IT tutorials
 
Technology
 

Windows Server 2012 : Deploying Servers - Installation options

8/15/2013 6:21:15 PM
- Free product key for windows 10
- Free Product Key for Microsoft office 365
- Malwarebytes Premium 3.7.1 Serial Keys (LifeTime) 2019

1. Understanding installation options

Administrators of smaller Windows Server environments in the past have traditionally relied heavily on GUI-based tools for administering servers because of the ease of use of such tools. Scripting might occasionally have been used for some repetitive tasks, such as performing a bulk creation of user accounts in Active Directory, but most server management was done through the GUI in one of the following ways:

  • By logging on interactively to a server’s console

  • By logging on remotely to a server using Remote Desktop Connection (Mstsc.exe)

  • By using the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) installed on a workstation

With the shift toward centralizing IT infrastructure within data centers and cloud computing, however, most midsized and large organizations now prefer to try automating as much Windows Server administration as possible using scripting. With the enhanced Windows PowerShell support in Windows Server 2012, such automation has now become much easier.

Choosing an installation option

The default installation option when you install Windows Server 2012 is now the Server Core Installation option instead of the Server With A GUI (formerly called Full) option as in previous versions of Windows Server. The reasons for this change are as follows:

  • Server Core requires less disk space than Server With A GUI, which can be important in data centers that use virtualization to consolidate multiple virtualized server workloads per physical host machine.

  • Server Core has a smaller attack surface, which makes it more secure for data-center and cloud computing.

  • Server Core requires fewer software updates, which means less servicing overhead.

  • Administrators can now switch between different installation options after Windows Server 2012 has been deployed, which means you can now change your Server Core installations to Server With A GUI installations without having to wipe and reinstall.

What this means is that administrators should always install the Server Core option when deploying Windows Server 2012 unless you have a compelling reason for installing the Server With A GUI option instead.

Managing servers in small environments

Administrators in small environments that have only a few servers can still take advantage of all the benefits that come from running the Server Core installation even if they don’t feel confident working from the command line. They can do this by following these steps:

  1. Install Windows Server 2012 on the servers using the Server With A GUI installation option.

  2. Perform all initial configuration of the server using the GUI tools available in this installation option.

  3. Run the Uninstall-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra,Server-Gui-Shell –Restart Windows PowerShell command to convert the servers’ Server With A GUI installation to a Server Core installation as described later in this lesson.

  4. Install the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) for Microsoft Windows 8 on a client computer, and use these convenient GUI tools for managing the servers.

    This procedure makes it easy for such administrators to configure their servers while still allowing them to take advantage of the smaller attack surface, servicing overhead, and disk-space requirements of the Server Core option.

Minimal server interface

In addition to the two installation options (Server Core and Server With A GUI) you can choose from when you deploy Windows Server 2012, there is also a third installation option available in Windows Server 2012 called the Minimal Server Interface. This new installation option can be configured only after deployment by using either Server Manager or Windows PowerShell. It has all the functionality of Server With A GUI except for the following capabilities, which are not included:

  • Desktop user interface (traditional Windows desktop)

  • Metro user interface (Start screen)

  • Windows Explorer

  • Internet Explorer

  • Some of the Control Panel utilities

The Minimal Server Interface installation has a smaller servicing footprint than the Server With A GUI installation, but administrators can still use it to run local GUI management tools for administering a server.

2. Converting between installation options

You can use either Windows PowerShell or, in some cases, the new Server Manager console included in Windows Server 2012 to convert between different installation options.

 Server With A GUI installations of Windows Server 2012 have two additional features installed that are not installed on Server Core installations:

  • Graphical Management Tools And Infrastructure This feature includes various infrastructure components and components that provide the Minimal Server Interface that supports GUI management tools, such as MMC consoles, but it does not include Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer, or the Metro start screen. The Windows PowerShell name for this feature is Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra.

  • Server Graphical Shell This feature includes components that provide the full graphical user interface, such as Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer, and the Metro start screen. The Windows PowerShell name for this feature is Server-Gui-Shell.

In addition, a feature called Desktop Experience optionally can be installed to provide Windows 8 features such as desktop themes, photo management, and Windows Media Player. The Windows PowerShell name for this feature is Desktop-Experience.

Using Windows PowerShell

In most cases, administrators will want to use Windows PowerShell to convert between the different installation options, especially if they are managing remote servers in a data center or Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) cloud environment. The two Windows PowerShell cmdlets used for converting between different installation options of Windows Server 2012 are the following:

  • Install-WindowsFeature This cmdlet can be used generally to install one or more roles, role services, or features. The cmdlet also supersedes the older cmdlet Add-WindowsFeature that was used in previous versions of Windows Server, but Add-WindowsFeature still remains as an alias for the newer cmdlet.

  • Uninstall-WindowsFeature This cmdlet can be used generally to remove one or more roles, role services, or features. The cmdlet also supersedes the older cmdlet Remove-WindowsFeature that was used in previous versions of Windows Server, but Remove-WindowsFeature still remains as an alias for the newer cmdlet.

Both of the preceding cmdlets can be used for installing or uninstalling features to either of the following:

  • Running installations of Windows Server 2012

  • Offline virtual hard disks (VHDs) on which Windows Server 2012 has been installed

Note that to install a particular feature on a Windows installation or offline VHD, the feature binaries first must be available for installation. Most feature binaries are available locally in the side-by-side store (%windir%\winsxs folder) on installations of Windows Vista and later. Note, however, that when you perform a clean install of Windows Server 2012 using the Server Core installation option, the feature binaries for the Graphical Management Tools And Infrastructure feature and Server Graphical Shell feature are not staged in the local side-by-side store of a Server Core installation. This means that if you want to install these features on a Server Core installation, you must specify an alternate location for their binaries—for example, a mounted .wim file of a Windows Server 2012 installation of the same service pack level. Alternatively, you can allow the feature binaries to be downloaded and installed from Windows Update, although this can take some time with larger feature binaries.

Note

MORE INFO What does “staged”mean?

When you want to service a Windows installation by adding or removing a feature, the package containing the binaries for installing that feature can be in one of three states:

  • Installed The package has been installed and is present in the WinSxS folder.

  • Staged The package has not been installed but is present in the WinSxS folder.

  • Absent The package is not installed and is not present in the WinSxS folder. This state is also sometimes referred to as “disabled with payload removed.”

Packages that are not present in the WinSxS folder can still be installed in Windows Server 2012 if you use the –Source parameter for the Install-WindowsFeature cmdlet to specify a mounted .wim file—or you can omit the –Source parameter and allow the package needed to be downloaded from Windows Update. The new Features On Demand capability in Windows Server 2012 and described later in this lesson also allows administrators to remove packages from the WinSxS folder, something that could not be done on installations of previous versions of Windows.

Converting Server Core to Server With A GUI

To use Windows PowerShell to convert a Server Core installation of Windows Server 2012 to a Server With A GUI installation, run the following command:

Install-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra,Server-Gui-Shell -Restart
   -Source C:\mountdir\windows\winsxs

The path C:\mountdir\windows\winsxs for the –Source parameter in the preceding command specifies a mounted Server With A GUI image in the install.wim file in the \sources folder of your Windows Server 2012 installation media.

Alternatively, you could allow the necessary feature binaries to be downloaded and installed from Windows Update by omitting the –Source parameter as follows:

Install-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra,Server-Gui-Shell -Restart

Note that if you previously converted a Server With A GUI installation to Server Core and did not remove the binaries for these features, the binaries will remain staged in the WinSxS folder and therefore do not need to be downloaded from Windows Update.

Converting Server Core to Minimal Server Interface

To use Windows PowerShell to convert a Server Core installation of Windows Server 2012 to a Minimal Server Interface installation, use this command:

Install-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra -Restart -Source C:\mountdir\windows\winsxs

The explanation of the –Source parameter is the same as previously noted. To download and install the feature binaries from Windows Update instead of a locally mounted .wim image, use this command:

Install-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra -Restart

Converting Server With A GUI to Server Core

To use Windows PowerShell to convert a Server With A GUI installation of Windows Server 2012 to a Server Core installation, run the following command:

Uninstall-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra,Server-Gui-Shell -Restart

Converting Server With A GUI to Minimal Server Interface

To use Windows PowerShell to convert a Server With A GUI installation of Windows Server 2012 to a Minimal Server Interface installation, use this command:

Uninstall-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Shell -Restart

Converting between installation options in offline VHDs

To convert an offline VHD in which a Server Core installation of Windows Server 2012 has been installed, run Install-WindowsFeature with the –Source parameter as shown previously but also include the –vhd parameter to specify the path to the .vhd file. For example, consider a virtual machine named SERVER6 whose system drive is a VHD located in the following folder on the Hyper-V host:

C:\Users\Public\Documents\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks\SERVER6.vhdx

If the virtual machine is offline (stopped), you can convert the Windows Server 2012 installation on the VHD from Server Core to Server With A GUI by performing the following steps:

  1. Create a new folder named C:\mountdir on your Hyper-V host. You will use this folder to mount the install.wim file on your Windows Server 2012 installation media so that the Install-WindowsFeature cmdlet can obtain the necessary feature binaries from the WinSxS folder of a Server With A GUI image in the .wim file.

  2. Insert your Windows Server 2012 installation media into the DVD drive (assumed to be the D: drive) on your Hyper-V host.

  3. Open a command prompt on your Hyper-V host and type dism /get-wiminfo /wimfile:D:\sources\install.wim to display the index numbers of the Windows Server 2012 images in the .wim file. Make a note of the image of a Server With A GUI image that is from the same edition as your Server Core installation. For example, if you installed the SERVERDATACENTERCORE image on your server, note the index number of the SERVERDATACENTER image in the .wim file.

  4. Mount the .wim file by typing dism /mount-wim /wimfile:D:\sources\install.wim /Index:<n> /mountdir:C:\mountdir /readonly at an elevated command prompt, where <n> is the previously noted image number.

  5. Open the Windows PowerShell console, and run the following command:

    Install-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra,Server-Gui-Shell -Restart
       -vhd " C:\Users\Public\Documents\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks\SERVER6.vhdx"
       -Source c:\mountdir\windows\winsxs
  6. Start the virtual machine using Hyper-V Manager, open it using Virtual Machine Connection, and confirm that is now running a Server With A GUI installation of Windows Server 2012.

Features on demand

Beginning with Windows Server 2012, you can completely remove the installation binaries for features from the side-by-side store (WinSxS folder) of a running Windows installation or an offline VHD on which Windows has been installed. Administrators might consider doing this on some installations for the following reasons:

  • To further reduce the disk footprint of the installation

  • To enhance the security of the installation by removing binaries for features that will not be needed

To completely remove the binaries of a feature, use the Uninstall-WindowsFeature cmdlet with the –Remove parameter. For example, if you convert a Server With A GUI installation to a Server Core installation, the binaries for the Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra and Server-Gui-Shell features remain staged in the side-by-side store. If you decide that you will not be reinstalling those features, you can remove their binaries by running the following Windows PowerShell command:

Uninstall-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra,Server-Gui-Shell -Remove

Note that if you remove the binaries for a feature, you can still reinstall the feature later (and stage the binaries in the side-by-side store again) by using the Install-WindowsFeature cmdlet and either using Windows Update for downloading the binaries or specifying a mounted .wim file using the –Source parameter as described previously.

 
Others
 
- Windows Phone 8 : Databases and Storage (part 6) - Local Databases - Using an Existing Database, Schema Updates
- Windows Phone 8 : Databases and Storage (part 5) - Local Databases - Associations
- Windows Phone 8 : Databases and Storage (part 4) - Local Databases - Optimizing the Context Class
- Windows Phone 8 : Databases and Storage (part 3) - Local Databases - Getting Started
- Windows Phone 8 : Databases and Storage (part 2) - Storage - Serialization
- Windows Phone 8 : Databases and Storage (part 1) - Storage
- Active Directory 2008 : Creating Computers and Joining the Domain (part 3) - Offline Domain Join
- Active Directory 2008 : Creating Computers and Joining the Domain (part 2) - Joining a Computer to the Domain, Secure Computer Creation and Joins
- Active Directory 2008 : Creating Computers and Joining the Domain (part 1) - The Computers Container and OUs
- Exchange Server 2010 : Using the Exchange Management Shell
 
 
Top 10
 
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Finding containers and lists in Visio (part 2) - Wireframes,Legends
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Finding containers and lists in Visio (part 1) - Swimlanes
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Formatting and sizing lists
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Adding shapes to lists
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Sizing containers
- Microsoft Access 2010 : Control Properties and Why to Use Them (part 3) - The Other Properties of a Control
- Microsoft Access 2010 : Control Properties and Why to Use Them (part 2) - The Data Properties of a Control
- Microsoft Access 2010 : Control Properties and Why to Use Them (part 1) - The Format Properties of a Control
- Microsoft Access 2010 : Form Properties and Why Should You Use Them - Working with the Properties Window
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Using the Organization Chart Wizard with new data
Technology FAQ
- Is possible to just to use a wireless router to extend wireless access to wireless access points?
- Ruby - Insert Struct to MySql
- how to find my Symantec pcAnywhere serial number
- About direct X / Open GL issue
- How to determine eclipse version?
- What SAN cert Exchange 2010 for UM, OA?
- How do I populate a SQL Express table from Excel file?
- code for express check out with Paypal.
- Problem with Templated User Control
- ShellExecute SW_HIDE
programming4us programming4us