One of the reasons why Server Core 2008 is not that popular is because basic configurations have to be made on the command line. Perhaps this alone wouldn’t be a problem: however, most of Server Core’s commands are somewhat longwinded, at least when you compare this system with other CLI-based operating systems such as Linux. This is why, almost immediately after its release, several Server Core configuration tools came up. The Windows Server 2008 R2 edition of Server Core comes with its own configuration tool: Sconfig.

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CoreConfigurator was the first GUI-based management tool for Windows Server 2008 Server Core. It was still a free tool when I first blogged about it. Later, the publisher, SmartX, removed the tool. Now a new version is available that is only free for non-commercial use. I had a quick look at it today.

Installation of the tool is easy. Just copy coreconfigurator.msi to a local drive and launch it from the command line. The setup will copy CoreConfigurator by default to C:\Program Files\SmartX\Smart-X CoreConfigurator . To start the tool you have to navigate to this folder and launch “CoreConfigurator.”

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As expected, many Windows admins dislike the idea of configuring a server on the command prompt. Server Core Configurator is the third tool I am discussing that helps configure Windows Server 2008 Server Core. CoreConfigurator (without space between Core and Configurator) is a GUI tool and Core Configuration Console (CCC) is a batch script. Server Core Configurator is something in between.

The tool consists of several VBS scripts with one central script providing the main menu. Similar to a batch script you have to enter numbers to open a submenu, but the menu and the input fields are presented in a graphical window.

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A while back I reviewed CoreConfigurator, a GUI tool that allows you to configure Windows Server 2008 Server Core in a more convenient way than using the command prompt. Core Configuration Console (CCC) has similar configuration functionality, but it is not GUI tool. Rather, it is a menu-based batch script that makes it almost as convenient to configure Server Core. These are the things you can do with CCC:

• Network configuration (IP, DNS, reset to DHCP)
• Display server information (see screenshot)
• Change current local user password
• Licensing (install, activate, reset, rearm, display, delete)
• Domain settings (join, disjoin)
• Firewall configuration (disable, enable/disable TS Remote Admin Mode)
• Regional and language-settings
• Time-and-date-settings
• CCC settings (register in PATH, enable autostart)
• Set local administrator password, rename computer
• Shutdown, reboot, logoff

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• Download Server Core CoreConfigurator. The developer removed the download temporarily. As long as nobody complains you can download it at 4sysops.
• Five Microsoft Exchange Server backup worst practices. I don’t share the skepticism about disk backups, but 5 (testing Exchange Backups) is important.
• Enable or Disable UAC (User Account Control) From a Batch File in Windows Vista. Sooner or later you will need this.
• The Stupidity of Microsoft’s Mojave Experiment I have to agree with the analysis at PCMech. It is funny anyway.
• Good review about VMware ThinApp at PC World. This HTTP-based synchronisation feature is interesting.
• Mary Jo Foley discussed scope, Microsoft’s scripting language for the cloud. This sounds all quite interesting.

I seriously doubt this now. Inspired by CoreConfigurator, I tried a couple of other tools with a GUI on Windows 2008 Server Core. I was surprised that most of them worked. I tried two file management tools, a Registy Editor, Microsoft’s Process Explorer, and (that was the fun part) Firefox. I was also tempted to install Office 2007, but I left this exercise to other jokers.

Installing those tools wasn’t a big deal. All you have to do is to launch the setup files. As file managers, I tried FreeCommander and Xplorer. Both are free Explorer alternatives. Most of the features worked flawlessly. With some I had problems though. For example, I wasn’t able to map a network drive with both tools. However, when I mapped a share on the command prompt I was able to access it with both file managers.

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You can take the case I described in this post as an example of what it means to rip off the graphical user interface of an operating system that was not really designed to be managed on the command prompt. You will also get an idea of how to configure Server Core settings which can’t be changed on the command prompt.

To install the VMware tools on a Windows system with GUI, you just have to right click on the tab of the virtual machine and click on “Install VMware tools”. VMware will then launch the VMware tools setup wizard which guides you through the installa tion process. If you do this under Server Core, nothing happens at first.

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You might have heard that Windows 2008 Server Core has to be configured on the command prompt because it has no graphical user interface. Guy Teverovsky, the author of CoreConfigurator, proved this is to be a myth. This simple tool demonstrates perfectly that it is possible to manage Server Core with a GUI. Okay, this tool is rather simple, but it allows you to configure all essential settings of a freshly installed Server Core system. Note that CoreConfigurator is not a tool for remotely managing Server Core like RSAT. Teverovsky’s tool runs natively on Server Core.

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Keith Comb created some great screencasts about Server Core. If you are wondering how one can configure a Windows server without windows, then you should have a look at this nice introduction to Server Core. Actually, it is not really without windows. You’ll see that you can still use graphical tools to manage Sever Core. If you are more of the type who likes to read instead of watching, you might want to check out my post about the essentials of Server Core and my introduction to Server Core.

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Mark Wilson installed Apache on Windows Server 2008 Server Core and it seems to work without problems. All you have to do is to run msiexec /i apache.msi. Now, you might ask why Microsoft made IIS available on Server Core if Apache works, anyhow. I mean, you can’t use ASP.NET on Server Core. So if you want more than just static HTML pages you have to work with PHP or another solution for dynamic web pages.

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Steve Rosa described how he installed Active Directory Domain Services on Server Core in Windows Server 2008. Even though, Active Directory is just another server role, you can’t install it with ocsetup on Server Core. Like on the standard version of Windows Server 2008 you have to use dcpromo.

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Microsoft released the June CTP for Windows Server 2008. Almost 1000 bugs have been fixed. Most notable is that Server Core includes IIS7 now. I’ve been blogging about it when MS announced that they are going to support IIS7 on Server Core. I want to take this opportunity to correct my earlier assessment regarding this move. I have serious doubts now that it makes much sense.

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Microsoft just announced that Windows Server 2008 Server Core will be able to run IIS7 (Internet Information Server 7.0) as a server role. This isn’t yet possible with Server Core Beta 3 which I am currently testing. It only supports typical Intranet roles like file server, DHCP, and Active Directory Services. Interestingly, Microsoft added this new role due to customers’ demand.

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It seems as if Microsoft’s new server OS will be named Windows Server 2008. Some reported that Microsoft used this name at the Winhec press site, but they removed it, already. However, on a French Technet page they are still using “Windows Server 2008″. Update: They just removed it from both sites, but it is official now, anyway. This probably means that we won’t see the final before 2008. Last week, I introduced Windows Server 2008 Server Core. Today, I will show you how to do some basic configuration. It will give you an idea how you can manage Server Core.

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This post belongs to my series about Microsoft’s next server OS, Windows Server Longhorn. Today I am answering some essential questions about Server Core.

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