Understanding Windows Server 2008 Server Core

Understanding Windows Server 2008 Server Core

Understanding Windows Server 2008 Server Core

A Server Core installation provides a minimal environment for running specific server roles, which reduces the maintenance and management requirements and the attack surface for those server roles. A server running a Server Core installation supports the following server roles:

Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)
Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS)
DHCP Server
DNS Server
File Services
Print Services
Streaming Media Services
Windows Virtualization (Hyper-V)

Benefits of a Server Core installation

The Server Core installation option of Windows Server 2008 provides the following benefits:

Reduced maintenance:
Because the Server Core installation option installs only what is required to have a manageable server for the AD DS, AD LDS, DHCP Server, DNS Server, File Services, Print Services, and Streaming Media Services roles, less maintenance is required than on a full installation of Windows Server 2008.

Reduced attack surface:
Because Server Core installations are minimal, there are fewer applications running on the server, which decreases the attack surface.

Reduced management:
Because fewer applications and services are installed on a server running the Server Core installation, there is less to manage.

Less disk space required:
A Server Core installation requires only about 1 gigabyte (GB) of disk space to install and approximately 2 GB for operations after the installation.

Lower risk of bugs:
Reducing the amount of code can help reduce the amount of bugs.