If you remember, we installed our first instance of Server Core in Chapter 3, Security and Networking but we didn't do much of anything with that server. In one of the screenshots, we displayed how you can flip the default command prompt over to PowerShell, and then run some commands such as the Rename-Computer
cmdlet in order to set the hostname of the server to CORE1. Beyond that, nothing has been configured and our CORE1 server isn't performing any functions in our network yet. Let's walk through the standard items you can accomplish on any server when you bring it up for the first time in a domain network. Our hostname is already set, but we still need to configure an IP address and join it to our domain before we can really start doing anything with this new server.
I have a new server and have run through the installation of Windows Server 2016. During that install I chose the default selection for the Core version of Windows Server. Following installation, with the same process we used in Chapter 3, Security and Networking, I am now sitting at the console screen of my new server, wondering what to do next.
Here are some steps we can take to prepare our new Server Core machine for use in the corporate network:
sconfig
. You will now be presented with a special set of tools running within the Command Prompt window that allow you to configure various aspects of the operating system.
shutdown
command, or the Restart-Computer
cmdlet, which is the way I typically do it, but relying on sconfig
for these kinds of administrative tasks can make your life a lot easier. We could have even used this to rename our server to CORE1 in the first place!
10.0.0.15
, and press Enter.
There are a variety of ways that you can interface with and manage a Server Core instance, and we will talk about some more of them in upcoming recipes. However, there are certain core—no pun intended—functions that need to be accomplished first, right from the console, before you can start thinking about doing any remote management of your new servers. The sconfig tool is quick to open, very easy to use, and contains some powerful functionality for these initial configuration steps that we all must take on each of our new servers.
3.143.203.146