Compare Server Core and Desktop

Experience
Completed100 XP
 5 minutes

When you install Windows Server 2019, you must choose between installing the server with or
without the Desktop Experience.

 Important

This is a critical decision because you can't add or remove the Desktop Experience after you
install the server.

Server Core is an installation of Windows Server without the Desktop Experience. Server Core is
available for both Standard and Datacenter editions, but it isn't available for Windows Server
2019 Essentials, and the free version of Hyper-V server is only available as a Server Core
installation.

You can administer and configure Server Core on the server itself through PowerShell, the
command line, or through the text-based tool called Sconfig.

Remote administration is the normal method of managing the server by using several tools such
as PowerShell Remoting, the Remote Server Administration Tool (RSAT), and the Windows
Admin Center. The following table describes the available tools locally.
Tool Function
Cmd.exe Allows you to run traditional command-line tools, such as ping.exe, ipconfig.exe, and netsh.exe.
PowerShell.ex Launches a Windows PowerShell session on the Server Core deployment. You can run PowerSh
e Windows PowerShell session.
Regedt32.exe Provides access to the graphical editing tool for registry access within the Server Core environme
Msinfo32.exe The System Information tool enables you to observe system information about the Server Core d
Sconfig.cmd Serves as a command-line, menu-driven tool to perform common server administration tasks.
Taskmgr.exe Launches Task Manager.
Notepad.exe Opens a graphical text editor.
Timedate.cpl Opens the Date and Time item from Control Panel.

Server Core has advantages over Windows Server with Desktop Experience and is the
recommended installation for most scenarios, but it might not be suitable in every case. The
following table lists the major advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages Disadvantages
Small footprint which uses fewer server resources and You can't install several applications on Server Core. T
less disk space, as little as 5 GB for a basic installation include System Center VM Manager 2019, System Cen
Manager 2019, SharePoint Server 2019, Project Server
versions prior to Exchange 2019.
Because Server Core installs fewer components, there Several roles and role services are not available, includ
are fewer software updates. This reduces the number of Services Session Host, Web Access, and Gateway serv
monthly restarts required and the time required for you SMTP Server; and Windows PowerShell ISE.
to service Server Core.
The small attack surface makes Server Core much less You can't install many vendor lines of business applica
vulnerable to exploits However, the App Compatibility Feature on Demand c
in some cases.

Available server roles

Although some server roles are not available, the following server roles are available on Server
Core deployments:

 Active Directory Certificate Services

 AD DS
 DHCP Server
 DNS Server
 File Services (including File Server Resource Manager)
 Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS)
  Hyper-V
 Print and Document Services
 Streaming Media Services
 Web Server (including a subset of ASP.NET)
 Windows Server Update Server
 Active Directory Rights Management Server
 Remote Access Server

Post-installation configuration
After you have installed Windows Server, you typically should complete the following:

 Configure the IP address.

 Set the computer name.
 Join an Active Directory domain.
 Configure the time zone.
 Enable automatic updates.
 Add roles and features.
 Enable the Remote Desktop feature.
 Configure Windows Defender Firewall settings.

You can perform this post-installation configuration using Sconfig. You can also use tools such
as Windows Admin Center and PowerShell remoting to complete these tasks on Server Core.

 Note

Although you can enable Remote Desktop on Server Core, it only enables RDP connectivity to
the to the command line interface.

Identify the hardware requirements for

Windows Server 2019
Completed100 XP
 5 minutes

Before the Contoso infrastructure team starts deploying Windows Server, it's important that you
verify that the target computers meet the minimum hardware requirements for Windows Server
2019. This requirement applies whether you intend to run Windows Server on physical hosts, or
you intend to virtualize Windows Server.
Hardware requirements for Windows Server 2019
The hardware requirements for Windows Server depend on the services that the server is hosting,
the load on the server, and how responsive you want the server to be. The services and features
of each role put a unique load on network, disk I/O, processor, and memory resources. The
following table displays the absolute minimum required for a Server Core installation on a
physical machine.

HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS FOR WINDO

Component Requirement
Processor 64-bit
architecture
Processor speed 1.4 Gigahertz (GHz)
RAM 512 MB. VMs require at least 800 MB of RAM during installation. You can reduce it to 512
installation is complete.
Hard drive space 32 GB

Virtualized deployments of Windows Server require the same hardware specifications for
physical deployments. However, during installation, you'll need to allocate extra memory to the
VM, which you can then deallocate after installation, or you'll need to create an installation
partition during the boot process.

Other hardware requirements

In addition to the previously listed requirements, there are various other hardware requirements
to consider, depending on your specific organizational needs and installation scenarios:

 Greater disk space is needed for network installations or for computers with more
than 16 GB of RAM.
 Storage and network adapters must be PCI Express compliant.
 A Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is needed to implement several security
features.

Choose a deployment option

Completed100 XP
 5 minutes

Contoso IT infrastructure staff are migrating Contoso on-premises servers to Windows

Server 2019. As lead Windows Server admin, one of the first decisions you must make is
whether to perform in-place upgrades for existing servers. The alternative is to migrate
workloads to newly deployed Windows Server 2019 server computers.

What is an in-place upgrade?

An upgrade preserves the files, settings, and applications that are installed on the
original server. You perform an upgrade when you want to keep all these items and
want to continue using the same server hardware.

An in-place upgrade involves upgrading a Windows Server operating system on the

server that is running an earlier Windows Server edition.

A benefit of an in-place upgrade is that you avoid hardware expenses because you
install Windows Server 2019 on the existing hardware. Another benefit is that files,
settings, and programs are kept intact on the server.

The following table describes scenarios in which you would choose an in-place upgrade
of the Windows Server operating system.

WHAT IS AN IN-PLA
Scenario Explanation
Hardware configuration of existing Because the hardware requirements for Windows Server 2019 do not diff
servers meets requirements for those for Windows Server 2016, you can perform an in-place upgrade on
Windows Server 2019
Software products that run on existing Before performing an in-place upgrade, you must list all of the software p
servers support in-place upgrade of running on the server, such as SQL Server, Exchange Server, non-Micros
Windows Server 2019 antivirus software. Next, verify that these products support an in-place up
Server 2019.
You want to keep all user data on the When performing an in-place upgrade, user data and security permission
existing servers and security data remain unchanged. This scenario is convenient, because after the in-
permissions for accessing that data can continue to access their data on the same file servers.
You want to keep all roles, features, Before performing an in-place upgrade on a server that has specific roles
and settings of the existing server —such as DHCP, DNS, or AD DS—list those configurations. Then verif
configurations support an in-place upgrade of Windows Server 2019.

If any of these scenarios do not meet your organization’s requirements, then you should
perform a migration to Windows Server 2019.

What is server migration?

When deploying Windows Server 2019, some organizations consider migration instead
of an in-place upgrade. There can be risks that arise from an in-place upgrade, such as
server unavailability or data being inaccessible. Therefore, your organization might
choose to perform a migration because of the benefits described in the following table.

WHAT IS SERVER
Benefit Explanation
You'll deploy servers with the Windows After you install Windows Server 2019, you can perform tests, such a
Server 2019 operating system installed, performance tests, before you introduce that server to the domain. In
and they will not affect the current IT of installation and testing is less likely to affect your current IT infras
infrastructure
You'll perform software product migration For any software solution with an earlier Windows Server edition, yo
in a separate environment product documentation for information about how to migrate that solu
Server 2019. In some scenarios, software products that you are using
installation on Windows Server 2019, and you'll require newer edition
products. In this case, by using migration, you can perform systematic
operating system and the software products, in a separate environmen
the migration doesn't affect the availability of current services that the
You'll perform migration of server roles, As with the migration of software products, refer to the documentatio
features, and settings in a separate the specific roles, features, or settings, such as DHCP, DNS, or AD D
environment Server 2019. Again, migration enables you to perform systematic con
separate environment, which means that the migration shouldn't affec
server roles, features, and settings.
New operating system enhancements are When performing an in-place upgrade, for compatibility reasons, Win
installed by default configured with settings for the earlier, upgraded version of Windows
that many enhancements that Windows Server 2019 introduces, such
functionality, or performance enhancements, aren't enabled by defaul
migration, Windows Server 2019 deploys as a clean installation with
enhancements installed. This ensures that the operating system is mor
functionalities installed by default.
 Important

You can migrate only certain roles to new Windows Server 2019 computers. However,
when you perform an upgrade, all roles are preserved on the newly upgraded server.
But you can't control that preservation behavior.

Explore the deployment accelerators

Completed100 XP
 5 minutes
Contoso IT infrastructure staff must consider using software tools to help them plan
their upgrade and migration to Windows Server 2019. Along with guidance content to
help you design and plan your Windows Server deployment, Microsoft also supplies
solution accelerators to aid in the process.

Solution accelerators are free, scenario-based guides and automations designed to help
you with planning, deploying, and operating Microsoft products and technologies.
Solution Accelerator scenarios focus on security and compliance, management and
infrastructure, and communication and collaboration.

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit

You can use the MDT to automate the deployment of Windows operating systems,
applications, desktops, laptops, tablets, and servers in the enterprise.

 Tip

The MDT helps you configure the unattended answer files and provides tools for
automating additional components and settings.

The MDT allows you to automate the creation of a reference computer and then capture
that computer to an image, which you then can deploy to target computers. However,
this feature is more applicable to building client computers running Windows 10 rather
than building servers.

 Note

MDT lets you build and deploy both boot and install images.

Both boot and install image types are available as .wim files found on the installation
media for Windows operating systems. Whenever you update a deployment share, the
update process checks for changes and creates a new light-touch installation (LTI) boot
image. The boot image is created in both a .wim file and an .iso image file, which you
then can use to create bootable media.

While you'll usually use the original install.wim file found in the sources directory of the
installation media to deploy an image, in rare cases you might want to customize both
the image as it exists as a .wim file in the MDT Deployment Share, and through the
deployment of the image.
 Tip

If you want to create a custom image, using MDT, you can deploy a .wim file to a
reference computer, configure the reference computer, and then capture the reference
computer in its entirety to a .wim file. You can later deploy this .wim file to many
computer devices, and even add software, drivers, and apps to the image as part of
customizing it when deploying.

When you follow the LTI process (which uses only the tools available in the MDT), you
perform the following high-level steps:

1. Install the MDT, create a deployment share on the management computer,

and then import the source files that you want to use.
2. Create a task sequence and boot image for the reference computer.
3. Update the deployment share with any changes.
4. Boot the reference computer with the MDT media. This will provide access
to the task sequence files, the task sequence, and the boot image to the
reference computer.
5. Run the deployment wizard to install the operating system on the reference
computer, and capture an image of the reference computer.
6. Copy the captured image to the management computer.
7. Create the boot image and task sequence to deploy the captured image to
target computers.
8. Update the deployment share.
9. Boot the target computer with the MDT media. This will provide the
reference computer with access to the task sequence files, the task
sequence, and the boot image.
10. Run the deployment wizard to install the operating system on the target
computer.

Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit (MAP) is an agentless solution
accelerator that analyzes the inventory of an organization’s server infrastructure,
performs an assessment, and then creates reports that you can use for upgrade and
migration plans.
MAP is available for Windows Server 2019, Windows 10, and for other scenarios, such as:

 Assessing the environment for Microsoft 365 and Office 2019.

 Sizing your desktop virtualization needs for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
(VDI).
 Migrating to Microsoft Azure VM.
 Virtualizing Linux servers to Hyper-V.
 Setting up SQL Server platforms in the cloud.
 Planning Hyper-V servers.
 Assessing Microsoft Volume licensing compliance and positioning for Server
and Cloud Enrollment.

Use the MAP to perform the tasks described in the following table.

Task Explanation
Inventory your organization’s IT Based on the inventory, MAP displays a detailed report about which ma
infrastructure Windows Server 2019, which machines can run Windows Server 2019 w
requirements, and which machines are not capable of running Windows
also recommends specific upgrades that ensure computers can run Win
Generate a report or proposal based The report or proposal is a document that contains an executive overvie
on the Windows Server 2019 results, next steps, and a worksheet summarizing Windows Server 2019
Readiness Assessment computers that are running Windows Server.
Capture the performance metrics of The performance assessment generates reports on performance and pr
Task Explanation
the current IT infrastructure to help consolidation recommendations.
plan consolidation and server
virtualization.
Estimate server utilization based on You can also choose which current physical servers are the best candida
that metric before and after the and the hosts on which you should place those VMs.
virtualization.

MAP uses technologies that are already available in your IT environment to perform
inventory and assessments. These technologies include Windows Management
Instrumentation (WMI), the Remote Registry service, Simple Network Management
Protocol (SNMP), AD DS, and the Computer Browser service.

MAP discovery

MAP can discover Windows, Linux, UNIX, and VMware servers, computers, and virtual
machines. It has the following discovery methods for creating an inventory:

 AD DS. Requires domain credentials. You can use this method to discover all
computers in all domains, or in specified domains, containers, and
organization units.

 Windows networking protocols, using the WIN32 LAN Manager application

programming interface (API). Requires the Computer Browser service to be
running on the computer, or the server running MAP. You can use this
method to discover Windows workgroups and Windows NT 4.0 domains.

 Configuration Manager. MAP can use Configuration Manager for discovery.

For discovery, you require the primary site server name and appropriate
credentials for Configuration Manager or Systems Management Server.

 IP Address Range. You can scan for computer and servers using one or
more IP address ranges, up to a maximum of 100,000 addresses.

 NetBIOS names. You also can discover computers and servers by entering
their NetBIOS names manually, or by importing the names from a text file.

Install features on demand

Completed100 XP
 5 minutes

After the team has deployed Windows Server computers throughout Contoso, they want
to be able to easily maintain them. Part of this maintenance includes the management
of server features. A possible solution is features on demand.

What is features on demand?

In the past, if you tried to install an application that had dependencies on certain
binaries and packages from the Desktop Experience that were not present in Server
Core, the install would fail. Microsoft is improving the Server Core experience by
releasing the Server Core App Compatibility feature-on-demand (FOD), making it
possible to install these applications.

 Note

The FOD does not come pre-installed. You must download and install it.

You can obtain FOD through Windows Update if your server connects directly to the
internet or you can download the ISO image file from the Microsoft Volume License
Service Center.

Some operating system components that become available locally on Server Core after
installing the FOD include:

 Event Viewer
 Performance Monitor
 Resource Monitor
 Device Manager
 Microsoft Management Console
 File Explorer
 Windows PowerShell ISE
 Failover Cluster Manager
 Hyper-V Manager
 Task Scheduler

Installing features on demand

There are two ways to install the FOD. The simplest way to install the FOD is through
Windows Update by using PowerShell. Launch an elevated PowerShell session and run
the following command:

PowerShellCopy
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name ServerCore.AppCompatibility~~~~0.0.1.0

Then restart the server. If connecting to Windows Update is not an option, then use the
following method:

1. Download the FOD ISO image file from the Microsoft Volume License
Service Center.
2. Save the ISO that you downloaded to a network share.
3. Connect the Server Core to the network location and copy the ISO to a local
folder.
4. Mount the ISO from an elevated PowerShell session by using the following
command:

PowerShellCopy
Mount-DiskImage -ImagePath drive_letter:\folder_where_ISO_is_saved\
ISO_filename.iso

5. Run the following command:

PowerShellCopy
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name
ServerCore.AppCompatibility~~~~0.0.1.0 -Source <Mounted_Server_FOD_Drive>
-LimitAccess

6. Restart the server

Use WDS to deploy Windows Server

200 XP
 10 minutes

The infrastructure team at Contoso has many Windows Server computers to deploy. You want to
expedite and at least, partially automate the installation process. Windows Deployment Services
enables you to deploy updates to or complete installations of the Windows operating system. The
infrastructure team can use a network-based installation of WDS to deploy Windows Server on
new server computers.

What is WDS?
WDS is a server role provided with Windows Server. It provides the following functions:

 Enables the performance of network-based installations.

 Simplifies the deployment process.
 Supports deployment to computers that have no installed operating system.
 Provides end-to-end deployment solutions for both client and server computers.
 Uses existing technologies, such as Windows Preinstallation Environment
(Windows PE), Windows image file (.wim) and virtual hard disk (.vhd and .vhdx)
image files, and image-based deployment.

If Contoso wants to reduce administration effort during operating system deployment, they can
do so by using WDS. Organizations that use WDS require little interaction from users when
deploying the operating systems.

To create a WDS session, the Contoso infrastructure team must start the target server computers
by using PXE, and then join the session. Once the session starts, the deployment requires no
further user interaction. This type of deployment is a light-touch installation.

 Note

This example assumes Contoso use multicast to distribute images from WDS, which is typical.
The WDS role in the Windows Server operating system is composed of two components: the
Transport Server and the Deployment Server.

Transport Server

The transport server component provides the core networking functionality of WDS for multicast
transmission. The transport server provides a multicasting engine for distributing images. The
multicasting engine enables you to push data over a network to multiple computers
simultaneously. This saves time and network bandwidth.

The transport server component provides three types of multicasting, described in the following
table.

TRA
Type of multicast Description
Scheduled-Cast with Schedule-Cast is a multicast type that you can use to schedule a multicast session. When y
client count count, the server waits until the defined count of connected clients is reached, and then i
information.
Scheduled-Cast with When you specify a point in time, the server waits until the specified time and begins dep
 TRA
Type of multicast Description
point in time connected client computers.
Auto-cast Auto-cast is a type of multicast that creates a new session automatically for each client co
target can join an Auto-cast at any time, and the server repeats the transmission for as lon
connected.
Deployment Server

The Deployment Server component of WDS requires the installation of the Transport Server.
The deployment server uses the multicasting engine that the transport server component
provides, to push operating system images across the network.

The deployment server provides the following functionality:

 Pre-Boot Execution Environment (PXE) server. PXE servers listen for Dynamic Host
Configuration Protocol (DHCP) requests and respond to DHCP clients with a PXE
offer. PXE clients use the information on this offer to establish a connection with
the PXE server and join a session that the transport server hosts.
 Note

Sessions are created by using the Deployment Server interface to push an image that are to be
applied to PXE clients.

 Image store. The image store manages images uploaded to a server running WDS.
You can use two types of images in Windows Deployment Services: boot images
and install images.
 WDS Client. The WDS client is an integral part of Windows PE. It is the component
responsible for connecting to a server running WDS, joining a session, and
applying an install image.
 TFT Server. WDS acts as a trivial FTP (TFTP) server.

Deployment images

As mentioned, WDS uses two types of image. These are described in the following table.

DEPL
Image Description
type
Boot Usually, you only need two boot images in Windows Deployment Services, one for computers running
images and one for computers running 64-bit processors. The boot image contains Windows PE, a scaled-dow
Windows operating system.
Install Install images contain the operating system you want to deploy to a given computer along with any a
images roles, and settings configured on the original computer that created the image. Install images are a m
you can apply on a Windows Deployment Services client computer.
You also can use Windows Deployment Services in conjunction with other technologies to
provide an even less interactive deployment, called zero-touch installation (ZTI). In a zero-touch
installation, a designated server can use the Wake On LAN protocol to start computers by using
PXE, and then join a session managed by Windows Deployment Services. That way, no
interaction with the target computers is necessary.

 Note

To implement ZTI deployment, you'll also need Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager
(former System Center Configuration Manager).

Demonstration
The following video demonstrates how to deploy Windows Server by using WDS. The main
steps in the process are:

1. Install the Windows Deployment Services role.

2. Configure the Windows Deployment Services role:
o Specify the remote installation folder location.
o Configure PXE Server Initial Settings to Respond to all client
computers (known and unknown).

3. Add a boot image called boot.wim from D:\Sources.

4. Create an image group called Windows Server 2019.
5. Add an install image called install.wim from D:\Sources.
6. Select the Windows Server 2019 SERVERSTANDARDCORE image.
7. Verify the settings for WDS:
o Verify Always continue the PXE boot setting.
o In the boot image section, verify Microsoft Windows Setup (x64) is
selected.
o Review the multicast settings.

Quick review
1. 

Which of the following components in WDS is responsible for handling multicast

communications?

The deployment server

The transport server
Multicast is not supported in WDS, so this component is not present
Check your answers
Knowledge check
Completed200 XP
 5 minutes

Check your knowledge

1. 

Which of the following server management tools can be run on Server Core?

Server Manager
System Information
That's correct. This tool enables you to observe system information about the Server
Core deployment.
Windows Admin Center
2. 

What's the minimum memory an administrator should initially allocate to a Windows

Server VM?

1 GB
512 MB
800 MB
That's correct. VMs require at least 800 MB of RAM during installation, which you can
reduce to 512 MB when installation is complete.
3. 

When working with MDT, what is the name and location of the original install image?

x:\Sources\install.wim
That's correct. This is the default installation image.
x:\Sources\boot.wim
x:\Sources\install.iso

Summary
Completed100 XP
 3 minutes
Contoso IT staff are migrating Contoso on-premises servers to Windows Server 2019. As
a server administrator, you've been responsible for deploying Windows Server to help
Contoso achieve its business goals. After completing this module, you understand the
hardware requirements for Windows Server 2019, and you know about the available
deployment options. You also understand the difference between Server Core and
Server with Desktop Experience, and how you can improve compatibility by installing
Features on Demand.

Learn more
You can learn more by reviewing the following documents.

 Roles, Role Services, and Features not in Windows Server - Server Core .
 Roles, Role Services, and Features included in Windows Server - Server Core .
 Windows Server 2019 System Requirements.
 Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit.
 Windows Deployment Services Getting Started Guide for Windows Server
2012.
 Course WS-011T00-A: Windows Server 2019 Administration .