Why choose "Server Core" installation of Windows Server 2008?
If you ever find yourself looking for reasons or evidence why you should choose the "Server Core" installation option for Windows Server 2008, try searching for the following:
"Windows Server 2008 Server Core installation not affected" site:microsoft.com/technet/security
You will find page after page of results similar to the following:
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-054 – Critical
Windows Server 2008 server core installation not affected. The vulnerability addressed by this update does not affect supported editions of Windows Server 2008 if Windows Server ...
www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-054.mspx · Cached pageMicrosoft Security Bulletin MS08-078 - Critical
Windows Server 2008 server core installation not affected. The vulnerabilities addressed by this update do not affect supported editions of Windows Server 2008 if Windows Server ...
www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-078.mspx · Cached pageMicrosoft Security Bulletin MS08-053 – Critical
Windows Server 2008 server core installation not affected. The vulnerability addressed by this update does not affect supported editions of Windows Server 2008 if Windows Server ...
www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-053.mspx · Cached pageMicrosoft Security Bulletin MS08-024 - Critical: Cumulative Security ...
Windows Server 2008 server core installation not affected. The vulnerabilities addressed by these updates do not affect supported editions of Windows Server 2008 if Windows Server ...
www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-024.mspx · Cached pageMicrosoft Security Bulletin MS08-052 – Critical
Windows Server 2008 Server Core installation not affected. The vulnerabilities addressed by this update do not affect supported editions of Windows Server 2008 if Windows Server ...
www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-052.mspx · Cached page...
Seeing all these results is refreshing when I think back on the challenges I had to overcome when building out my first Hyper-V server using the Server Core installation, such as configuring remote administration of Hyper-V, or whenever I need to view PerfMon data on a Server Core machine (which is trivial on a "Full" installation, but not quite so easy on a Server Core installation).
Thanks to Ana Paula Moreira Franco, a Senior Consultant with Microsoft Consulting Services in Brazil, for pointing out these search terms.