Archive for October, 2016

PowerShell versions you can expect and get on Server Core Installations

Windows PowerShell and Server Manager are the preferred ways to manage Server Core installations of Windows Server. This works great at later builds of Windows Server, but it wasn’t all Hallelujah from the start of Server Core.

Windows PowerShell and Server Manager are the preferred ways to manage Server Core installations of Windows Server. This works great at later builds of Windows Server, but it wasn’t all Hallelujah from the start of Server Core.

 

Built-in versions of PowerShell

The following versions of Windows PowerShell are available by default to Server Core installations, per version of Windows Server:

Windows Server 2008

Server Core installations of Windows Server 2008 do not offer Windows PowerShell due to a lack of .NET Framework.

Windows Server 2008 R2

Server Core installations of Windows Server 2008 R2, by default, offer Windows PowerShell 2.0.

Windows Server 2012

Server Core installations of Windows Server 2008 R2, by default, offer Windows PowerShell 3.0.

Windows Server 2012 R2

Server Core installations of Windows Server 2008 R2, by default, offer Windows PowerShell 4.0.

 

Upgradeable versions of PowerShell

When you’d like a newer version of Windows PowerShell on a Server Core installation, you can upgrade it.

Windows Server 2008

Server Core installations of Windows Server 2008 do not offer Windows PowerShell, nor upgrades to Windows PowerShell.

There is no supported way to get Windows PowerShell on these systems.

Windows Server 2008 R2

Server Core installations of Windows Server 2008 R2 can be upgraded to:

  • Windows PowerShell 3.0
    (as part of Windows Management Framework 3.0)
  • Windows PowerShell 4.0
    (as part of Windows Management Framework 4.0)

The Windows Management Framework is a group of several management-related tools, like PowerShell, BITS and the WinRM service.

Windows Server 2012

Server Core installations of Windows Server 2008 R2 can be upgraded to Windows PowerShell 4.0.

The Windows Management Framework is a group of several management-related tools, like PowerShell, BITS and the WinRM service.

Windows Server 2012 R2

There is no upgrade for Windows PowerShell available yet, beyond Windows PowerShell 4.0