This topic provides the information needed to install and configure Server Core servers. It also includes a quick reference table of common tasks and the commands for accomplishing them on a Server Core server.

Server Core Installation

The Server Core installation differs not much compared to the full installation. When you install Windows Server, you can choose between Server Core Installation and Server with a GUI.

1. Boot from Windows Server installation media to start the installation.
2. When the auto-run dialog box appears, click Install Now.
3. Select one of the Server Core options.
4. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete Setup.
5. After Setup completes, press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to logon.
   Server Core is installed and the command prompt is up.

Now  a minimum configuration is required  through the command-prompt interface like naming, IP addressing and firewall settings. After this, the server can be also managed remotely using GUI tools provided by RSAT.

Configure a Server Core Server

With Server Configuration tool (Sconfig.cmd)

You can use the Server Configuration tool (Sconfig.cmd) to configure and manage several common aspects of Server Core installations.

Run Sconfig.cmd in Command Prompt. The Server Configuration tool interface opens:

Note If you closed all   command prompts, to recover, press CTRL+ALT+DELETE, click Start Task Manager,   click More Details, click File, click Run, and then type cmd.exe

 

Quick PowerShell Reference for System Administration Tasks

Server Core Server can be configured by many PowerShell cmdlets by  running powershell.exe in Command Prompt. Many of the System Administration tasks are described in this quick reference guide.

Basic tasks

Task	PowerShell   cmdlet / Command prompt
Determine the current servername	Hostname or ipconfig command
Rename the server	Rename-Computer -NewName <String> [-ComputerName   <String> ] [-DomainCredential <PSCredential> ] [-Force]   [-LocalCredential <PSCredential> ] [-PassThru] [-Restart] [-Confirm]   [-WhatIf] [ <CommonParameters>]Rename-Computer -NewName “DC” -Restart
Activate the server	slmgr.vbs –ipk <productkey> Then run slmgr.vbs –ato If activation is successful, no message will return. Internet connection is required.
Set the local administrative password	Net user administrator *
Show local groups	net localgroup
add a domain user account to the local  group	net localgroup “<GroupName>” /add   <DomainName><UserName> net localgroup “hyper-v administrators” /add administrator
Add a user / group to the local computer	net user <domainuser name> /add *net localgroup <group name> /add
change the time zone	Set-Date
change international settings	run control intl.cpl
Time settings	Timedate.cpl or Intl.cpl
Restart Server	Restart-Computer
Changing the Windows PowerShell Script Execution   Policy	Set-ExecutionPolicy Restricted | Unrestricted
Convert Windows Server Core mode server to a full installation   by installing the GUI	Install-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra, Server-Gui-Shell   -Restart

 

Networking

To   view your current network configuration	Get-NetIPConfiguration
To view the IP addresses you are already using	Get-NetIPAddress
To view Interface numer	Get-NetAdapter -physical
Get all of the network adapters	Get-NetAdapter -Name * -IncludeHidden
Display the common properties for the network adapter named Ethernet 2	Get-NetAdapter –Name “Ethernet 2” | Format-List –Property *
Rename a network adapter	Rename-NetAdapter –Name Ethernet –NewName “Publiek”get-netadapter -interfaceindex 12 | rename-netadapter -newname “Public”
Disable a network adapter	Disable-NetAdapter -Name “Ethernet 2”
Enable the network adapter	Enable-NetAdapter -Name “Ethernet 2”
Restarts network adapter	Restart-NetAdapter -Name “Ethernet 2”
Set a static IP address	New-NetIPAddress –InterfaceIndex 12 –IPAddress  192.0.2.2 –PrefixLength 24   –DefaultGateway  192.0.2.1(InterfaceIndex is the value of IfIndex from   previous steps )
Set DNS	Set-DNSClientServerAddress –InterfaceIndex 12 -ServerAddresses   192.0.2.4,192.0.2.5
Configure dns client settings	Set-DNSClient -InterfaceIndex 12   -ConnectionSpecificSuffix “lab.int” -RegisterThisConnectionsAddress $true   -UseSuffixWhenRegistering $true
Deletes an IP address and the configuration   properties of that IP address	Remove-NetIPAddress
Set the network adapter named Ethernet 1 to have VLAN ID 10	Set-NetAdapter –Name “Ethernet 1” -VlanID 10
Set the MAC Address of the network adapter named Ethernet 1	Set-NetAdapter –Name “Ethernet 1” -MacAddress “00-10-18-57-1B-0D”
switch to using DHCP	Set-DnsClientServerAddress –InterfaceIndex 12   –ResetServerAddresses
Join a domain	Add-Computer
Remove a computer from a domain	Remove-Computer
Configure your server to use a proxy server.	netsh Winhttp set proxy <servername>:<port number>
Configure your server to bypass the proxy for   Internet addresses.	Run netsh winttp set proxy   <servername>:<port number>bypass-list=”<local>”

 

Firewall

Configure   Windows Firewall	Set-NetFirewallProfile   -Profile Domain,Public,Private -Enabled True
Allow Remote Server Manager	Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup “Windows   Remote Management”
Show Firewall DisplayGroups	Get-NetFirewallRule | Select DisplayGroup -Unique | Sort DisplayGroup
Enable remote administration of the firewall	Enable-NetFirewallRule –DisplayGroup  ”Windows Firewall Remote Management”
Enable * of the firewall	Enable-NetFirewallRule –DisplayGroup    ”*”
Disable All Firewall profile’s (BLOCK)	Disable-NetFirewallRule –All
Query example	Get-NetFirewallRule | Where { $_.DisplayGroup –Eq “Remote Volume   Management”} | Format-Table

 

Remote Management

Enable remote use of Windows PowerShell	Enable-PSRemoting
Enable Server Manager Remote Management	Configure-SMRemoting.exe –enable
Allow Remote Server Manager	Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup “Windows   Remote Management”

 

Services

List Service Information	Get-Service
List stopped services	Get-Service | Where-Object {$_.status -eq   “stopped”}
List running services	Get-Service | Where-Object {$_.status -eq “running”}
Modify Properties of a Service	Set-Service clipsrv -startuptype “manual”
Start Service	Start-Service -displayname “Bluetooth service”
Stop    Service	Stop-Service -displayname “Bluetooth   service”
Restart Service	Restart-Service -displayname “bluetooth service”
Kill Process	Stop-Process -processname notepad

 

Files and Folders

Copy   Files or Folders	Copy-Item   c:scripts*.txt c:test
Create a New File or Folder	New-Item c:scriptsWindows PowerShell -type   directoryNew-Item c:scriptsnew_file.txt -type file
Delete a File or Folder	Remove-Item c:scriptstest.txt
	Remove-Item c:scripts* -recurse
	Remove-Item c:scripts* -exclude *.wav
Rename a File or Folder	Rename-Item c:scriptstest.txt new_name.txt
Append Data to a Text File	Add-Content c:scriptstest.txt “`nThe End”`n — New line`r — Carriage return`t — Horizontal tab
add a timestamp	$A = Get-Date; Add-Content c:scripts*.log $A
Output  to a   Text File	Get-Process | Out-File c:scriptstest.txt