You read in the previous recipe about all the benefits of Server Core
such as performance, security and so on. But without the GUI, it's not
easy to do the daily management and maintenance of Hyper-V. If you want
to change the computer name or the IP address, the GUI is always the
easiest to use. But on the other hand, the command line can bring a fast and an automated process.
That's why in Windows Server 2012, the Server Core version of Windows and Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012 comes with the Server Configuration (sconfig).
This is a command line with a simple interface to reduce the time for
doing the most common tasks in Windows. In the following screenshot, you
can see an example of sconfig's first page:
sconfig can do this via an intuitive numerical menu to facilitate the Windows configuration.
A
simple example is when you have to change the IP address of your
computer by using the command line. Have a look into the following
command:
Sometimes it is hard to remember the exact command syntax and this can lead to server misconfiguration.
Using sconfig, the process would be simply to press the numbers 8, 0, and then 1 from the menu and simply specify the new IP configuration. That's it.
Besides IP configuration, the sconfig offers 13 other options:
- Domain/workgroup
- Computer name
- Adding local administrator
- Configuring remote management
- Windows update settings
- Downloading and installing updates
- Remote desktop
- Network settings
- Date and time
- Help in improving the product with CEIP
- Logging off the user
- Restarting the server
- Shutting down server
In this recipe, you will see how to set up the most common configurations in your server core without advanced command lines.
The Server Configuration tool is added by default on a Server Core installation or Hyper-V Server. Just type sconfig at the command line and the menu will be loaded.
In order to manage the server core installation using sconfig, carry out the following steps:
- To change the domain/workgroup settings, press 1.
- Press D for domain or W for workgroup.
- Specify the domain or workgroup name, the necessary username and the password, and press Enter.
- To change the computer name, press 2 and specify the new computer name.
- Select Yes to restart the computer.
- To add a local administrator, press 3.
- Enter the account to join the local administrators group and type the user password.
- To configure the remote management, press 4.
- Select one of the following options:
- Allow MMC Remote Management
- Enable Windows PowerShell
- Allow Server Manager Remote Management
- Show Windows Firewall settings
- To change Windows update settings:
- Press 5.
- Select A for automatic or M for manual.
- To download and install updates:
- Press 6.
- Select A for all updates or R for recommended updates only.
- To enable remote desktop:
- Press 7.
- Select E to enable or D to disable.
- To configure network settings:
- Press 8.
- Select the network adapter number you want to configure and then select one of the existing options:
- Set network adapter IP address
- Set DNS Servers
- Clear DNS Server Settings
- To change the date and time, press 9 and a graphical interface will show up with the date and time settings to be configured.
- To restart and shut down the server:
- Press 1+0 to join Customer Experience Improvement Program
- Press 1+1 for logoff
- Press 1+2 to restart the computer
- Press 1+3 to shut down the server
- Press 1+4 to exit to command line
- After
these configurations using sconfig and with reduced command line
interaction, your server will be ready for the production environment.
Server Configuration basically runs scripts in the background for every option
that has been selected through a numeric menu, making your life much
easier. For every number you select, sconfig can run another script to
show a submenu or just run the final script to apply the changes you
have selected.
