Unable to remotely manage a Server Core machine (MMC, WMI, Device Manager)
I've been seeing a lot of churn internally and externally about installing a role on a server core machine and then trying to connect to it remotely only to find that the remote server core machine won't allow you to connect.
Remote Management:
To allow remote management of a server core machine run this locally on the box:
C:\>netsh advfirewall set currentprofile settings remotemanagement enable
Ok.
After which point the firewall should allow all your remote admin tools to connect (computer management and DNS snap-in for example).
WMI:
If you're looking for WMI to be open on your servers:
C:\>netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="windows management instrumentation (wmi)" new enable=yes
Updated 4 rule(s).
Ok.
Device Manager:
You can enable a read-only view of device manager remotely by doing the following:
1) On the server core machine enable remote management (see above).
2) On a full server open gpedit.msc and connect to the server core machine.
3) Go to: Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Device Installation
4) Enable the following policy: Allow remote access to the PnP interface.
5) Reboot the Server Core machine.
6) Now you should be able to access the device manager snap-in remotely from a full server.
Commands for a lot of different situations:
Want to know how to add.remove devices locally on a server core machien via the command line and every other command you'd ever need? See this:
http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/47a23a74-e13c-46de-8d30-ad0afb1eaffc1033.mspx?mfr=true
