Windows Server 2008 R2 Unleashed (27 page)

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will present a message to this effect and prevent the installation from proceeding.

Therefore, in this scenario, select Custom (Advanced) to perform a client installation of

Windows Server 2008 R2. Click Next to continue, as shown in Figure 3.3.

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FIGURE 3.3

Specifying whether to upgrade or install a clean copy of Windows.

6. Selecting the Location for the Installation

On the next page, the Install Windows Wizard asks where you want to install Windows.

You need to specify where you want to install the OS and then click Next to continue, as

illustrated in Figure 3.4. This section replaces the portion of both Windows 2000/2003

server installs where decisions about disk partitioning and formatting are made during the

initial steps of the installation. At this point, you can supply additional disk drivers, or

add, delete, extend, or format partitions in preparation for the install. It’s another small

change to the process for preparing a system for loading the OS, but that change simpli-

fies and organizes the process in a logical way.

NOTE

With older versions of the Windows operating system, you had two options when parti-

tioning the hard drive: NTFS or FAT/FAT32. When creating and formatting partitions with

Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2, FAT and FAT32 are no longer sup-

ported as NTFS is the only file system that can be sustained.

7. Finalizing the Installation and Customizing the Configuration

After the Windows Server 2008 R2 Install Windows Wizard collects the information and

installs the Windows operating system, the system will restart. The administrator must set

a password before logging in to complete the installation process. When logged in, the

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Initial Configuration Tasks Wizard is automatically invoked. This wizard presents the

following tasks, as shown in Figure 3.5, to initially configure the server. The high-level

initial configuration tasks include the following:

1. Provide Computer Information

. Activate Windows

. Set Time Zone

3

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FIGURE 3.4

Specifying the location for the installation.

FIGURE 3.5

The Initial Configuration Tasks Wizard.

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. Configure Networking

. Provide Computer Name and Domain

2. Update This Server

. Enable Automatic Updating and Feedback

. Download and Install Updates

3. Customize This Server

. Add Roles

. Add Features

. Enable Remote Desktop

. Configure Windows Firewall

Traditionally, these configuration tasks were addressed during the initial installation of

Windows; however, now these elements are configured after the initial installation of the

operating system is complete. By removing these elements from the installation, the

installation process is much faster.

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Setting the Administrator Password

The first configuration task to perform after installing Windows Server 2008 R2 is to set an

administrator password. This must be done before you can log on the first time. The

installation process automatically creates the default administrator account called, surpris-

ingly enough, Administrator. This account has local administrative privileges and enables

you to manage all local configuration settings for the server.

As a best practice, you should rename this account after you complete the installation and

assign a strong password. You must enter it twice: first in the Password text box and then

again in the Confirm Password text box. As in previous Windows operating systems, the

password is case sensitive and can contain up to 127 characters. In addition, a strong pass-

word should include both upper- and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

You should choose your password carefully to ensure the security of the system. You can

change both the Administrator account name and password in the Change Password

dialog box.

Activate Windows

Once the administrator password has been set, initial configuration tasks can be executed,

starting with Activation. As with other Microsoft operating systems, Windows Server 2008

R2 must be activated. Click Activate Windows, which is the first initial configuration task.

In the Windows Activation dialog box, enter the product key and click Next to activate the

product. Choose to Automatically Activate Windows if you want to have Windows acti-

vate the next time the server comes online or remove the checkmark if you want to manu-

ally choose to activate Windows later. Click Next to continue with the installation process.

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Setting the Time Zone

Next on the initial task list is setting the date and time of the server. Click the Set Time

Zone link in the Initial Configuration Tasks Wizard to invoke the Date and Time dialog

box. On the Date and Time tab, set the time zone where the server will operate by clicking

the Change Date and Time button. In addition, click the Change Time Zone button to

configure the time zone for the server. The next tab, Additional Clocks, as displayed in

Figure 3.6, should be utilized if there is a need to display the time in another time zone.

Up to two clocks can be configured on this tab. The final tab, Internet Time, is where you

configure a time server for the server to synchronize its clock with. Time.windows.com is

the default time server; however, other time servers can be selected by clicking the Change

3

Settings button.

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FIGURE 3.6

Configuring additional clocks.

Configuring Networking

The third setting in the Provide Computer Information section of the Initial

Configuration Tasks Wizard is Configure Networking. You need to decide on network

settings for the server so it can connect to other computers, networks, and the Internet. By

default, Windows Server 2008 R2, as with previous versions of Windows, installs Client for

Microsoft Networks, File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks, and TCP/IPv4. In

addition, Windows Server 2008 R2 installs QoS Packet Scheduler, Internet Protocol version

6 (TCP/IPv6), Link-Layer Topology Discovery Mapper I/O Driver, and Link-Layer Topology

Discovery Responder.

Don’t be alarmed. The default client, service, and protocols that are installed by default will

meet most companies’ needs and require little manual configuration. You will, however,

likely want to change the TCP/IPv4 settings and assign a static address for the server.

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NOTE

Windows Server 2008 R2 utilizes IPv6 as the default protocol. If you do not have plans

to utilize IPv6, you might want to disable this protocol to facilitate future server role

installation. Many server roles, such as Domain Controller, DNS Server, and DHCP

Server, require static IP addresses. You will either need to disable IPv6 or assign the

server a static IPv6 address to install these roles. You can disable IPv6 by clearing the

check box for Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) and clicking OK.

For more details on configuring TCP/IP and the new protocol stack, review the chapters in

Part III of this book, “Networking Services.”

Providing the Computer Name and Domain

Use the Provide Computer Name and Domain link to change the name of your computer

and to add your computer to a domain or workgroup. If you are joining an existing

domain, you will need the logon name and password for an account with appropriate

domain permissions. Alternatively, you can have the administrator of the domain add

your computer name into the domain so that your server can connect. If you do not

know the name of the domain that the server will be a member of, or if you do not have

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the administrative rights to join the server to the domain, you can still change the

computer name and you can always join the server to a domain at a later time.

Now that we configured the elements in the Provide Computer Information section of the

Initial Configuration Tasks Wizard, the next step is to focus on the second configuration

section called Update This Server.

Enabling Automatic Updating and Feedback

The Enable Automatic Updating and Feedback link in the Update This Server section is

used to configure how your system maintains its health and security by automatically

downloading and configuring software updates and the degree to which you want to

participate in Microsoft’s information gathering efforts.

Although it’s easy to dismiss these features, the tools do provide you an easy way to patch

your systems and contribute your experience with Microsoft products with very little or

no effort. Anonymous information gathered from users shapes Microsoft products and

technologies, so if you don’t have corporate policies around sharing technical information

outside of your organization, give some thought to participating. If selected, the following

options can be configured automatically, or you can manually configure the settings:

.
Automatic Updates—
Automatic Updates are not configured by default. You can

leave this setting as is or configure the server to check for updates automatically on a

schedule that fits your maintenance procedures. When patching large enterprise

environments, it is a best practice to control software updates via a patching solu-

tion, such as System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2 or WSUS 3.0 SP1.

.
Windows Error Reporting—
Windows Error Reporting, by default, prompts you to

send detailed information to Microsoft when errors occur on your server. You can

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97

turn this function off or configure it to automatically send the error information to

Microsoft. Reports contain information that is most useful for diagnosing and

solving the problem that has occurred.

.
Customer Experience Improvement Program—
The Customer Experience

Improvement Program (CEIP) gathers anonymous information and periodically

sends it to Microsoft. CEIP reports generally include information about the features