Ok... enough of the melodramatics... Let's talk about Microsoft Windows 2008 Server Core installations.

A core server installation is a scaled-back version of the full server install. All system administration is done via command prompt. There is no GUI. Once the server is on the network though it can be administrated remotely via Microsoft Management Console (MMC).

A server core will not include.Net Framework, Internet Explorer, or any other feature not critical to server operations. After installing the core the adminitrator has the ability to configure it for one or more of many basic roles: domain controller, DNS server, DHCP server, file server, print server, Windows media server, terminal services Gateway, Web server, and virtualization server.

There are two main compelling reasons why we will see the entire industry rapidly adopting core installations. The first has to do with security and the second with availability.

By introducing core installations in Windows Server 2008 Microsoft has dramatically reduced the possible surface area for an attack. In previous versions, by default, the operating system was installed with the vast majority of its functionality enabled. This meant, that features installed on a server, but not actively being used, might be exploited to gained access to the system and it's data. Personally, I feel that getting rid of the GUI was taking this to a bit of an extreme, however it does show how serious of a commitment Microsoft is made to security these days.

The second reason to consider core installations is server availability. One of the largest causes of scheduled system unavailability is the requirement to keep your servers patched. When Microsoft reduced the surface area of the operating system it also reduced what needed to be patched. Now, instead of having to apply patches for Internet Explorer or IIS, you only have to patch for the core install, any roles that have been added, and software running on top of the operating system. This could potentially cut in half the amount of patching required.

The bottom line is that in spite of the whining you will hear from your system administrators core installs are going to be the way to go. (It's also quite possible regulatory considerations and auditors will give you no choice in the matter.) Any inefficiencies introduced on the system administration side will be more than offset by the savings you will gain from increased system availability.

Below is a list of configuration commands I used when setting the core installation demo:

netsh interface ipv4 show interfaces

netsh interface ipv4 set address name="2" source=static address=192.168.1.4 mask=255.255.255.0 gateway=192.168.1.1

netsh interface ipv4 add dnsserver name="2" address=192.168.1.3 index=1

netdom renamecomputer win-43215454 /NewName:lab2