Windows Server 2012R2
Windows Server 2012R2
Install servers
Configure servers
Local-Storage-Vlad
1.1:Install Servers
PLANNING FOR A SERVER INSTALLATION
Since Windows Server 2008 R2, there has been no 32-bit version; only a 64-bit
operating system is available, reflecting the fact that most major applications are
now 64-bit and that modern server configurations are typically supported on
hardware that requires 64 bits. We also have here a GUI and a Core installation
option.
Microsoft releases all of its operating systems in multiple editions, which provides
consumers with varying price points and feature sets. When planning a server
deployment, the operating system edition you choose should be based on multiple
factors, including the following:
The roles you intend the servers to perform
The virtualization strategy you intend to implement
The licensing strategy you plan to use
Some of the Windows Server 2012 R2 editions include all of the available roles,
whereas others include only some of them. Selecting the appropriate edition of
Windows Server has always been a matter of anticipating the roles that the
computer must perform.
The Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter edition and the Standard edition each
includes support for Hyper-V, but each edition varies in the number of VMs
permitted by its license. Each running instance of the Windows Server 2012 R2
operating system is classified as being in a physical operating system environment
(POSE) or in a virtual operating system environment (VOSE).
Server licensing
Microsoft provides several different sales channels for Windows Server 2012 R2
licenses, and not all of the editions are available through all of the channels.
Licensing Windows Server 2012 R2 includes purchasing licenses for both servers
and clients, and there are many options for each one.
Installation requirements
If your computer does not meet the following hardware specifications, Windows
Server 2012 R2 will not install correctly (or possibly at all):
Many enterprise networks today use servers that are dedicated to a particular role.
When a server is performing a single role, it does not make sense to have so many
other processes running on the server that contribute little or nothing to that role.
Windows Server 2012 R2 provides installation options that enable administrators
to keep the unnecessary resources installed on a server to a minimum.
What’s left in the Minimal Server Interface are the Server Manager application, the
MMC application, Device Manager, and the entire Windows PowerShell interface.
This provides administrators with most of the tools they need to manage local and
remote servers.
To configure a Windows Server 2012 R2 Server with a GUI installation to use the
Minimal Server Interface, you must remove the Server Graphical Shell feature by
using Windows PowerShell or the Remove Roles And Features Wizard.
During a Windows Server 2012 R2 installation, the Setup program copies the files
for all the operating system components from the installation medium to a
directory called WinSxS, the side-by-side component store.
Enabled
Disabled
Disabled with payload removed
To implement this third state, you must use the Windows PowerShell Uninstall-
WindowsFeature cmdlet, which now supports a new –Remove flag. Thus, the
Windows PowerShell command to disable the Server Graphical Shell and remove
its source files from the WinSxS directory would be as follows:
FEATURES ON DEMAND
This ability to retrieve source files for a feature from another location is the actual
functionality to which the name Features on Demand refers. Microsoft often uses
this capability to reduce the size of updates downloaded from the Internet. When
the user installs the update, the program downloads the additional files required
and completes the installation.
UPGRADING SERVERS
MIGRATING ROLES
Migration is the preferred method of replacing an existing server with one running
Windows Server 2012 R2. Unlike an in-place upgrade, a migration copies vital
information from an existing server to a clean Windows Server 2012 R2
installation.
1.2:Configure servers
A server is rarely ready to perform all the tasks you have planned for it
immediately after installation. Typically some postinstallation configuration
is required and further configuration changes might become necessary after
the server is in service.
Some tasks that administrators might have to perform immediately after the
operating system installation that require direct access to the server console:
In Windows Server 2012 R2, the Properties tile in Server Manager, as shown
in Figure 1-4, provides the same functionality as the Initial Configuration Tasks
window in previous Windows Server versions. To complete any or all of the
postinstallation configuration tasks on a GUI Windows Server 2012 R2
installation, you can use the tools in the Properties tile, either by working directly
at the server console or by using Remote Desktop to access the server from another
computer.
If you selected the Server Core option when installing Windows Server 2012 R2,
you can perform the same post installation tasks from the command line. At the
very minimum, you will have to rename the computer and join it to a domain. To
do this, you can use the Sconfig.exe or Netdom.exe program.
In Windows Server 2012 R2, you can convert a computer installed with the full
GUI option to Server Core and add the full GUI to a Server Core computer. This is
a major improvement in the usefulness of Server Core over the version in
Windows Server 2008 R2, in which you can only change the interface by
reinstalling the entire operating system.
To convert a Windows Server 2012 R2 Server Core installation to the full GUI
option, use the following Windows PowerShell command:
The results can include increased performance by combining the throughput of the
adapters and protection from adapter failures by dynamically moving all traffic to
the functioning NICs.
The Server Manager tool in Windows Server 2012 R2 is an application that is the
most obvious evidence of a major paradigm shift in Windows Server
administration. Prior to Windows Server 2012, an administrator who wanted to
install a role by using graphical controls had to work at the server console by either
physically sitting at the keyboard or by connecting to it by using Remote Desktop
Services (formerly Terminal Services). In contrast, the Windows Server 2012 R2
Server Manager can install roles and features to any server on the network.
The Server Manager program in Windows Server 2012 R2 combines what used to
be separate wizards for adding roles and features into one, the Add Roles And
Features Wizard. Once you add multiple servers to the Server Manager interface,
they are integrated into the Add Roles And Features Wizard, so you can deploy
roles and features to any of your servers.
INSTALLING COMPONENTS TO MULTIPLE SERVERS
Although you can use the Add Roles And Features Wizard to install components to
any server you have added to Server Manager, you cannot use it to install
components to multiple servers at once. You can, however, do this by using
Windows PowerShell.
SELECTING ALL ROLES AND FEATURES
Unlike earlier versions of Server Manager, the Windows Server 2012 R2 version
enables you to select all the roles and features for a particular server configuration
at once, rather than making you run the wizard multiple times.
Deploying roles to VHDs
CONFIGURING SERVICES
Most Windows Server roles and many of the features include services, which are
programs that run continuously in the background, typically waiting for a client
process to send a request to them. Server Manager provides access to services
running on servers all over the network.
DELEGATING SERVER ADMINISTRATION
As networks grow, so does the number of administrative tasks there are to perform
on a regular basis, and so does the IT staff that is needed to perform them.
Delegating administrative tasks to specific individuals is a natural part of enterprise
server management, as is assigning those individuals the permissions they need—
and only the permissions they need—to perform those tasks
OBJECTIVE SUMMARY
Server Manager is designed to enable administrators to fully manage
Windows servers without ever having to interact directly with the server
console, either physically or remotely.
There are some tasks that administrators might have to perform immediately
after the operating system installation that require direct access to the server
console.
If you selected the Server Core option when installing Windows Server 2012
R2, you can perform posti nstallation tasks from the command line.
In Windows Server 2012 R2, the Properties tile in Server Manager provides
the same functionality as the Initial Configuration Tasks window in previous
versions.
In Windows Server 2012 R2, you can convert a computer installed with the
full GUI option to Server Core and add the full GUI to a Server Core
computer.
NIC teaming is a new feature in Windows Server 2012 R2 that enables
administrators to combine the bandwidth of multiple network interface
adapters, providing increased performance and fault tolerance.
For administrators of enterprise networks, it might be necessary to add a
large number of servers to Server Manager. To avoid having to work with a
long scrolling list of servers, you can create server groups based on server
locations, functions, or any other organizational paradigm.
In addition to installing roles and features to servers on the network, Server
Manager enables administrators to install them to VMs that are currently in
an offline state.
1.3: Managing local storage
Describe Storage Technologies
A Filesystem provides:
With block storage, files are split into evenly sized blocks of
data, each with its own address but with no additional
information (metadata) to provide more context for what that
block of data is.
Extra references:
https://cloudian.com/blog/object-storage-vs-file-storage/
Physical types of storage:
5. the MBR itself resides entirely on the first sector (512 bytes)
of a hard disk.
6. Of that space, the first 440 bytes of the MBR are devoted to
the boot loader.
7. the BIOS reads this code and executes it when the computer
boots.
GUID Partition Table (GPT) - is a new standard for the layout of the
partition table:
15. GPT disks are not supported as the boot disk in BIOS
Mode when booting to Windows OSes.
2. Add virtual disk to iSCSI server and specify the size of the
virtual disk that you want:
3. Create a New iSCSI Target, give it a name and description
and select the iSCSI initiators *** (clients) that will have
access to this disk (this will allow the Target to be discovered
by defined list of initiators):
7. The rest of the steps are the same as for a local disk
Extra references
https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/filecab/2012/05/21/introduction-of-
iscsi-target-in-windows-server-2012/
Resizing partitions/volumes
Extend existing volume in Windows
Memory dump
Extra references
Understanding Crash Dump Files:
https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/askperf/2008/01/08/understanding-
crash-dump-files/
After a file has been encrypted, you do not have to manually decrypt
that file before you can use it. Rather, once you encrypt a file or
folder, you can work with that file or folder just as you would with any
other file or folder.
CIFS and SMB are Windows file sharing protocols (CIFS being the
latest version of SMB).
Robocopy – the newest tool available by default from Win Vista upwards
- /e parameter tells robocopy to include all subdirectories. This
includes empty folders.
- /z parameter give you the ability to restart the process in case
the connection is lost to the destination
- robocopy will automatically copy hidden and system files. It will
create new directories if they don't exist at the target location.
- gives you a detailed statistic and possibility to create a log file
- /mir it can mirror a folder and its content and will preserve the
permissions
Delete files/folders
Using Server Manager for remote managementServer Manager has been the
primary server administration tool for Windows Server ever since Windows Server
2003. The most obvious improvement to the Server Manager tool in Windows
Server 2012 R2 is the ability to perform administrative tasks on remote servers
and on the local system.
Adding serversThe primary difference between the Windows Server 2012 R2 (and
Windows Server 2012) Server Manager and previous versions is the ability to add
and manage multiple servers at once.
Managing non-domain joined serversWhen you add servers that are members of
an Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) domain to the Server Manager
interface, Windows Server 2012 R2 uses the standard Kerberos authentication
protocol and your current domain credentials when connecting to the remote
systems. You can also add servers that are not joined to an AD DS domain, but
obviously, the system cannot authenticate using an AD DS account.
If you attempt to launch MMC snap-ins targeting a remote server, such as the
Computer Management console, you will receive an error because of the default
Windows Firewall settings in Windows Server 2012 R2. MMC uses the Distributed
Component Object Model (DCOM) for remote management instead of WinRM,
and these settings are not enabled by default.To address this problem, you must
enable the following inbound Windows Firewall rules on the remote server you
want to manage:
Creating server groups does not affect the functions you can perform on them.
You cannot, for example, perform actions on entire groups of servers. The
groupings are just a means to keep a large number of servers organized and easy
to locate.
Using Remote Server Administration Tools
You can manage remote servers from any computer running Windows Server
2012 R2; all the required tools are installed by default. However, administrators
have found it most efficient to use their client computers to manage servers
remotely (especially with the introduction of cloud-based services).To manage
Windows servers from a workstation, you must download and install the Remote
Server Administration Tools package for the version of Windows running on your
workstation from the Microsoft Download Center at
http://www.microsoft.com/download.
Once you have added remote servers to Server Manager, you can access them
using a variety of remote administration tools.Server Manager provides three
basic methods for addressing remote servers, as follows:
Noncontextual tasks. The menu bar at the top of the Server Manager console
provides access to internal tasks, such as launching the Add Server Wizard and the
Install Roles And Features Wizard, and the Server Manager Properties dialog box,
in which you can specify the console’s refresh interval.
Noncontextual tools. The console’s Tools menu provides access to external
programs, such as MMC snap-ins and the Windows PowerShell interface, that are
directed at the local system.
OBJECTIVE SUMMARY
Windows Server 2012 R2 is designed to facilitate remote server
management so administrators rarely if ever have to work directly at the
server console. This conserves server resources that can better be devoted to
applications.
When you add servers running Windows Server 2012 R2 to Server Manager,
you can immediately begin using the Add Roles and Features Wizard to
install roles and features on any of the servers you have added.
The Windows Firewall rules you have to enable for remote servers running
Windows Server 2012 R2 are also disabled by default on computers running
versions earlier than Windows Server 2012, so you also have to enable them
there.
For administrators of enterprise networks, it might be necessary to add a
large number of servers to Server Manager. To avoid having to work with a
long scrolling list of servers, you can create server groups based on server
locations, functions, or any other organizational paradigm.
You can manage remote servers from any computer running Windows
Server 2012 R2; all the required tools are installed by default. However, the
new administrative method that Microsoft is promoting urges administrators
to keep servers locked away and use a workstation to manage servers from a
remote location.