Configuring windows server 2008 core basic networking settings

0. Server core has no real GUI (except a few tools such as task manager).

1. When the installation is done, login the system with Administrator and no password.

2. Managing windows 2008 server core through RDP (remote desktop protocol) client, aka mstsc:

cscript c:\windows\system32\scregedit.wsf \ar 0

(this will enable the remote desktop for Administration mode to accept connections. To view your current settings, you can type:

cscript c:\windows\system32\scregedit.wsf \ar \v

If you see "1" in the script output, that means that RDP connections are denied. If "o", they will be allowed.)

3. To enable remote management from any MMC snap-in, type the following:

netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="Remote Desktop" new enable=yes

4. To change the name the server, first type "hostname" or "ipconfig /all" to determine the current name of the server. Then type

netdom renamecomputer /NewName:

After that, you need to restart the server by

shutdown /r /t 0

5. To set the administrator password in Windows Server 2008, type the following:

net user Administrator *

6. To set the server with static IP address, type

netsh interface ipv4 show interface

Look at the number shown in the Idx column of the output for your network adapter. If your computer has more than one network adapter, make a note of the number corresponding to the network adapter for which you wish to set a static IP address. At the command line, type:

netsh interface ipv4 set address name="" source=static address= mask= gateway=

where ID is the number shown in the Idx column.

To add DNS, type

netsh interface ipv4 add dnsserver name="" address= index=1

Repeat the above step for each DNS server that you want to set, incrementing the index=number each time.

You can verify your changes by "ipconfig /all".

7. To manager a server running a Server Core installation by using the Windows Remote Shell, you can type

WinRM quickconfig

to enable Windows Remote Shell on a server.

Then on the remote computer, at a command line, use WinRS.exe to run commands on a Server Core. For example, to perform a directory listing of the Windows folder, type

winrs -r: cmd

then you can now type any command that your require, it will be executed on the remote computer.

8. To active the server, type

slmgr.vbs -ato

to active the server remotely, type

cscript slmgr.vbs -ato

then retrieve the GUID of the computer by typing

cscript slmgr.vbs -did

type

cscript slmgr.vbs -dli

9. To join a Windows 2008 server to a domain, type

netdom join /domain: /userd: /passwordd:*

Note that entering * as the password means you will be prompted to enter it on the command prompt window in the next step. You can also enter it in the initial command, if you wish to.

After that, you need to restart the computer by "shutdown /r /t 0"

10. To remove a Windows 2008 server from a domain, type

netdom remove

Then reboot the computer.

11. change screensaver settings

type regedit and then change the following key values if needed:

* HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\ScreenSaveActive
* HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\SCRNSAVE.EXE
* HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\ScreenSaverIsSecure
* HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\ScreenSaveTimeOut