MinShell

Meet the new Server Core Program Manager!

When I took my first steps with Server Core installations, I met the Principal Program Manager for Server Core within Microsoft at its TechEd event: Andrew Mason.

Andrew is responsible for all the work done in the Server Core area, wrote at the Server Core blog, supplied answers on the TechNet Forums, and presented several times on the benefits of using Server Core installations compared to Full installations. Andrew is also responsible for making Server Core the default installation option in Windows Server 2012.

A while ago, I noticed Andrew wasn’t with Microsoft anymore.

After some investigation, I found out Andrew is now working with Amazon, apparently following the path laid out by Steve Riley and Jesper Johansson. Of course, I wish him the best of luck!

It also leaves the question on who’s the Program Manager for Server Core today unanswered…

Well. That question didn’t last long unanswered, since I met the Program Manager for Server Core last month, during a special MVP party at the balcony of the Palacio de Cibiles in Madrid during TechEd Europe 2013.

Benjamin Herila

Benjamin Herila

Not only is Benjamin currently leading the team improving on Server Core functionality in Windows Server. He also is the guy that wrote the Get-DisplayResolution and Set-DisplayResolution PowerShell Cmdlets and the underlying setres.exe executable. These bits allows us to easily change the display resolution on the command line in both Server Core and Full installations of Windows Server 2012 and beyond.

So why is this important?

If you want to keep up to date with Server Core (or any featureset of a Microsoft product), it’s good to have the name of the Program Manager, since this is the person responsible for most of the communication around the featureset and most of the presentations at both internal and external Microsoft events.

For instance, one of Benjamin’s presentations is already available online through Channel 9. Also, the last five posts on the Server Core blog have been written by Benjamin.

So, when you attend a Microsoft event and are looking for Server Core presentations, pick Benjamin Herila from the speaker list and go see his presentation(s)!

On the TechNet Forums, Benjamin has already supplied answers on several questions, related to the work his team does. It’s not just Server Core, but also Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). If you see an answer from Benjamin, you’ll know it’s the definitive answer.

Cheers, Benjamin! Martini glass

KnowledgeBase: Errors connecting to Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2012 Device Manager remotely

Last week, Microsoft has released a KnowledgeBase article titled Errors connecting to Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2012 Device Manager remotely.

In this article, Microsoft tells us the reason why we can’t connect remotely to:

  • Windows Server 2012 Device Manager from a Windows 8-based computer
  • Windows Server 2012 Device Manager from a Windows 7-based computer
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 Device Manager from a Windows 8-based computer
  • Windows 8 Device Manager from a Windows 7-based computer

The reason behind this, is the fact that Remote access to the Plug and Play (PNP) RPC interface has been removed in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012.

As a resolution, Microsoft suggests to login to the computer locally to utilize Device Manager.

While this sounds like some sort of workaround for Full Installations, on Server Core installations of Windows Server 2012, this won’t be possible, since devmgmt.msc is not a recognized command.

The work-around for Server Core installations is to install the Windows Server Management Infrastructure role. Use the following command line to perform this action:

Install-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra –Restart

    

Related KnowledgeBase articles

2781106 Errors connecting to Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2012 Device Manager remotely

Switching between the four GUI layers in Windows Server 2012 with PowerShell one-liners

cake-iconHalf a year ago, I’ve shown you how to switch the Graphical User Interface (GUI) in Windows Server 2012. This information allowed you to convert a Full Installation to a Server Core installation or the Minimal Shell (“MinShell”), then known as ‘Features on Demand’.

In the release of Windows Server 2012, Microsoft has made it super easy to switch the GUI with PowerShell. This was achieved by making the Server Features that compose the Graphical User Interface (GUI) interdependent, effectively layering them like a cake.

The four layers of GUI

The four layers that now have been created compose the following GUI modes:

  • Server Core
    In Server Core, basically, none of the GUI Server Features have been enabled / all of the GUI Server Features have been disabled.
      
  • Minimal Shell (“MinShell”)
    In the Minimal Shell, previously known as ‘Features on Demand’, the ‘Graphical Management Tools and Infrastructure’ feature has been enabled. This feature has no dependencies on the other GUI Features.
      
  • Full Installation
    In a Full Installation, both the ‘Graphical Management Tools and Infrastructure’ and ‘Server Graphical Shell’ feature has been enabled. The latter feature has a dependency on the first feature; If you install the ‘Server Graphical Shell’ feature when in Server Core, the ‘Graphical Management Tools and Infrastructure’ will automatically be added.
      
  • Full Installation with Desktop Experience
    If you enable the ‘Desktop Experience’ feature when in a Full Installation, you add the Windows RunTime, the Windows Store and thus the ability to buy, download and run Apps in the Start Screen. Note, however, that there is no automatic dependency resolution for the Desktop Experience feature. This feature can only be enabled when already in a Full Installation.

Switching

Now that we have knowledge of the layers, we can convert Full installations of Windows Server 2012 and MinShell installations of Windows Server 2012 to Server Core with just one line of PowerShell:

Uninstall-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra -Restart

 

To convert a Full installation of Windows Server 2012 to MinShell, run the following PowerShell command:

Uninstall-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Shell –Restart

 

To go from Server Core to MinShell, all you need to do is install the Graphical Management Tools and Infrastructure:

Install-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra -Restart

  

To go from a Server Core installation of Windows Server 2012 or a MinShell installation of Windows Server 2012 to a Full Installation, simply add the Server Graphical Shell with the following command:

Install-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Shell –Restart

    

Concluding

Switching between Full Installations, MinShell Installations and Server Core Installations on Windows Server 2012 is simple when you know how.

Use these simple one-liners to switch to your hearts content.

Further reading

Windows Server 2012 Installation Options