Storage Spaces Direct on Windows Server Core

Windows Server Core is a trimmed down version of Windows which has no GUI support. Management of Server Core is accomplished either by command line local to the server, or via GUI utilities from a separate server running Windows GUI.

Install Windows Server Core

Windows Server can be installed from a DVD,  from a specially prepared USB, or from a Windows WDS PxE server. Refer to Creating a Windows 2016 Installer on a USB Drive for creating a USB Drive installer.

Run the following commands locally on each server, via a local console or connect to the console KVM via the IPMI iKVM facility.

When connecting to Server Core, you will simply see a command line window.

Log in and then run PowerShell by typing PowerShell from the command prompt.

Configure Network

Configure enough networks to provide network management access.

All of the network adapters can be configured now or later when there is more server management utilities configured and available.

Rename Management Adapter

Find the network adapter or adapters you will utilize to access the server and optionally rename this adapter to a name easier to identify. This will typically follow your IT naming standards.

Rename the Adapter:

Rename-NetAdapter –Name “Ethernet 3” –NewName “Management”

Display the Interfaces:

Get-NetIPAddress | ft InterfaceAlias,IPAddress,Type,InterfaceIndex

In the example above, we renamed the “Ethernet 3” adapter to “Management”, which is the network interface used to access and manage the server including joining to the domain and accessing the server via Server Manager and Management (MMC) consoles.

Remember the Interface Index for the Management adapter. In this example, the index is 2.

Configure IP Addresses

Set the IP Address of the Management adapter. Use the InterfaceIndex value from above.

New-NetIPAddress –InterfaceIndex 2 –IPAddress -172.101.4.2 –PrefixLength 16 –DefaultGateway -172.101.4.1

Set the DNS address for the network adapter.

Set-DNSClientServerAddress –InterfaceIndex 2 -ServerAddresses 172.101.4.10

ServerAddress is the DNS server address.

To provide multiple DNS servers, separate the addresses by commas.

Join Server to Domain

Rename the Server

Run the PowerShell on the local server to rename the server.

Rename-Computer –NewName Node2

Join the Domain

Using PowerShell on the local server, add it to the domain. In our example we are using the domain “NewCo” and it needs to be replace with your domain name.

Add-Computer -DomainName "NewCo"

The system will request a login, including the domain.

Restart-Computer

After the reboot, check the configuration.

The SCONFIG command is convenient for this and several other functions.

From a DOS command prompt, run the command SCONFIG.

In the example above, the system is now renamed and joined to the domain NewCo.

Enable Remote PowerShell

The following command allows remote PowerShell commands from your management servers to the Server Core servers.

Enable-PSRemoting

Configure Firewall Rules

Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "Remote Service Management"

The Remote Service Management firewall group opens a group of management services. These services can be enabled individually for finer security control. These services include:

Enable Services

Run the following PowerShell commands on the Server Core system.  These are required by some of the management services.

Set-Service -Name PlugPlay -StartupType Automatic
Start-Service PlugPlay
Set-Service -Name RemoteRegistry -StartupType Automatic
Start-Service RemoteRegistry
Set-Service -Name vds -StartupType Automatic
Start-Service vds

Test Remote Management

Windows Core is managed by remote services such as MMC plug-ins such as Services, Advanced Firewall, Event Viewer and several others, and with Server Manager and PowerShell Remoting. These services have to be run on a server with a GUI, such as a Windows 10 desktop or another server or VM running Windows 2012r2 or Windows 2016.

MMC Plug-in Consoles

1. Log into a management server with a GUI.
2. Start an MMC blank console by typing MMC into a PowerShell or DOS command shell.
3. Add the Computer Management plug-in: File > Add/Remove Snap-in
4. Select Computer Management Snap-in and click ADD

1. Select Another Computer and add the computer name or IP address
2. Click Finish.

You should have an MMC console with a group of Computer Management Snap-Ins.

The Firewall plug-in has to be added separately.  Add this plug-in using the same procedure.

The Firewall GUI for the Server Core is now available.

The Server Core is now exposed to a broad set of MMC management utilities.

Server Manager

Server Manager provides a single pane of glass to manage servers and should be ready to use.

To test this, start Server Manager on your management server.

1. To connect to a Server Core server:
2. Select All Servers (right click) Add Servers

Then add the name of the new server and click “Find Now”.

Select the server in the window and click on the arrow button.

And the server is available to manage.

Right click on the server record and a list of management features are available.

Remote Desktop Connection

Remote Desktop can now be used to connect to the Server Core environment.

Connect to your new core server via Server Manager

Naturally, this is still a command-line interface.

Remote PowerShell

PowerShell remote commands should also work.

Connect to PowerShell via Server Manager.

Or run commands remotely from your management server. PowerShell remote commands are done via various syntaxes.

The Server Core is now manageable and is ready to be configured for your infrastructure.