4. Performing Post-Installation Tasks
Once the Windows Server 2008 R2 installation process is finished, you see the Initial Configuration Tasks window, as shown in Figure 1.
Unlike the primary server installation, which automatically configures
many of the computer’s settings, the secondary server installation is a
bare-bones affair. You must configure the server yourself and add the
roles and features it needs to provide the services you want.
The following sections describe the procedures you must perform on a newly installed secondary server.
4.1 Adjusting Time Zone Settings
By default, new Windows Server 2008 R2 computers are configured to
use the Pacific time zone. To change the computer to another time zone,
use the following procedure:
-
Log on to Windows Server 2008 R2 using the local Administrator account. The Initial Configuration Tasks window appears.
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In the Provide computer information section, click Set time zone. The Date And Time dialog box appears.
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Click Change time zone. The Time Zone Settings dialog box appears.
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In the Time zone drop-down list, select the correct time zone for your location and click OK.
Tip
If you are installing a server that you will move to another location
later, such as a branch office, select the time zone for the server’s
final location.
-
Click OK to close the Date And Time dialog box.
4.2 Configuring Network Settings
By default, a newly installed computer running Windows Server 2008 R2
attempts to obtain an Internet Protocol (IP) address and other
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) settings from a
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server on the local network.
If your primary server is functioning as a DHCP server, the secondary server automatically configures its network interface using TCP/IP settings it obtains from the primary server.
Note
Depending on the tasks
you expect your secondary server to perform, this default arrangement
might not be satisfactory. When a computer obtains its IP address using
DHCP, it is possible that the address might change someday. For standard
Windows server functions, such as file and printer sharing, this is
usually not a problem because the DHCP server changes the domain’s
Domain Name System (DNS) records when it changes the IP address. This
enables the other computers on the network to locate the secondary
server, no matter how often its address changes.
However, certain roles and applications require a server to have a static IP address. For example, if you intend to configure the secondary server to function as a domain controller or as a second DHCP server, you must reconfigure the network settings with a static IP address.
When you ran the Connect To The Internet Wizard on your primary server, the wizard configured the DHCP Server service by creating
an address scope and excluding certain IP addresses from that scope,
including the addresses of your router and of the primary server itself.
This prevents DHCP from assigning those addresses to other computers.
If you plan to assign a static IP address to your secondary server, you
should use one of these excluded addresses or create a new exclusion, if
necessary.
There are two ways to configure your server to use a static IP address: You can create a DHCP
reservation that permanently associates the server’s hardware address
with a specific IP address assignment, or you can manually configure the
TCP/IP client on the server.
Creating a DHCP Reservation
When you look at the Address leases node in the DHCP Console, you see your secondary server’s lease, as shown in Figure 2. As with a printer, the server has an arbitrary name specified by the device. The Unique ID value displayed in the lease entry is the hardware address you use when creating the reservation.
Tip
To confirm that you are using the correct Unique ID value when creating
your DHCP reservation, check the computer name selected by your
secondary server during the operating system installation, which appears
in the Initial Configuration Tasks window, in the Provide computer information section.
Once you have created the DHCP reservation, restart the secondary
server to force its DHCP client to reconfigure the computer’s TCP/IP
settings using the address you reserved.
Configuring the TCP/IP Client
If you choose to configure your server’s TCP/IP client manually, you
must still use an IP address that is excluded from your DHCP scope. Once
you have determined an appropriate address, use the following procedure
to complete the configuration:
-
Log on to your secondary server using the local Administrator account. The Initial Configuration Tasks window appears.
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In the Provide computer information section, click Configure networking. The Network Connections window appears.
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Right-click the Local area connection icon and, from the context menu, select Properties. The Local Area Connection Properties sheet appears.
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Select the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) component and click Properties. The Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties sheet appears.
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Select the Use the following IP address option.
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In the IP address text box, type the excluded address you want to use for your server, and in the Subnet mask text box, type the appropriate mask for your network.
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In the Default gateway text box, type the IP address of your Internet access router.
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In the Preferred DNS server text box, type the IP address of your primary Windows SBS 2011 server and click OK.
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Click OK to close the Local Area Connection Properties sheet.
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Close the Network Connections window.
