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 ...

Server Core installations were a new feature in Windows Server 2008. Now, in Windows Server 2008 R2, it has been given a major upgrade. It now includes the .Net Framework, Active Directory Certificate Services, etc. (for a full list, see this blogpost) Over three years ago I showed you how to install a Server Core Domain Controller in Windows ...

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 ...

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 ...

You know, in terms of deploying servers in a smart way, so you can actually utilize them for as long as their economical lifecycle in a supported fashion without a need to reinstall them, I’ve made a stupid decision in advising IT Pros to deploy Server Core Domain Controllers in the last two years. The problem, you see, is the product team ...

You might be one of those persons, fervently running Windows 7 on their day-to-day laptop (like me) and you might be one of those persons building Windows Server 2008 R2 rigs for test and demo purposes. (like me) You might also be one of the lucky persons to lay your hands on a pre-order for Windows 7 in your local Microsoft Store… At a certain ...

Last time I took a look at Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Beta, I shared the surprise of having Failover Clustering and the possibility to have highly available virtualized workloads on it. This time I look at an implication of having the Windows Enterprise-like Quick Migration and Live Migration features: increased complexity and configuration ...

Now that Microsoft has released the beta of Windows Server 2008 R2 to the public it’s time to get our hand dirty and install this test version. Let’s look at the system requirements Microsoft recommends and how to install it!           Things to know Before you start playing with Windows Server ...