Purpose

Server Core is a minimal server installation option for computers running on the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system. Server Core provides a low-maintenance server environment with limited functionality.

Where Applicable

Server Core is an installation option that is capable of some well-known server roles.

The minimal nature of Server Core creates limitations:

• There is no Windows shell and very limited GUI functionality (the Server Core interface is a command prompt).
• There is limited managed code support in Server Core.
• There is limited MSI support (unattended mode only).

Developer Audience

Server Core is designed for use by network and file service infrastructure developers, server management tool and utility developers, and IT Planners.

Run-Time Requirements

Server Core requires Windows Server 2008 or later. This documentation describes Server Core as implemented on Windows Server 2008 R2. There are notes that describe how the implementation is different on Windows Server 2008.

In This Section

See Also

Server Core Blog

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Build date: 6/11/2009