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Windows Server Week 2
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Windows Server week 2
Installing Windows Server 2016
Installing
When you install Windows Server 2016, you can select one of three installation options:
Windows Server 2016 with Desktop Experience: Previously known as Server with a GUI installation, a full installation with the GUI interface that you would expect on a Windows operating system. This installation option supports all Windows Server roles.
Windows Server 2016 Server Core: The Server Core installation that provides a command-line management interface. Because the installation does not include the GUI interface, the Server Core installation has a reduced hardware footprint and a reduced security footprint/attack surface. Unfortunately, it does not support all Windows Server roles.
Nano Server: A new installation option that was not available in Windows Server 2012 R2 or earlier. Nano Server is administered remotely and optimized for hosting in private clouds and data centers. The Nano Server runs from a VHD, either from within Hyper-V or you can boot directly from the VHD at startup.
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Hardware Requirements
Although the hardware requirements to support Windows Server 2016 will depend on the servers that the server is hosting, the load on the server, and how responsive you want your server to be, the following is the minimum to install Server Core on a physical machine:
Processor: A 64-bit processor running 1.4 GHz
RAM: 512 MB
Free hard drive space: 32 GB
Windows Server 2016 Editions
Editions
The editions of Windows Server 2016 include:
Windows Server 2016 Essentials edition: Corresponds to the Windows Small Business Server from earlier versions of Windows Server, and it is designed for small businesses. Allows up to 25 users and 50 devices. Supports two processor cores and up to 64 gigabytes (GB) of random access memory (RAM). It does not support many of the features of Windows Server 2016, including virtualization.
Windows Server 2016 Standard edition: Designed for physical server environments with little or no virtualization. Provides many of the roles and features available for the Windows Server 2016 operating system and it supports up to 64 processor sockets and up to 4 terabytes (TB) of RAM. Includes licenses for up to two virtual machines and supports Nano Server installation. Licensing is processor
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Windows Server 2016 Datacenter edition: Ideal for highly virtualized infrastructures, including private cloud and hybrid cloud environments. Provides all of the roles and features available for the Windows Server 2016 operating system and it supports up to 64 processor sockets, up to 640 processor cores, and up to 4 TB of RAM. Also includes new features such as Storage Spaces Direct and Storage Replica, along with new Shielded Virtual Machines and features for software-defined data center scenarios. Licensing is processor core based.
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2016: Acts as a stand-alone virtualization server for virtual machines. Includes all new features around virtualization in Windows Server 2016. Although it supports limited file server features, it does not support other Windows server roles. Although the host operating system has no licensing cost, the virtual machines must be licensed separately. Supports up to 64 processor sockets and up to 4 TB of RAM. It supports domain joining. Different from the Standard and Datacenter editions, Hyper-V Server edition does not have a GUI, but it does have a user interface that displays a menu of configuration tasks.
Windows Storage Server 2016 Workgroup edition: An entry-level unified storage appliance. It allows 50 users, one processor core, and 32 GB of RAM.
Windows Storage Server 2016 Standard edition: A unified storage appliance that supports up to 64 sockets but is licensed on a two-socket, incrementing basis. Supports up to 4 TB of RAM and it includes two virtual machine licenses. Includes Domain Name System (DNS) and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server roles, but does not support others, including Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS), and Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS). Licensing is processor core based.
Installing Windows Server 2016—Full Version
Full Versions
Installing Windows Server 2016 is a relatively easy process. You typically boot from the Windows Server 2016 installation disk and go through the installation wizard.
Based on the key that you specify, you will then be asked to install Server Core or Server with Desktop Experience.
Selecting the Server with Desktop Experience option provides a Server Graphical Shell, including Server Manager, and selecting Server Core provides a command prompt.
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Post-Installation Configuration Settings
After you have installed Windows Server 2016, you typically should complete the following:
- Configure the IP address.
- Set the computer name.
- Join an Active Directory domain.
- Configure the time zone.
- Load additional drivers that were not installed during installation.
- Activate Windows.
- Enable automatic updates.
- Download and install updates.
- Add and configure roles and features.
- Enable the Remote Desktop feature.
- Configure Windows Firewall settings.
- Install and configure additional applications.
- Grant access to the server.
Installing Features and Roles
A server role is a set of software programs that perform a specific function as a network service for multiple users.
Role services are made up of one or more role services that provide the functionality of the server role.
A feature is a software program that is not directly part of a server role, but can support or augment the functionality of a server role. To add, remove, or manage server roles and features, you use Server Manager.
Server Core
Server Core
Server Core is the Windows Server 2016 installation option that provides a command-line management interface.
Because it does not have a GUI interface, it uses fewer hardware resources.
In addition, because it has fewer running components, there are fewer components that can be compromised and it requires fewer updates.
When you install Windows Server 2016, the Server Core is the default installation.
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The following server roles are available on Server Core deployments:
- Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS)
- Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)
- Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Server
- Domain Name System (DNS) Server
- File Services (including File Server Resource Manager)
- Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS)
- Hyper-V
- Print and Document ServicesStreaming Media Services
- Web Server (including a subset of ASP.NET)
- Windows Server Update Server
- Active Directory Rights Management Server
- Routing and Remote Access Server and the following subroles:
- Remote Desktop Connection Broker
- Licensing
- Virtualization
Managering server core
Because Server Core does not have a GUI interface, you will have to manage it with one of the following methods:
- Locally with Windows PowerShell or a command-line interface
- Remotely with a remote management option
When you are connected to the system locally, you can use the following tools:
- Cmd.exe: Allows you to run traditional command-line tools, such as ping.exe, ipconfig.exe, and netsh.exe.
- PowerShell.exe: Opens a Windows PowerShell session so that you can execute Windows PowerShell commands. Windows Server 2016 comes with Windows PowerShell version 5.0 installed.
- Sconfig.cmd: Functions as a command-line, menu-driven administrative tool that enables you to perform most common server administrative tasks, such as configuring networking, workgroups, and domains and configuring Windows Firewall.
- Regedt32.exe: Opens the Registry Editor to change registry settings.
- Msinfo32.exe: Allows you to view system information for the system.
- Taskmgr.exe: Launches Task Manager.
Using Windows Remote Management
Windows Remote Management (WinRM) is a Windows Server 2016 service that enables administrators to execute commands on remote computers using Windows PowerShell or the Windows Remote Shell (WinRS.exe) command-line program.
By default, WinRM is enabled on Windows Server 2012 R2 and newer systems, but not on Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 clients.
WinRM is responsible for routing the packets to the right location, while Web Services for Management structures the packets and requires a port to be made accessible via your firewall.
To enable remote management for a target computer, you can do one of the following:
Open a command prompt and execute the winrm quickconfig command.
Open Windows PowerShell on the computer, and then type Enable-PSRemoting.
Remote Management
PowerShell Remoting is a server-client application that allows you to securely connect to a remote PowerShell host and run script interactively.
It allows you to run commands on a remote system as though you were sitting physically at its console.
PowerShell Remoting is built upon the Web Services for Management protocol and uses Windows Remote Management service to handle the authentication and communication elements.
Powershell
There are two types of remoting:
One-to-one remoting: Allows you to bring up the PowerShell prompt on a remote computer. The credentials you use are delegated to the remote computer. Any commands you run will run under those credentials.
One-to-many remoting: Allows you to send one or more commands, in parallel, to multiple computers. Each of these computers runs the command, produces the results into an XML file, and then returns the results to your computer over the network. When the results are returned, they include the computer name.
Performing a Windows Server 2016 Upgrade
Upgrade
An in-place upgrade is the most complicated form of Windows Server 2016 installation.
It is also the lengthiest and the most likely to cause problems during its execution.
Whenever possible, Microsoft recommends that administrators perform a clean installation, or migrate required applications and settings instead.
If you want to upgrade or move an older server operating system to Windows Server 2016, you can use existing hardware and upgrade to Windows Server 2016 or you can install Windows Server 2016 on new hardware and migrate the roles, features, settings, and data from the older servers to the new server.
You can upgrade from Windows Server 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1, Windows Server 2012, or Windows Server 2012 R2 to Windows Server 2016.
Preparing to Upgrade
Consider the following before you perform any upgrade to Windows Server 2016:
- Check hardware compatibility.
- Check disk space.
- Confirm that software is signed.
- Check application compatibility.
- Ensure computer functionality.
- Perform a full backup.
- Purchase Windows Server 2016.
Migrating Server and Core Workloads
workloads
Many roles included with Windows Server 2016 involve a lot of configuring.
A particular role might require policies, security, or other settings that you must configure before it can be used.
Thus, when you want to migrate such roles, you want to find a way that can migrate them and all their configuration settings to another server quickly and easily without having to install and configure the role from the beginning.
If you search for Migrating Roles and Features in Windows Server, you should find a list of available migration guides, including how to use the Windows Server Migration Tools (WSMT) and how to migrate individual roles from one server to another.
Activating Windows Server 2016
Activation
Activation helps verify that your copy of Windows is genuine and that it has not been used on more computers than the Microsoft Software Terms allow.
Windows Server 2016 requires product activation, which validates each Windows Server 2016 license through an online activation service at Microsoft by phone, through KMS, or through Active Directory Domain Services, in order to be fully functional.
During the activation step, you install the proper license key for Windows.
Implementing Volume Activation Using KMS
Volume
Key Management Service (KMS) is a service that activates Volume License versions of Windows Vista and later as well as Office 2010 and later.
To activate operating systems, you need at least 25 client operating systems or 5 server operating systems.
When you use Volume Activation Services, each activated computer must contact the KMS server periodically to renew its activation status.
Activation lasts for 180 days and attempts to renew with the KMS host every 7 days by default. The KMS host is found by referencing an SRV record in DNS.
Directory–Based Activation
Directory
Active Directory–Based Activation (ADBA) is a new feature for Windows 8 and higher, and Windows Server 2012 and higher, which enables enterprises to activate computers when a computer is joined to the domain, as long as the computer has a Generic Volume License Key (GVLK) installed.
No single physical computer is required to act as the activation object because it is distributed throughout the domain.
To activate an ADBA forest online, you need to specify a KMS host key, and optionally specify an Active Directory–Based Activation Object display name.
Virtual Machine Activation
VM
Automatic Virtual Machine Activation (AVMA) was introduced with Windows Server 2016 and allows you to activate your Windows virtual machines without using a KMS server or even a network connection.
Different from a KMS, the activation will only last seven days, after which it would need to be renewed again.
To use AVMA, you need to have a server running Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter or Windows Server 2016 Datacenter with Hyper-V.
The virtual machines need to be running Hyper-V.
Windows Server 2016 AVMA can activate guests that run the Datacenter, Standard, or Essentials editions of Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows Server 2016.