUI remotely to install or uninstall Windows features, including “User Interfaces and Infrastructure,” from a Windows 8 “client” PC or another Windows Server 2012 server that already has Server Manager installed. In other words, you can use Server Manager remotely to manage a server running in Server Core mode.

Open Server Manager, click Manage, then Remove Roles and Features.
On the Server Selection page, select the local server (and/or any servers you want to manage) and click Next.
On the Features page, expand User Interfaces and Infrastructure and uncheck Server Graphical Shell. Make sure that Graphical Management Tools and Infrastructure remains checked; unchecking that feature will uninstall Minimal Server Interface as well, resulting in a Server Core Installation.
At this point, Server Manager will warn you of the impending removal of any dependent features -- such as Desktop Experience -- that you didn't explicitly select to remove. If you don't see a warning, then no additional Windows features will be affected. Accept
Restart the server when prompted.

After you restart the server, Windows will be configured with the Minimal Server Interface. Here’s what it will looks like after you log in:

Figure 1. The Minimal Server Interface after signing in

You’ll see Server Manager, which is a graphical tool you can use to manage the local server and other remote servers. Behind Server Manager (which starts maximized on most configurations) you’ll find a command prompt, which you can use to start other applications and management tools (such as “servermanager” if you close Server Manager, or even “powershell” to get a Windows PowerShell command line environment).

If you close everything, you’ll be left with a black screen. To get back to a command line environment or Server Manager, press CTRL+ALT+DEL and select Task Manager. From there, click More details, then File>Run New Task. Type the command you want to run (such as “cmd” to get your command prompt back) and click OK or press Enter.

Next Steps

Now that you have installed the Minimal Server Interface, you can use the command line to install software products (using msiexec or the product’s setup.exe), Windows features, and server roles. You can also use the local management tools provided by Server Manager. On the Tools menu, you’ll find quick shortcuts to most of your MMC snap-ins. Server Manager can also be used to manage other servers, including servers that don’t have Server Manager installed (such as those running in Server Core mode). You can “Add other servers to manage” and then right-click on servers in the list view to see what management options are available for that particular server. Here are some examples of things you can do:

Launch Disk Management to remotely configure hard disk partitions
Manage Remote Desktop scenarios and licensing (RDSH)
Configure Failover Clusters
Open MMC snap-ins
Open a remote PowerShell session

In some cases, you can even manage multiple servers simultaneously, from the same interface. Server Manager is a very powerful tool indeed. It is important to note, however, that all functionality exposed through Server Manager is also available via Windows PowerShell both locally and remotely.

It's also a great idea to start exploring PowerShell to experience the power and control that our new command line interfaces offer. You can manage this server remotely, too, from other Windows 8 PCs and servers. We'll be posting some general information on remote management in an upcoming post; for now, check out What needs to be configured to do remote disk management of a Server Core installation in Windows Server 2012 PowerShell at the Server and Cloud Partner and Customer Solutions Team Blog.

Conclusion

The Minimal Server Interface is designed to be a compatibility or transitional layer from a Server with GUI to Server Core. Although you benefit from reduced patching footprint and lower resource utilization in comparison to the full Server with a GUI installation option, the smallest surface area is achieved using Server Core. When you are unable to use Windows Server Core, the Minimal Server Interface provides the best of both worlds of Windows Server. It delivers comprehensive graphical management capabilities while reducing patching requirements and minimizing disk and memory footprint. Please try the Minimal Server Interface and let us know what you think!

Live! TechNet Radio: IT Time - An Overview of Windows Server “8” Beta – Server Core

Ben Herila [MSFT] — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:56:00 GMT

Andrew Mason and I have teamed up with the TechNet Radio team to bring you a live tour of Windows Server and the Minimal Server Interface.

About this Video

Principal Group Program Manager Andrew Mason and Program Manager Ben Herila join us for today’s show as we go over the latest features found in Windows Server “8” Beta – Server Core. Tune in as we cover improvements made to service and manageability, role support and flexibility, and the various configuration levels.

Here is a direct link to the episode.

Balancing Compatibility and Footprint with the Minimal Server Interface

Ben Herila [MSFT] — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 19:01:00 GMT

As Andrew mentioned in our previous blog post, we have made a huge investment this release to enable and improve many new and existing scenarios on Server Core. While Server Core offers a great, minimal footprint system that is capable of running most server roles, we also recognize that many customers need to run software that doesn’t yet support Server Core (whether it’s other Microsoft software or not). That’s why we created the Minimal Server Interface, which is designed to give you just enough of Windows to be able to run most existing software, including GUI management tools, but still leaves uninstalled many features not required on a Server, such as Internet Explorer, Windows Explorer, and the Desktop.

Engineering Goals

Windows applications and server roles have traditionally been built on top of what is known as the Windows Foundation: a monolithic package containing dependencies for all of Windows. Since Windows Server 2008, we have been working to break this package up into smaller, installable features. The diagram below shows how the Windows Foundation is split up in Windows Server 2012:

While the Windows Foundation feature is always installed on “client” editions of Windows 8, it is possible to install only the Server Core feature on Windows Server. This is the recommended and default installation mode for Windows Server 2012. The all-new Minimal Server Interface, which is comprised of the yellow highlighted packages in the diagram above, installs on top of Server Core. It is designed to serve as a compatibility layer for those applications that do not yet work on Server Core.

Why is Minimal Server Interface Important?

Before we explain why the Minimal Server Interface itself is important, we will first explain why Server Core is important. Minimizing the disk space and memory requirements for Windows Server enables users to increase the density of their servers (especially when virtual machines are involved) and scale out their deployments significantly. With Server Core, we not only accomplish considerable space savings (thereby reducing storage costs), but we also minimize the attack surface area (thereby increasing security and reliability). Reducing the overall footprint of Windows also enables us to minimize the servicing footprint. By limiting the number of components that must be patched on a given server, we are able to naturally minimize the number of applicable patches, thereby reducing the frequency of reboots and increasing server availability. Windows Server 2012’s focus on being a great platform for private cloud deployments further underscores the importance of our efforts to enable a minimal system footprint.

As you might imagine, Server Core represents quite a scaled-down version of Windows Server. We eliminated many GUI features, which are some of the most bulky packages in Windows. However, we realized that many users are not yet ready to move to a remotely managed and local command-line-only Windows Server. For this reason, we created the Minimal Server Interface, which is an intermediate state in between Server with a GUI and Server Core. Practically, the Minimal Server Interface contains almost everything that Server with a GUI has, with two notable exceptions. Internet Explorer 10 and the Windows Explorer shell are not installed in the Minimal Server Interface. However, Server Manager, MMC, and a number of graphical management options are available for use. Accordingly, the Minimal Server Interface provides comprehensive local GUI management capability without the attack and servicing footprint of a full “Server with a GUI” installation.

Configuring Minimal Server Interface

The Minimal Server Interface is designed to be a state in between Server with a GUI and Server Core. As it is intended primarily as a transitional layer, it is not directly exposed in the Windows Server installation options dialog box. You’ll need to install the Minimal Server Interface on top of Server Core, or remove the Server Graphical Shell from a Server with a GUI installation. The Minimal Server Interface works this way because there are three particular Windows features (among others, of course) that can be installed on any server running Windows Server 2012:

Server Core – always installed and enabled; the baseline feature for all Windows Servers
Server Graphical Management Tools & Infrastructure – functionality for Minimal Server Interface
Server Graphical Shell – equivalent to Server with a GUI

In our next blog post, we will describe how to configure the Minimal Server Interface in two ways: one, for administrators who choose to start with the default option of Server Core and want additional GUI functionality, and the other, for administrators who are currently using the Server Graphical Shell and want to reap some of the benefits of a minimal system footprint.

Until next time,

Ben Herila
Program Manager, Windows Server

Server Core in Windows Server 2012

Andrew Mason - MSFT — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 22:45:02 GMT

The Windows Server blog introduced many of the changes we have made for Windows Server 2012 for Server Core, the new Minimal Server Interface, and Features on Demand in this posting: http://blogs.technet.com/b/windowsserver/archive/2012/03/20/building-an-optimized-private-cloud-using-windows-server-8-server-core.aspx. We will be using the Server Core blog to discuss all of these in more depth and welcome you to post any comments and questions you might have regarding these changes.

Today I’m going to start by discussing some of the ways you can take advantage of the ability to move between Server Core and Server with a GUI in Windows Server 2012.

Changing server requirements – If you have deployed Server Core and then there is a change in what needs to run on the server that requires either Minimal Server Interface or Server with a GUI you can now convert up without having to reinstall and rebuild the server.

Troubleshooting or configuration – If there are any issues that you need to trouble shoot or configuration changes you want to make and find it easier to do either with the local GUI tools, you can convert to either Minimal Server Interface or Server with a GUI.

Initial configuration – You can install Server with a GUI, configure the server as desired for your environment, and then convert to Server Core for production and get all the servicing and reboot reduction benefits of Server Core.

Single master image – With the ability to switch between Server Core and Server with a GUI you can create a single master image for deployment. Once installed on a new server it can then be converted to Server Core if that is the planned configuration for the server. There is no longer a need to create and maintain two Windows Server images.

For steps on how to convert between Server Core and Server with a GUI, see the Installation Options topic for the beta release: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831786.aspx We’ll cover the ways to convert in more detail in a future posting, as well as Minimal Server Interface, and Features on Demand.

Server Core on the Windows Server blog

Andrew Mason - MSFT — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 20:02:59 GMT

There is a new posting on Server Core on the main Windows Server blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/windowsserver/archive/2012/03/20/building-an-optimized-private-cloud-using-windows-server-8-server-core.aspx

More details will be posted here in the coming weeks....

Windows Server “8” Beta announcement

Andrew Mason - MSFT — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 23:42:11 GMT

This morning Bill Laing, Corporate Vice President of Server and Cloud, announced the beta release of Windows Server “8”. For anyone who is interested in hearing more about what is in the beta, please go read what Bill has to say. In the coming weeks, there will be more Windows Server “8” blog posts coming on the Windows Server Blog.

Stay tuned to the Server Core blog for more details on Server Core and the, Minimal Server Interface.

Server Core news

Andrew Mason - MSFT — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:58:44 GMT

Some Server Core related information was recently posted on the Microsoft Server and Cloud Platform blog that will likely be of interest to Server Core users:

Windows Server 8: Server Applications and the Minimal Server Interface

SQL Server on Server Core

Andrew Mason - MSFT — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 15:22:48 GMT

The next version of SQL Server (code name Denali) will include support for Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Core: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/nikosan/archive/2010/11/11/future-sql-server-edition-denali.aspx. I'm sure more information will be posted as SQL Server gets closer to release.

.Net 4 Functionality on Server Core

Andrew Mason - MSFT — Tue, 03 May 2011 18:53:20 GMT

Details on the .Net 4 namespaces that work on Server Core are available at: http://www.satter.org/2011/04/net-4-on-server-core.html

Microsoft .NET Framework 4 for Server Core is now Available

Andrew Mason - MSFT — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 21:31:46 GMT

The download center link is: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=c2794455-274d-4363-ade6-e69008a24d8a

Before installing, be sure to check the Instructions section on the page. .NET Framework 4 on Server Core requires the following to be installed:

· SP1

· WoW64

· .Net 2

.NET Framework 4 availability on Server Core

Andrew Mason - MSFT — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 00:13:15 GMT

We have been hearing your questions about whether .NET Framework 4 will be available on Server Core. I’m happy to announce that in Q1 of 2011, there will be a release of .NET Framework 4 supporting installation on the Server Core installation option. This will require Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, which has publicly been stated to release in Q1. Like in .NET 2.0 and .NET 3.5, with .NET Framework 4, you will be able to build and run managed applications that use ASP.NET, WCF, WF, Windows Services and Console Applications.

Retiring Oclist.exe

Andrew Mason - MSFT — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 16:51:41 GMT

For those of you that used Server Core in Windows Server 2008 you may be familiar with the Oclist.exe tool. This tool was included in Server Core to provide a way to obtain a list of roles and features on Server Core and their installation state. In Windows Server 2008 R2 a new tool, Dism.exe, was introduced for adding/removing roles and features and included the capability to provide the list of roles and features as well as installation state by running:

Dism /online /get-features /format:table

In the Server Core documentation we changed to using Dism.exe for Windows Server 2008 R2. Because Dism.exe is an integrated command line tool for all tasks related to optional roles and features and provides additional formating options for its output, in the next release we are planning to remove Oclist.exe from Server Core.

If there are any concerns with this change, please post a comment or email srvcfdbk@microsoft.com.

IPv6 transition technologies on Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Core

Andrew Mason - MSFT — Fri, 14 May 2010 22:03:00 GMT

If you are using an IPv6 transition technology on a Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Core installation you may experience one or more of the following symptoms:

•	IPv6 transition technologies such as ISATAP, 6to4 and Teredo do not work correctly when the computer is a member of a network.
•	You cannot see tunnel adapters for ISATAP, 6to4, or Teredo when you run the ipconfig /all command.
•	The CPU usage of the Svchost.exe process that hosts the IP Helper service (iphlpsvc) is abnormally high.
•	You cannot find the Tunnel.sys file on the computer, which should be under %windir%\system32\drivers.

If so, there is a fix available, see article 978309 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978309) for more details and the fix.

Network Binding Management

Andrew Mason - MSFT — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:12:00 GMT

There is a new utility available to allow management of your network bindings at the command line on Server Core: NVSPBind.

It is available at: http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/nvspbind

More information is at: http://blogs.technet.com/jhoward/archive/2010/01/25/announcing-nvspbind.aspx

Upgrading Windows Server 2008 R2 without media

Brendan P — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:53:00 GMT

Windows Server 2008 R2 introduces a new command-line utility, DISM, the Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool. One of DISM’s many useful features is the ability to use its edition-servicing commands to upgrade an R2 installation without requiring install media. This is functionally equivalent to Windows Anytime Upgrade in a Windows 7 client install, and can be performed on both an online or offline image, and on both full Server and Server Core installations.

Upgrades using the edition servicing method are quick, and don’t require a full reinstall of the operating system. Deployed roles and features, and other characteristics (machine name, user and admin accounts, etc) are persisted forward. Because the target editions are staged within the image, only the updates necessary to move from edition to the next are applied.

The upgrade options are limited to edition families, and are irreversible – you can’t downgrade once you’ve gone up an edition. Additionally, you can’t move from full Server to Server Core (or vice versa).

The supported upgrade paths are:

· Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard -> Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise -> Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter

· Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Server Core -> Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Server Core -> Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter Server Core

· Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation -> Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard

The tool essential for this process, DISM.exe, is included in every installation of Windows Server 2008 R2, and the general usage for online and offline use is documented on TechNet here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd744380(WS.10).aspx

One scenario that we sometimes use internally is the online upgrading of Hyper-V hosts. If you decide that you want to move from Enterprise’s 4 VM limit to Datacenter’s support for an unlimited number of VMs, you can migrate the VMs to another host, upgrade the old host in less than thirty minutes, and then immediately migrate the VMs back once the process is complete. There’s no need to take the whole server offline or rebuild from scratch.

The syntax for DISM is fairly straightforward. From an elevated command prompt, you can query for the current edition, for possible target editions, and initiate the upgrade. To upgrade, you need to provide a valid 25-character product key for the edition to which you’re upgrading.

To determine the installed edition, run:

DISM /online /Get-CurrentEdition

To check the possible target editions, run:

DISM /online /Get-TargetEditions

Finally, to initiate an upgrade, run:

DISM /online /Set-Edition:<edition ID> /ProductKey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

So, for example, to upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter from a downlevel edition, you would run:

DISM /online /Set-Edition:ServerDatacenter /productkey:ABCDE-ABCDE-ABCDE-ABCDE-ABCDE

After running the /Set-Edition command, DISM will prepare the operating system for the edition servicing operation, then reboot twice while it applies the changes to the operating system. After the final reboot, you’ll be running the new edition!

UPDATE: One important note, as I'm reminded by Xaegr in the comments, is that the server can't be a DC at the time of upgrade. If you demote a DC using dcpromo, you can upgrade, then re-promote it (you may need to migrate FSMO roles, etc, in order to succesfully demote.)

Definitely let me know if you have questions about particular details – we’re excited that this functionality is now available.

thanks,

Brendan

Setting the Time Zone in Windows Server 2008 R2

Andrew Mason - MSFT — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:39:00 GMT

There is now a command line utility, tzutil.exe, that can be used to view the current time zone setting as well as to configure the time zone.

For those of you using PowerShell that want to script setting the time zone on Server Core, a PowerShell script is now available to do that. It is posted at: http://blogs.technet.com/deploymentguys/archive/2009/06/07/setting-the-time-zone-using-windows-powershell.aspx

Server Core, application development and FxCop

Lfsantos — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:17:00 GMT

Server Core is a new Windows installation option introduced in Windows Server 2008.

The original Windows Server 2008 Server Core did not include .NET -- and that limited the things you could use it for. In Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Core includes .Net 2.0 and .Net v3.5 (neither are installed by default), which opens a new set of possibilities only available in full Server installs until now. Server Core can now run a wide variety of managed applications, including hosting ASP.NET, WCF, WF, Windows Services and Console Applications.

An important part of the original Server Core vision is to keep the installation small and focused, minimizing servicing, install time, size, etc. When we added .NET to Server Core, we maintained that vision, putting in only the parts most likely to be needed. For instance, we've left out the graphics interface (WPF and Windows Forms), design time assemblies, and some tools etc. We've also included only the 64 bit version of the Framework and tools by default.

When writing .NET applications for Server Core, you can use most – but not all – of the functionality in .NET 2.0 or 3.5 (depending on which you have installed). If, on your development machine, you use some functionality that is not present in the Server Core version of .NET, your program will probably start to run – but then give hard to diagnose errors when it hits the functionality that is not included.

Those errors can be hard to diagnose, particularly since the code will run fine on a developer machine, with full .NET. To make it easier to check for these kinds of errors, FxCop can come to the rescue, especially if you use VS 2005 or VS 2008. FxCop is a standalone application that can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads and is used to analyze managed code assemblies. It reports issues concerning violations of the Microsoft framework design guidelines for writing robust and easily maintainable code using .NET. For Server Core, we’ve provided a set of FxCop rules that you can use to validate your applications before you deploy them. For example, imagine that you have a Windows Service application that uses the System.Media namespace to emit a particular sound when an event happens: on a full server, with full .NET, this works just fine; on Server Core, it will fail. In this case, by loading the Server Core FxCop rules and scanning your code, you will find all the dangerous places where your application may break. We highly recommend using these rules before deploying your application to a Server Core box.

Like every other rule, this one can be loaded into FXCOP by using the “Project” menu and selecting “Add Rules…” option. To check if the action succeeded, you can see it in the rules tab. Once loaded, these rules will scan all the assemblies in your FxCop project, looking for illegal usage of non-supported Framework type.

If you wish to download the FxCop Server Core validation rule, it can be found in this post. Also, be advised that these rules were only tested against FXCOP version 1.36.

For a complete list of supported namespaces, please, refer to Server Core’s documentation.

References:

The Server Core step by step guide is at:

· Read online: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753802.aspx

· Download as a Word doc: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=B16F4DC4-A3D3-4DC7-AA51-A1C6728B217A&displaylang=en

The namespace list is at: http://blogs.technet.com/server_core/archive/2008/11/25/net-2-0-and-server-core-in-windows-server-2008-r2.aspx and once the WS08 R2 SDK is published it will be include there as well.

New Server Core Step by Step Guide

Andrew Mason - MSFT — Tue, 19 May 2009 01:44:00 GMT

A new version of the Server Core step by step guide has been posted to TechNet, which includes the new Windows Server 2008 R2 commands (DISM.exe, new roles/features, etc):

Read online: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753802.aspx

Download as a Word doc: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=B16F4DC4-A3D3-4DC7-AA51-A1C6728B217A&displaylang=en

I’ll blog more about the new commands and features in the coming months, with some new tips and tricks.

In addition to the new step by step guide for Server Core, there are also two job aids now available. These have some commonly used commands on a single sheet of paper that can be folded up and carried with you. A version for Windows Server 2008 and a version that includes some of the new Windows Server 2008 R2 commands are available at:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=151984

WoW64 Support on Server Core in Windows Server 2008 R2

Andrew Mason - MSFT — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:47:00 GMT

Those of you that installed the beta build may have noticed that we made WoW64 an optional feature in Server Core for R2. In the beta it was not installed by default, which caused its share of headaches due to many installers still being 32bit or using 32bit custom actions. Based on all the feedback we received from the beta, in the RC build WoW64 is now installed by default so 32bit tools and installers will work out of the box. WoW64 is still optional, so can be uninstalled if desired.

The following server roles and features have WoW64 packages so if you need 32bit support when using any of these you will need to install the server role or feature and then the WoW64 package:

Server Role / Feature	WoW64 Package Name
.Net 2.0	NetFx2-ServerCore-WOW64
.Net 3	NetFx3-ServerCore-WOW64
Clustering	FailoverCluster-Core-WOW64
Input Method Editor	ServerCore-EA-IME-WOW64
PowerShell	MicrosoftWindowsPowerShell-WOW64
Print Server	Printing-ServerCore-Role-WOW64
Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications	SUACore-WOW64

Server Core Development Training Opportunity

Andrew Mason - MSFT — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:49:00 GMT

Microsoft Technology Platform Adoption labs is offering a training session April 21-23 on Server Core development for Windows Server 2008 R2. This will be offered via a “Virtual Lab” so you can attend from your office, there is no need to travel. However, as with other events and programs associated with pre-release products, an event or corporate non-disclosure agreement is required.

If you are interested in finding out more, there is more information posted at: http://blogs.msdn.com/philpenn/archive/2009/03/30/microsoft-platform-technology-adoption-labs-go-virtual.aspx as well as a link (towards the bottom) to a contact form to request more information on attending.

User Account Control (UAC) and Server Core

Andrew Mason - MSFT — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:21:00 GMT

A slight detour from the Windows Server 2008 R2 posts this time around to cover a topic that has been coming up recently: UAC on Server Core.

UAC is not available in Server Core, since it is a command line only interface, doesn’t have IE, or support for user applications. In addition, to use UAC with the command prompt you need to have the Explorer Shell so that you can click Start, right click on Command Prompt, and select run as administrator, which obviously isn’t possible on Server Core.

If the registry entry that controls UAC is modified on a Server Core installation, it will make doing anything at the command prompt very difficult. Running most anything will result in access denied or other related errors, depending on how UAC aware what you are trying to run is. A quick way to determine if UAC is what is causing the error is to run regedit. If UAC is enable you will receive an error dialog that says “The specified service does not exist as an installed service.” and clicking Ok will return “Access is denied.” on the command line.

To resolve this you can:

· If you are using Group Policy to configure your servers and put a server running the Server Core installation into an OU that enables UAC, move the server to another OU that doesn’t enforce UAC and let Group Policy change the setting.

· If UAC was manually configured, disable UAC by remotely modifying the registry

· Logon using the built-in administrator to perform your admin task or disable UAC.

To disable UAC on Server Core you can use reg.exe or regedit.exe to set the EnableLUA value under the following Registry path to 0 and reboot:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

More on Windows Server 2008 R2 next time.

.NET 3.0 and 3.5 in Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Core

Andrew Mason - MSFT — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 02:51:00 GMT

Much like .NET 2.0 in Server Core, .NET 3.0 and 3.5 are also subsets of functionality. Included are:

· Windows Communication Framework (WCF)

· Windows Workflow Framework (WF)

· LINQ

The only functionality not included is the Windows Presentation Framework (WPF).

.NET 3.0 and 3.5 functionality is installed with a single package:

· Start /w ocsetup NetFx3-ServerCore

If 32bit support is needed you first need to install WoW64 and then .NET 2.0 WoW64 support, the following assume the above command has already been run:

· Start /w ocsetup ServerCore-WOW64

· Start /w ocsetup NetFx3-ServerCore-WOW64

.NET 2.0 and Server Core in Windows Server 2008 R2

Andrew Mason - MSFT — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 02:27:00 GMT

This time I’ll cover what I meant last time by a subset of .NET 2.0, with future posts covering the other additions in more detail. Not everything required for full .NET 2.0 support is included in Server Core. Instead of increasing the Server Core footprint to add functionality that isn’t “core” to Server Core (couldn’t resist), we added the portions of .NET 2.0 that align with what is already in Server Core. Therefore, the following namespaces are not available as part of .NET 2.0 on Server Core:

· Microsoft.Aspnet.Snapin

· Microsoft.Ink

· Microsoft.ManagementConsole.*

· Microsoft.StylusInput.*

· Microsoft.VisualBasic.Compatibility.VB6

· Microsoft.Windows.Themes

· Microsoft.WindowsCE.Forms

· Microsoft.WindowsMobile.DirectX.*

· System.ComponentModel.Design.*

· System.Data.Design

· System.Deployment.Application

· System.Diagnostics.Design

· System.Media

· System.Messaging.*

· System.Speech.*

· System.Web.UI.Design.* (design time support in this namespace is unavailable, runtime support for expression builders is supported)

· System.Windows.*

· UIAutomationClientsideProviders

As you can see from the list, these require functionality not available in Server Core, e.g. DirectX, UI/MMC, Multimedia, Tablet support, etc.

To install .NET 2.0 on Server Core you can run:

· Start /w ocsetup NetFx2-ServerCore

If 32bit support is needed you first need to install WoW64 and then .NET 2.0 WoW64 support, the following assume the above command has already been run:

· Start /w ocsetup ServerCore-WOW64

· Start /w ocsetup NetFx2-ServerCore-WOW64