We've been working hard over the past year to make Server Core even smaller and leaner than ever before. In Windows Server 2012, we made Server Core the default installation option and enabled 13 roles for installation on Server Core. In Windows Server 2012 R2, we've now enabled all but two roles for installation on…

Administrators can move between Server Core and Server with a GUI by installing or uninstalling various features, so it’s important that applications designed for Server Core are able to react and behave appropriately whether running in Server Core or Server with a GUI. One way of doing this is by dynamically loading dependent libraries (for…

The Minimal Server Interface provides a convenient way to enjoy some of the benefits of Server Core, including a reduced attack surface and fewer reboots, while still maintaining local graphical management capabilities with many MMC snap-ins, local Server Manager, and support for non-Windows-8-style and non-WPF graphical applications.  This video, hosted by Senior Group Program Manager…

As we’ve discussed in the past, Features on Demand makes it easy to reduce the footprint of your Windows Servers by removing optional components you don’t need from your server’s local disk. When you install Server Core (the default installation option for Windows Server 2012), the files needed for the Server with a GUI functionality…

In our previous blog posting, we introduced the Minimal Server Interface. At the end, we noted that there are three particular Windows features (among others, of course) that can be installed on any server running Windows Server 2012: Server Core – always installed and enabled; the baseline feature for all Windows Servers Server Graphical Management…

Andrew Mason and I have teamed up with the TechNet Radio team to bring you a live tour of Windows Server and the Minimal Server Interface. About this Video Principal Group Program Manager Andrew Mason and Program Manager Ben Herila join us for today’s show as we go over the latest features found in Windows…

As Andrew mentioned in our previous blog post, we have made a huge investment this release to enable and improve many new and existing scenarios on Server Core.  While Server Core offers a great, minimal footprint system that is capable of running most server roles, we also recognize that many customers need to run software…

The Windows Server blog introduced many of the changes we have made for Windows Server 2012 for Server Core, the new Minimal Server Interface, and Features on Demand in this posting: http://blogs.technet.com/b/windowsserver/archive/2012/03/20/building-an-optimized-private-cloud-using-windows-server-8-server-core.aspx. We will be using the Server Core blog to discuss all of these in more depth and welcome you to post any comments…

There is a new posting on Server Core on the main Windows Server blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/windowsserver/archive/2012/03/20/building-an-optimized-private-cloud-using-windows-server-8-server-core.aspx More details will be posted here in the coming weeks….    

This morning Bill Laing, Corporate Vice President of Server and Cloud, announced the beta release of Windows Server “8”.  For anyone who is interested in hearing more about what is in the beta, please go read what Bill has to say. In the coming weeks, there will be more Windows Server “8” blog posts coming…