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Windows Server TechGuides

Intro to Server 2008 Core edition

By Rick Vanover, Special to ZDNet Asia
Tuesday, April 29, 2008 12:50 PM

The Windows Server 2008 Core edition comes with significant changes.

Here is a quick rundown of the Core edition's capabilities and limitations.

The Windows Server 2008 Core edition can:

Run the file server role.
Run the Hyper-V virtualization server role.
Run the Directory Services role.
Run the DHCP server role.
Run the IIS Web server role.
Run the DNS server role.
Run Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services.
Run the print server role.

The Windows Server 2008 Core edition cannot:

Run a SQL Server.
Run an Exchange Server.
Run Internet Explorer.
Run Windows Explorer.
Host a remote desktop session.
Run MMC snap-in consoles locally.

One of the first things you will want to do in the Core edition is disable the Windows firewall, which (from a default install) is set to block most remote traffic. Disabling the Windows firewall in the Windows Server 2008 Core edition requires the use of the netsh tool.

To disable the firewall, run the following command:

netsh firewall set opmode disable

A successful iteration of this command will have netsh return a simple success message, as shown in Figure A.

Figure A

Figure A

If you install a foreign browser, such as Opera, within the Core edition, you can browse the file system to download service packs and updates. This will give you a limited interface into the system. Further, most MMC snap-in consoles can run remotely from an authenticated system.

In order to use the Windows Server 2008 Core edition, you will need to use significantly more command-line tools for Windows. Tools such as netsh, net use, netdom, and dcpromo will become requirements to use the Core edition.

The Windows Server 2008 Core edition cannot run the PowerShell command line environment or any other tool that requires the .NET Framework or has an Internet Explorer version requirement. So, you are limited to the command line version of the Core edition.

The Windows Server 2008 Core edition's command line interface does not have as much functionality as PowerShell. Once you get a basic understanding and access to the Core edition environment, you will have a better feel for the scenarios where use is appropriate.