Full installation vs server core installation

A Server Core installation is almost entirely headless, light weight, and ideally suited for large datacenters and clouds, both physical and virtual. That same smaller footprint means Server Core requires less disk space and consumes less of your network bandwidth when you migrate VMs or roll out a large environment. With the new Windows Admin Center management capabilities, Server Core is easier than ever to manage, whether you like PowerShell scripts or a modern, graphical portal.

When it comes to apps, in the past you may have had problems running apps that require local GUI interaction on Server Core. You can install it or uninstall it on demand. New server management apps should be designed to work remotely, ideally as extensions to Windows Admin Center, so that you can overtime use Server Core everywhere without the App Compatibility FOD at all! Some of you prefer the Server with Desktop Experience option, even on your servers.

You can manage servers remotely with Windows Admin Center or other remote tools most of the time, and you can do it from Windows 10 with all the bells and whistles. Please note that while the features are gone, because of the overlap between some client and OS functions, you may see some elements of features, like Cortana binaries, that are still in the image.

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Learn more. Asked 11 years, 2 months ago. Active 10 years, 11 months ago. Viewed 3k times. Improve this question. Add a comment. Contents Exit focus mode. What is the Server Core installation option in Windows Server?

Is this page helpful? Please rate your experience Yes No. Any additional feedback? Note This list is intended for quick reference - it is not intended to be a complete list. Submit and view feedback for This product This page. An administrator can install or uninstall these options to move between Server Core and full server installations.

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