Windows 7 / Getting Started

---

Adding Roles and Features

So far everything you have done configures the server. So far it does not do anything; it's not running any roles or features that are the cornerstone of Windows Server 2008.

You don't have access to the normal Server Manager interface to add roles and features, and all the features, except ADDS, are added via the Ocsetup command. Ocsetup is a case-sensitive command and is part of all Windows Server 2008 installations. Active Directory installation is installed via the dcpromo command, which installs the binaries and configures things via an unattended answer file. You can't use DCPROMO GUI. You have to use an unattended answer file or command-line switches.

To uninstall roles and features, use the same command but add /uninstall at the end. The exception again is ADDS, which once again uses DCPROMO.

Tables-2 and 3 list the names of the components and what they correspond to in features and roles. However, you can run oclist for a complete list; oclist is a Server Core-specific command. New roles and features will be added to Server Core in the future. For example, WDS support is expected in the Windows Server 2008 R2 timeframe.

Table-2 Server Roles and Ocsetup Names Server Role Ocsetup Name

Server Role	Ocsetup Name
Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (ADAM)	DirectoryServices-ADAM-ServerCore
DHCP	DHCPServerCore
DNS	DNS-Server-Core-Role
Distributed File System Service	DFSN-Server
Distributed File System Replication (DFSR)	DFSR-Infrastructure-ServerEdition
File Services	File-Server-Core-Role
File Replication Service (FRS)	FRS-Infrastructure
IIS (no ASP.NET)	IIS-WebServerRole (plus subcomponents visible via oxlist)
Network File System (NFS)	ServerForNFS-Base
Media Server	MediaServer
Hyper-V	Microsoft-Hyper-V
Backup	WindowsServerBackup
BitLocker Drive Encryption	BitLocker
BitLocker Remote Admin Tool	BitLocker-RemoteAdminTool
Failover Cluster	FailoverCluster-Core
Multipath IO	Microsoft-Windows-MultipathIO
NFS Client	ClientForNFS-Base
Network Load Balancing	NetworkLoadBalancingHeadlessServer
Quality of Service	QWAVE
Removable Storage Management	Microsoft-Windows-RemovableStorageManagementCore
SNMP	SNMP-SC
Subsystem for UNIX-bases applications	SUACore
Telnet Client	TelnetClient
Windows Activation Service (WAS)	WAS-WindowsActivationService
WINS	WINS-SC

By default, if you execute Ocsetup with a package to install, the command prompt returns instantly while the installation happens in the background, and you will not know when the install has completed. To work around this, run the Ocsetup command after a start /w to tell the command to execute and to wait for the execution to complete.

Let's install the DNS Server role. During the install, the TrustedInstaller process is activated and responsible for the actual installation.

After you install the role, it is marked as installed in the Optional Component listing, as shown in the following:

C:\Users\administrator.VIRT>oclist
Use the listed update names with Ocsetup.exe to install/uninstall
a server role or optional feature.

Adding or removing the Active Directory role with OCSetup.exe
is not supported.
It can leave your server in an unstable state. Always use
DCPromo to install or uninstall Active Directory.

==============================================================
Microsoft-Windows-ServerCore-Package
Not Installed:BitLocker
Not Installed:BitLocker-RemoteAdminTool
Not Installed:ClientForNFS-Base
Not Installed:DFSN-Server
Not Installed:DFSR-Infrastructure-ServerEdition
Not Installed:DHCPServerCore
Not Installed:DirectoryServices-ADAM-ServerCore
Not Installed:DirectoryServices-DomainController-ServerFoundation
    Installed:DNS-Server-Core-Role
Not Installed:FailoverCluster-Core
Not Installed:FRS-Infrastructure

In the DNS case, the service could be managed locally via DNSCMD, which is a standard part of the DNS role to facilitate command-line management, or more likely you can run the DNS MMC snap-in on a Vista/2008 box and remotely connect and manage the DNS service on the core installation. For example, the root of the DNS navigation node is right-clicked and the Server Core installation is added, which you can now manage with the GUI remotely.

As with all the remote GUI tools, if you receive an Access Denied error, solve it by performing a net use to the machine before remotely connecting. The command establishes an authenticated session:

C:\Users\jane>net use * \\savtstcore01.virt.savilltech.net\c$
/user:virt\administrator *
Type the password for \\savtstcore01.virt.savilltech.net\c$:
*****
Drive Z: is now connected to
\\savtstcore01.virt.savilltech.net\c$.

The command completed successfully.

A better way is to use cmdkey, which allows credentials to be set for various target systems:

C:\Users\jane>cmdkey /add:savtstcore01.virt.savilltech.net
/user:virt\administrator /pass:********

CMDKEY: Credential added successfully.

Installing Applications

For the Windows Server 2008 release, Server Core is designed to run inthe- box functions, that is, the supported server roles and features and not additional applications.

None of the major products are supported on Server Core; for example, Exchange, SharePoint, SQL, and so on. For additional applications, there is some planning for the future when managed code support is added to Server Core. However, there are limits to what can be added to Server Core; otherwise, it becomes a normal Windows installation.

Agents should be installable and supportable under Server Core, for example, backup agents, Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM), Systems Management Server (SMS) agents, and so on, which are managed via a remote administrative console function. You can install antivirus agents on Server Core installations and manage them remotely. For example, ForeFront runs on Server Core. Virtual machine additions can be installed and they run fine; in fact, they are recommended. The general rule of thumb is that agents have no shell or GUI dependencies and do not require managed code; if all these are true, the agent runs under Server Core.

To install additional software, execute the setup executables or manually install the MSI files using this command:

Msiexec /i <application>.msi

To check the installed applications, use the wmic command and the production function as shown in the following:

C:\Windows\System32>wmic
wmic:root\cli>product
AssignmentType     Caption 			Description
1 		   Virtual Machine Additions   Virtual Machine
Additions

This output is long, so you need to scroll to see everything.
To uninstall an application, use the wmic command by checking the name of the application and then calling uninstall for it, for example:

C:\Windows\System32>wmic product get name /value
Name=Virtual Machine Additions

C:\Windows\System32>wmic product where name="Virtual Machine
Additions" call uninstall

In the short term, the only installations you do will likely be agents and antivirus, but who knows what the future will bring?