{"id":77515,"date":"2020-04-11T01:42:41","date_gmt":"2020-04-10T23:42:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prohoster.info\/blog\/administrirovanie\/vtiskivaem-windows-server-na-malomoshhnuyu-vps-s-pomoshhyu-windows-server-core"},"modified":"2020-04-11T01:42:41","modified_gmt":"2020-04-10T23:42:41","slug":"vtiskivaem-windows-server-na-malomoshhnuyu-vps-s-pomoshhyu-windows-server-core","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prohoster.info\/en\/blog\/administrirovanie\/vtiskivaem-windows-server-na-malomoshhnuyu-vps-s-pomoshhyu-windows-server-core","title":{"rendered":"Fitting Windows Server on a low-powered VPS with Windows Server Core","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Fitting<\/a><\/noindex>
\nDue to the resource-hungry nature of Windows systems, lightweight Linux distributions like Mint, Colibri OS, Debian, or Ubuntu dominate the VPS environment. As they say, it's all about the console, no frills! And this is not an exaggeration: Debian can boot on 256 MB of RAM and a single CPU core at 1 GHz, meaning it can run on almost any old hardware. For comfortable operation, you'll need at least 512 MB and a slightly faster processor. But what if we told you that a similar setup could work on a Windows VPS? That you don't need to install the heavy Windows Server, which requires at least three to four gigabytes of RAM and a couple of cores at 1.4 GHz? Just use Windows Server Core \u2014 eliminate the GUI and some services. This is what we'll discuss in the article.
\n<\/a><\/noindex><\/p>\n

Who is this Windows Server Core?<\/h2>\n

\nThere is a lack of clear information on what Windows (Server) Core is, even on Microsoft's official site; in fact, it's so convoluted that it's hard to understand at first glance. However, the first mentions date back to the era of Windows Server 2008. Essentially, Windows Core is a functional core of Windows Server (surprise!), 'slimmed down' by the size of its own GUI and roughly half of its ancillary services.<\/p>\n

The main feature of Windows Core is its low hardware requirements and complete console management via PowerShell.<\/p>\n

If you check Microsoft's website for the technical requirements, you'll find that to start Windows Server 2016\/2019, you need at least 2 GB of RAM and a minimum of one CPU core at 1.4 GHz. But we all understand that with such a configuration, we can only expect the system to start, but certainly not for a comfortable operating experience. For this reason, Windows Server typically requires more memory and at least 2 cores\/4 threads from the processor, if not a dedicated expensive physical machine on a Xeon, instead of a cheap virtual machine.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the core of the server system requires only 512 MB of memory, and the CPU resources that were consumed by the GUI just to render on the screen and maintain its numerous services can be allocated to something more useful.<\/p>\n

Here's a comparison of the out-of-the-box services supported by Windows Core and a full Windows Server from Microsoft's official site:<\/p>\n

application<\/strong>
\nserver core<\/strong>
\nserver with<\/strong>desktop experience<\/strong><\/p>\n

Command prompt
\navailable
\navailable<\/p>\n

Windows PowerShell\/ Microsoft .NET
\navailable
\navailable<\/p>\n

Perfmon.exe
\nnot available
\navailable<\/p>\n

Windbg (GUI)
\nsupported
\navailable<\/p>\n

Resmon.exe
\nnot available
\navailable<\/p>\n

Regedit
\navailable
\navailable<\/p>\n

Fsutil.exe
\navailable
\navailable<\/p>\n

Disksnapshot.exe
\nnot available
\navailable<\/p>\n

Diskpart.exe
\navailable
\navailable<\/p>\n

Diskmgmt.msc
\nnot available
\navailable<\/p>\n

Devmgmt.msc
\nnot available
\navailable<\/p>\n

Server Manager
\nnot available
\navailable<\/p>\n

Mmc.exe
\nnot available
\navailable<\/p>\n

Eventvwr
\nnot available
\navailable<\/p>\n

Wevtutil (Event queries)
\navailable
\navailable<\/p>\n

Services.msc
\nnot available
\navailable<\/p>\n

Control Panel
\nnot available
\navailable<\/p>\n

Windows Update (GUI)
\nnot available
\navailable<\/p>\n

Windows Explorer
\nnot available
\navailable<\/p>\n

Taskbar
\nnot available
\navailable<\/p>\n

Taskbar notifications
\nnot available
\navailable<\/p>\n

Taskmgr
\navailable
\navailable<\/p>\n

Internet Explorer or Edge
\nnot available
\navailable<\/p>\n

Built-in help system
\nnot available
\navailable<\/p>\n

Windows 10 Shell
\nnot available
\navailable<\/p>\n

Windows Media Player
\nnot available
\navailable<\/p>\n

PowerShell
\navailable
\navailable<\/p>\n

PowerShell ISE
\nnot available
\navailable<\/p>\n

PowerShell IME
\navailable
\navailable<\/p>\n

Mstsc.exe
\nnot available
\navailable<\/p>\n

Remote Desktop Services
\navailable
\navailable<\/p>\n

Hyper-V Manager
\nnot available
\navailable<\/p>\n

\nAs can be seen, a lot has been cut from Windows Core. Services and processes related to the system's GUI, as well as unnecessary 'clutter' that will definitely not be needed on our console virtual machine, such as Windows Media Player, have been removed.<\/p>\n

Almost like Linux, but not quite<\/h2>\n

\nWindows Server Core is tempting to compare with Linux distributions, but it\u2019s not entirely correct. Yes, these systems are similar in terms of reduced resource consumption due to the absence of a GUI and many ancillary services, but in terms of operation and some approaches to assembly, it\u2019s still Windows, not a Unix system.<\/p>\n

The simplest example is that with a manual assembly of the Linux kernel and subsequent installation of packages and services, even the lightest Linux distribution can be transformed into something heavyweight and resembling a Swiss army knife (here I\u2019m tempted to make a humorous comment about Python and insert a picture from the 'If Programming Languages Were Weapons' series, but we won\u2019t). In Windows Core, there's much less freedom, as we are still dealing with a Microsoft product.<\/p>\n

Windows Server Core comes as a pre-built assembly, the default configuration of which can be assessed according to the table above. If you need anything from the unsupported list, you'll have to add the missing elements online via the console. However, remember about Feature on Demand and the ability to download components as CAB files, which can then be added to the build before installation. But this scenario doesn't work if you discover during operation that you're missing any of the cut services.<\/p>\n

What distinguishes the Core version from the full one is the ability to update the system and add services without stopping operations. Windows Core supports hot package deployment without rebooting. Consequently, based on practical observations: a machine running Windows Core needs to be restarted about 6 times less frequently than one running Windows Server, meaning once every six months instead of once a month.<\/p>\n

A nice bonus for administrators is that if the system is used as intended \u2014 through the console, without RDP \u2014 and not turned into a second Windows Server, it becomes extremely secure compared to the full version. This is because most vulnerabilities in Windows Server are related to RDP and user actions taken via RDP that should not be done. It's somewhat similar to the story of Henry Ford and his attitude towards car color: \"Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black<\/strong>\". Similarly, with the system: the user can interact with the system in any way, as long as they do it through the console<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Installing and Managing Windows Server 2019 Core<\/h2>\n

\nEarlier, we mentioned that Windows Core is essentially Windows Server without the GUI wrapper. This means you can use almost any version of Windows Server as a core version, effectively foregoing the GUI. For the Windows Server 2019 family of products, this applies to 3 out of 4 server builds: the core mode is available for Windows Server 2019 Standard Edition, Windows Server 2019 Datacenter, and Hyper-V Server 2019, meaning that only Windows Server 2019 Essentials is excluded from this list. <\/p>\n

Moreover, the installation package for Windows Server Core doesn\u2019t need to be searched for specifically. In the standard installer from Microsoft, the core version is literally offered by default, whereas the version with the GUI must be selected manually:<\/p>\n

\"Fitting
\nThere are actually more ways to manage the system than just the one mentioned, PowerShell, which is proposed by the manufacturer as default. You can manage a virtual machine on Windows Server Core in at least five different ways:<\/p>\n