Nano Server

Nano Server

The requirements for Nano Server depend on the features and roles installed. Nano Server runs from a VHD, either from within Hyper-V, or you can boot directly from the VHD at startup. The smallest Nano Server VHD will be approximately 440 MB, before installing features such as IIS or commonly used drivers. A VHD with IIS and commonly used drivers will be just over 500 MB.

Other hardware requirements

In addition to the previously referenced requirements, there are a variety of other hardware requirements

to keep in mind, depending on your specific organizational needs and installation scenarios:

   Greater disk space is required for network installations or for computers with more than 16 GB of RAM.

   Storage and network adapters must be PCI Express compliant.

   A Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 chip is required for certain features such as BitLocker Drive Encryption.

Overview of installation options

When you install Windows Server 2016, you can USE

select one of three installation options:

   Windows Server 2016 (Desktop Experience).

This is a full server installation and includes a

complete graphical management interface.

This installation option supports all Windows .ONLY

Server roles.

   Windows Server 2016. This is the equivalent of

Server Core in earlier versions of Windows

Server and provides for a command-line

management interface. This installation option

has a reduced hardware footprint but does

not support all Windows Server roles.

   Nano Server. This is a new installation option for which Windows Server 2012 and earlier versions  

   Hyper-V role

have no equivalent. Nano Server is administered remotely and optimized for hosting in private clouds and datacenters, and for running applications that are developed by using cloud application patterns.

Nano Server cannot be directly installed from the installation media during setup. Nano Server is installed as a VHD or as a Windows Imaging (WIM) file that is built using Windows PowerShell cmdlets. The VHD file can be booted from within Hyper-V or booted directly from a physical machine. The WIM file can be applied after booting into the Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE).

When creating the VHD for a Nano Server, you can select either the Standard or Datacenter edition of Nano Server and select various Packages that are used to add server roles and features to a VHD image. Some of these roles and features include:

 Failover Clustering USE

 IIS

 File Server role

 DNS Server role

   Host support for Windows Containers  

Note: Installing Server Core and Nano Server is covered in detail in the next lesson.

prompted to install the appropriate administrative tools. The best practice is to manage servers remotely by using the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) available for Windows

Managing servers remotely MCT

Performing the interactive management of

USE

Windows Server is not the best practice. With

Server Core and, to a greater extent, Nano Server,

your local management options are very limited.

After you have configured the network and

firewall settings of Server Core or Nano Server, you

must perform other management tasks remotely.

.ONLY

When you install a role or feature, you will be

10. RSAT includes the full set of administrative tools, including Server Manager, the Active Directory Administrative Center, and management consoles. You can later choose to disable the tools by using Turn Windows features on or off in Control Panel.

  Note: For a full list of all the tools included in RSAT for Windows 10, refer to: “Remote Server Administration Tolls (RSAT) for Windows Client and Windows Server (dsform2wiki)” at: http://aka.ms/hz53ry

To download Remote Server Administration Tools, see http://aka.ms/wzpq0j

Server Manager

Server Manager is part of the Windows Server 2016 Desktop Experience, or you can run it from a Windows 10 workstation when installed as part of RSAT. Server Manager is the primary GUI tool to manage computers running Windows Server 2016. The Server Manager console can manage both local and remote servers. You can also manage servers as groups, allowing you to perform the same administrative tasks quickly across multiple servers. You can also use Server Manager to run the Best Practices Analyzer to determine if the roles are functioning properly on the servers in your network.

Windows PowerShell remoting and PowerShell Direct

You can use Windows PowerShell to run Windows PowerShell commands or scripts against correctly configured remote servers if the script is hosted on the local server. With Windows PowerShell remoting, where necessary, you can also load Windows PowerShell modules locally, such as those part of Server Manager, and run the cmdlets available in that module against appropriately configured remote servers. In Windows Server 2016, you also have the option of using PowerShell Direct to run PowerShell scripts or cmdlets on virtual machines from a Hyper-V host.

  Note: More information about PowerShell Direct is provided in Module 5, “Installing and configuring Hyper-V and virtual machines.”

Remote Shell

Windows Remote Shell (WinRS) is a command-line tool that allows you to execute remote commands on a target server that supports Windows Remote Management (WinRM). WinRM is a collection of standards-based technologies that enables administrators to manage server hardware when signed in directly or over the network. Server Manager and Windows PowerShell remoting also rely on WinRM in Windows Server 2016.

 

Remote desktop

You can connect to a remote server computer that is running the Server Core installation or the full

installation by using Remote Desktop. On Server Core, you must enable Remote Desktop by using USE

Sconfig.cmd. You cannot use Remote Desktop to remotely manage Nano Server.

Group Policy

You can use Group Policy to manage Server Core and full installations of Windows Server 2016, just like

you can manage any other computer running Windows. However, you cannot use Group Policy to

manage Nano Server. Later topics in this module discuss options for using Windows PowerShell for .ONLY

applying Group Policy settings to Nano Server installations.

Firewall settings

Microsoft Management Console (MMC) and some other tools used for remote server management rely on the Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) . Even Server Manager, when managing servers running Windows Server 2008 without the Windows Management Framework updates installed, depends on DCOM. DCOM, unlike WinRM, requires Windows Firewall on the computer running the remote management tools to be configured to allow exceptions to multiple rules. These exceptions include:

COM+ Network Access (DCOM-In)

Remote Event Log Management (NP-In)

Remote Event Log Management (RPC)

Remote Event Log Management (RPC-EPMAP)

  Additional Reading: For more information about configuring firewall settings to support remote management, refer to the procedure: “To configure MMC or other tool remote management over DCOM” in the topic “Configure Remote Management in Server Manager” at: http://aka.ms/eyxjjf

Using Windows PowerShell 5.0 to manage servers

Windows PowerShell 5.0 is a scripting language and command-line interface that is designed to assist you in performing day-to-day administrative tasks. Windows PowerShell cmdlets execute at a Windows PowerShell command prompt or combine into Windows PowerShell scripts. With the introduction of Nano Server, a headless server environment, it is necessary to use Windows PowerShell to manage servers remotely. A headless server has no graphical user interface and there is no capability for local sign-in.

Importing modules

Some Windows PowerShell cmdlets are not available in the default Windows PowerShell library. When you enable some Windows features or want to administer particular environments, you must obtain additional Windows PowerShell functions. These additional functions are packaged in modules. For example, to manage Nano Server, Windows Server containers, and Azure AD with Windows PowerShell, you must import the required modules.

STUDENT USE PROHIBITED

Note: Windows PowerShell DSC is covered in detail in Module 12, “Managing, monitoring, and maintaining virtual machine installations.”

Windows PowerShell DSC is a set of Windows PowerShell extensions, cmdlets, and resources that support configuring and managing remote computers in a scalable and standardized manner by pushing or pulling declarative configurations.

Windows PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC)

You can then run the same cmdlets that you normally run in the same way as with any other remote Windows PowerShell situation.

Enter-PSSession -VMName VMName

To use PowerShell Direct, from your host, run the following Windows PowerShell cmdlet: