What started with the Configure your Server wizard and the introduction of Server Roles in Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, resulted in the tangible value of the Initial Configuration Tasks wizard (oobe.exe) and the Server Manager (servermanager.msc) in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Part 1 and Part 2 of this series focused on ...

What started with the Configure your Server wizard and the introduction of Server Roles in Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, resulted in the tangible value of the Initial Configuration Tasks wizard (oobe.exe) and the Server Manager (servermanager.msc) in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Now, as I pointed out in Part 1, not all ...

What started with the Configure your Server wizard and the introduction of Server Roles in Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, resulted in the tangible value of the Initial Configuration Tasks wizard (oobe.exe) and the Server Manager (servermanager.msc) in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Server Manager opens when you close the ...

Windows Server 2008 R2 was released on October 22nd 2009. With a slew of new Active Directory features, the newest incarnation of Windows Server was appealing to many customers. But not to some customers. One thing that stood in their way was the inability to restructure Active Directory domains and forests. Much needed functionality in their line ...

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 ...

You might be running Windows Server 2003 (R2) and Windows Server 2008 Domain Controllers at the moment and you're looking to replace these servers with Windows Server 2008 R2 Domain Controllers to utilize the new features of Windows Server 2008 R2. You might also be looking to replace your aging Windows Server 2003 (R2) and Windows Server 2008 ...

While upgrading your Active Directory Domain Controllers, Domain Functional Level(s) and Forest Functional Level to Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 offer additional functionality compared to previous versions, also a couple of caveats exist, that I think you should be aware of. In this blogpost: NT 4.0 Compatible Encryption ...

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 ...

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 get started with ...

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 ...