Before you begin the actual installation of
Windows Server 2012, you must make several decisions concerning
prerequisite tasks. How well you plan these steps will determine how
successful your installation is because many of these decisions cannot
be changed after the installation is complete.
Minimum Hardware Requirements
Whether you are installing Windows Server 2012
in a lab or production environment, you need to ensure that the
hardware chosen meets the minimum system requirements. In most situations, the minimum hardware requirements presented will not suffice. Therefore, Table 1
provides not only the minimum requirements, but also the recommended
and maximum system requirements for the hardware components.
Table 1. Windows Server 2012 System Requirements
Note
When designing and selecting the system
specifications for a new server solution, even the optimal system
requirements recommendations from Microsoft might not suffice. It is a
best practice to assess the server specifications of the planned server
role while taking the load during the time of deployment and future
growth into consideration. For example, a Windows Server 2012 system
running the Exchange Server 2010 Mailbox Server role or a SQL Server
2012 providing enterprise business intelligence solutions will require
much more than 2GB of RAM to run adequately. Therefore, size the system
accordingly and test the load before going live into production.
Caution
Windows Server 2012 supports only 64-bit processor architectures. A server running 32-bit processors is not supported.
Choosing the Appropriate Windows Edition
There are only two editions in the Windows
Server 2012 family of operating systems. Microsoft is opting to simplify
the product line, and as a result, Windows Server 2012 will be
available in Standard and Datacenter Editions. There is no longer a
feature difference between the editions, only a difference in support
for hardware and guest virtual machines (VMs).
Choosing a New Installation or an Upgrade
If you have an existing Windows environment,
you might need to perform a new installation or upgrade an existing
server. There are benefits to each of these options. The next two
sections outline the benefits for each.
Should You Perform a New Installation?
The primary benefit of a new installation is
that by installing the operating system from scratch you are starting
with a known good server. You can avoid migrating problems that might
have existed on your previous server—whether due to corrupt software,
incorrect configuration settings, or improperly installed applications.
Keep in mind, however, that you also lose all configuration settings
from your previous installation. In addition, required applications on
the legacy server need to be reinstalled after the installation of the
new operating system is complete. Make sure you document your server
configuration information, have all the appropriate software you plan on
reinstalling, and back up any data that you want to keep.
When performing a new installation, you can
install on a new hard drive (or partition). Typically, most new
installations are installed on a new or freshly formatted hard drive.
Doing so removes any old software and gives you the cleanest
installation.
Should You Upgrade an Existing Server?
Upgrading, in contrast, replaces your current
Windows files but keeps existing users, settings, groups, rights, and
permissions intact. In this scenario, you don’t have to reinstall
applications or restore data. Before choosing this option, keep in mind
that you should test your applications for compatibility before
migration. Just because they worked on earlier versions of Windows does
not mean they will work on Windows Server 2012.
As always, before performing any type of
server maintenance such as a Windows Server 2012 installation, perform a
complete backup of any applications and data that you want to preserve.
Do not forget to include the system state when backing up the legacy
Windows operating system. It is required when performing a restore if
you want to maintain the existing Windows settings.
To upgrade to Windows Server 2012, you must be
running the most recent server level operating system, Windows Server
2008 R2. Upgrades from older operating systems are not supported. Table 2 lists edition upgrades.
Table 2. Windows Server 2012 Upgrade Paths
Note
If you need to preserve settings and upgrade a
legacy operating system such as Windows 2003 or Windows 2008 Server,
you should first upgrade the system should to Windows Server 2008 R2 and
then to Windows Server 2012. Typically, this is not the recommended
approach because the hardware is usually outdated; however, the multiple
upgrade approach is doable.
Note
Although direct upgrades from a GUI version of
the server to a core installation is still not supported, with Windows
Server 2012, you can easily upgrade to a GUI version and then convert to
a core installation or vice versa.
Determining the Type of Server to Install
One of the first decisions you have to make
when installing Windows Server 2012 is whether you will be using a
Server Core installation or a server with GUI installation. Server Core
installations were introduced with the release of the Windows Server
2008 family of operating systems and consist of only a minimal
installation footprint. On a Server Core installation, the traditional
GUI tools are not available, and there is also limited managed code
support.
Windows Server 2012 supports more roles on a
Server Core installation than any earlier version of the operating
system. Roles that are supported with a Server Core installation include
Active Directory Domain Services, Active Directory Lightweight
Directory Services (AD LDS), DHCP Server, DNS Server, File Services,
Print Server, Hyper-V, and Web Server (IIS). Windows Server 2012 adds
support for the Windows Software Update Services and Remote Access roles
along with support for running SQL Server 2012 on a core installation.
Even more important, Windows Server 2012 can
be switched from a Server Core installation to a GUI installation with a
single command and a reboot. A third installation state exists and is
comprised of a minimal GUI installation with some GUI features, such as
Internet Explorer, Windows Explorer, and the desktop, removed. The third
state, called the Minimal Server Interface, can be converted to a full
GUI server by installing the Server Graphical Shell feature.
Preparing Configuration Information
After the installation of Windows Server 2012,
you have the opportunity to configure the core settings required for
server operation. Taking the time to gather the information described in
the following sections before starting your installation will likely
make your installation go faster, smoother, and easier.
Note
Although items such as the server name and IP
address are required for a server to function, values are automatically
generated during installation. Specific system settings are manually
entered after the installation is complete, unless an unattended
installation with an answer file is used.
Selecting the Computer Name
Each computer on a network must have a name
that is unique within that network. Many companies have a standard
naming convention for their servers and workstations. If not, you can
use the following information as a guideline for creating your own.
Although the computer name can contain up to
63 characters, workstations and servers that are pre-Windows 2000
recognize only the first 15 characters.
It is widely considered a best practice to use
only Internet standard characters in your computer name. This includes
the letters A–Z (uppercase and lowercase), the numbers 0–9, and the
hyphen (-).
Although it’s true that implementing the
Microsoft domain name system (DNS) service in your environment could
allow you to use some non-Internet standard characters (such as Unicode
characters and the underscore), keep in mind that this is likely to
cause problems with any non-Microsoft DNS servers on your network. Think
carefully and test thoroughly before straying from the standard
Internet characters noted in the preceding paragraph.
Name of the Workgroup or Domain
In addition to the server name, you need to
determine the name of the workgroup or domain that the server will be
joining. You can either enter the name of an existing Windows domain or
workgroup to join or create a new workgroup by entering in a new name.
Users new to Microsoft networking might ask,
“What is the difference between a workgroup and a domain?” Simply put, a
domain is a collection of computers and supporting hardware that shares
the same security database using Active Directory. Grouping the
equipment in this manner allows you to set up centralized security and
administration. Conversely, a workgroup has no centralized security or
administration. Each server or workstation is configured independently
and locally for all security and administration settings.
Network Protocol and IP Address of the Server
When installing Windows Server 2012, you must
install and configure a network protocol that will allow it to
communicate with other machines on the network.
Currently, the most commonly used protocol is
called TCP/IP version 4, which stands for Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol. This protocol allows computers throughout
the Internet to communicate. After you install TCP/IP, you need to
configure an IP address for the server. You can choose one of the
following three methods to assign an IP address:
• Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA)—APIPA
can be used if you have a small network that does not have a Dynamic
Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, which is used for dynamic IP
addresses. A unique IP address is assigned to the network adapter using
the link-local IP address space. The address always starts with 169.254
and is in the format 169.254.x.x. Note that if APIPA is in use, and a
DHCP server is brought up on the network, the computer will detect this
and will use the address that is assigned by the DHCP server instead.
• Dynamic IP address—A
dynamic IP address is assigned by a DHCP server. This allows a server to
assign IP addresses and configuration information to clients. Some
examples of the information that is distributed include IP address,
subnet mask, default gateway, DNS server address, and the DNS domain. As
the dynamic portion of the name suggests, this address is assigned to
the computer for a configurable length of time, known as a lease. Before
the lease expires, the workstation must again request an IP address
from the DHCP server. It might or might not get the same address that it
had previously. Although servers and workstations can both be
configured to use this method of addressing, it is generally used for
workstations rather than servers.
• Static IP address—Using
a static IP address is the most common decision for a server
configuration. By static, we mean the server or workstation will not
leverage DHCP; the IP address and settings are configured manually. The
address will not change unless you change the configuration of the
server. This point is important because clients and resources that need
to access the server must know the address to be able to connect to it.
If the IP address changed regularly, connecting to it would be
difficult.
Note
Windows Server 2012 includes the latest TCP/IP
protocol suite known as the Next Generation TCP/IP stack. The legacy
protocol stack was designed in the early 1990s and has been modified to
accommodate future growth of computers networked together. The new
TCP/IP stack is known as Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6).
Backing Up Files
Whether you are performing a new installation
on a previously used server or upgrading an existing server, you should
perform a complete backup of the data and operating system before you
begin your new installation. This way, you have a fallback plan if the
installation fails or the server does not perform the way you
anticipated.
When performing a new installation on a
previously used server, you overwrite any data that was stored there. In
this scenario, you have to use your backup tape to restore any data
that you want to recover.
Conversely, if you are going to upgrade an
existing server, a known good backup will enable you to recover to your
previous state if the upgrade does not go as planned.
Note
Many people back up their servers but never
confirm that the data can be read from the backup media. When the time
comes to recover their data, they find that the data is unusable or
unreadable, or that they do not know the proper procedures for restoring
their server. You should perform backup/recovery procedures on a
regular basis in a lab environment to make sure that your equipment is
working properly, that you are comfortable with performing the process,
and that the recovery actually works.
