We will tackle all this in upcoming
chapters.
If you??™ve worked with previous versions of Windows Server, you will have undoubtedly
noticed a more streamlined installation process. However, don??™t be fooled by the
marketing hype, because you will still need to perform some significant configuration
tasks after installation has completed. The two initial configuration tasks that you should
never defer until later are setting the Administrator password and installing all the latest
patches. During the installation process covered in this chapter, you read about the option
to install Windows Server 2008 as a Server Core installation. This is a very different
type of installation that should be used whenever appropriate, since it minimizes the
potential attack surface. In the next chapter, you will read in great detail how to install
and configure a Server Core installation.
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Server Core
2
26 Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Administration
With previous versions of Microsoft Windows Server, critical Windows system
updates for services were often required to be installed on the server even if
they weren??™t being used. For example, in 2005, Microsoft released a system
update to address the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) denial-of-service vulnerability
across Windows operating systems. Although an available workaround meant that you
didn??™t necessarily have to install the patch, if your Windows server was performing
the function of only a single role??”that is, as a Domain Name System (DNS) Server,
for example??”it shouldn??™t be using UPnP in the first place, so the patch would??™ve
been unnecessary if the service wasn't installed in the first place, thereby exposing the
operating system to unneeded vulnerabilities.
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