This is a bare‐ bones installation of Windows Server 2022. You can think of it this way: if

Windows Server 2022 (Desktop Experience) is a top‐o f‐ the‐ line luxury car, then Windows Server 2022 Server Core is the stripped‐ down model with manual windows, cloth seats, and no air‐ conditioning. It might not be pretty to look at, but it gets the job done.

Server Core

Here is an explanation of Server Core that I have used ever since it was introduced in  Windows Server 2008. I am a huge sports fan. I love watching sports on TV, and I enjoy going to games. If you have ever been to a hockey game, you know what a hockey goal looks like. Between hockey periods, the stadium workers often bring out a huge piece of Plexiglas onto the ice. There is a tiny square cut out of the bottom of the glass. The square is just a bit bigger than a hockey puck itself. Now they pick some lucky fan out of the stands, give them a puck at center ice, and then ask them to shoot the puck into the net with the Plexiglas in front of it. If they get it through that tiny little square at the bottom of the Plexiglas, they win a car or some such great prize. Well, Windows Server 2022 (Desktop Experience) is like regular hockey with an open net, and Windows Server 2022 Server Core is the Plexiglas version. Because Windows Server 2022 Server Core has the plexiglass, Microsoft refers to this as a smaller attack surface.

Server Core supports a limited number of roles:

■              Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS)

■              Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)

■             Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS)

■               Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS)

■               Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS)

^■             Application Server

^■             DHCP Server

^■             DNS Server

^■        Fax Server

■         File and Storage Services

^■        BITS Server

^■         BranchCache

^■     Hyper‐ V

■         Network Policy and Access Services

■         Print and Document Services

^■         Remote Access

■         Remote Desktop Services

■        Volume Activation Services

^■        Web Server (IIS)

■         Windows Deployment Services

■         Windows Server Update Services

■          .NET Framework 3.5 Features

■          .NET Framework 4.5 Features

■         Streaming Media Services

^■         Failover Clustering

^■        iSCSI

■          Network Load Balancing

^■         MPIO

^■        qWave

^■         Telnet Server/Client

■         Windows Server Migration Tools

■         Windows PowerShell 5.0

Server Core does not have the normal Windows interface or GUI. Almost everything has to be configured via the command line or, in some cases, using the Remote Server Administration Tools from a full version of Windows Server 2022. Although this might scare off some administrators, it has the following benefits:

Reduced Management Because Server Core has a minimum number of applications installed, it reduces management effort.

Minimal Maintenance Only basic systems can be installed on Server Core, so it reduces the upkeep you would need to perform in a normal server installation.

Smaller Footprint Server Core requires only 1 GB of disk space to install and 2 GB of free space for operations.

Tighter Security With only a few applications running on a server, it is less vulnerable to attacks.

Server Core App Compatibility Features on Demand Windows Server 2022 now includes the Server Core App Compatibility Features on Demand (FODs). This feature drastically improves the application compatibility of the Windows Server Core installation. It does this by containing a subset of components from Windows Server 2022 with the Desktop Experience but without adding the Windows Server Desktop Experience graphical environment. The advantage is that this helps increase the functionality and compatibility of Windows Server 2022 Server Core while keeping it as lean as possible.

The prerequisites for Server Core are basic. It requires the Windows Server 2022 installation media, a product key, and the hardware on which to install it.

After you install the base operating system, you use PowerShell or the remote administrative tools to configure the network settings, add the machine to the domain, create and format disks, and install roles and features. It takes only a few minutes to install Server Core, depending on the hardware.

Better Security

When I started in this industry more than 20 years ago, I was a programmer. I used to program computer hospital systems. When I switched to the networking world, I continued to work under contract with hospitals and with doctors’ offices. One problem I ran into is that many doctors are affiliated with hospitals, but they don’t actually have offices within the hospital. Generally, they have offices either near the hospital or, in some cases, right across the street. Here is the issue: do we put servers in the doctors’ offices, or do we make the doctor log into the hospital network through a remote connection? Doctors’ offices normally don’t have computer rooms, and we don’t want to place a domain controller or server on  someone’s desk. It’s just unsafe! This is where Windows Server 2022 Server Core can come into play. Since it is a slimmeddown version of Windows and there is no GUI, it makes it harder for anyone in the office to hack into the system. Also, Microsoft introduced a new domain controller in Windows Server 2008 called a read-o nly domain controller (RODC). As its name suggests, it is a read- only version of a domain controller (explained in detail later in this book). With Server Core and an RODC, you can feel safer placing a server on someone’s desk or in any office. Server Core systems allow you to place servers in areas that you would never have placed them before. This can be a great advantage to businesses that have small, remote locations without full server rooms.