Benefits of a Windows Server 2008 SERVER CORE installation

The Server Core installation option of Windows Server 2008 provides the following BENEFITS:

• Reduced maintenance:

- Because the Server Core installation option installs only what is required to have a manageable server for the AD DS, AD LDS, DHCP Server, DNS Server, File Services, Print Services, and Streaming Media Services roles, less maintenance is required than on a full installation of Windows Server 2008

• Reduced attack surface:

- Because Server Core installations are minimal, there are fewer applications running on the server, which decreases the attack surface.

• Reduced management:

- Because fewer applications and services are installed on a server running the Server Core installation, there is less to manage.

• Less disk space required:

- A Server Core installation requires only about 1 gigabyte (GB) of disk space to install and approximately 2 GB for operations after the installation.

What Server Roles would a Server running a Windows Server 2008 SERVER CORE installation support ?

Server running a Server Core installation supports the following server roles:

• Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)
• Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS)
• DHCP Server
• DNS Server
• File Services
• Print Services
• Streaming Media Services
• Web Server (IIS)

To accomplish this, the Server Core installation option installs only the subset of the binary files that are required by the supported server roles