Installing Windows Server 2008 R2—Server Core
Installing Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Core
basically follows the same process as installing the full server
option. The key differences are revealed only after installation after
you log on for the first time. Figure 8 shows the console of a server core installation. You can see that there is no windows explorer GUI interface.
Upgrading from previous Windows versions
As you learned earlier, there may be occasions
when you want to upgrade an existing Windows installation to Windows
Server 2008 R2. You will want to ensure that all necessary
prerequisites, including hardware system requirements, are met before
attempting to upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2. Additionally, you will
want to ensure that the current OS has a supported upgrade path to
Windows Server 2008 R2. You will also want to ensure that you have a
good backup of the server and any relevant data prior to performing an
upgrade installation.
Supported upgrade paths
You should understand that not all Windows
Server OSs can be upgraded to Windows Server 2008 R2. If your current
OS does not support upgrading, your only option is to perform a custom
installation. Figure 9 shows the supported upgrade paths to Windows Server 2008 R2.
Upgrading to Windows Server 2008 R2
Upgrading to Windows Server 2008 R2 is very
similar to performing a custom installation. However, instead of
booting from the media (CD/DVD), an upgrade requires that you begin the
installation from within the existing OS. To accomplish this, you
should boot the existing version of Windows and then run the setup
program from the installation media. Figure 10 shows setup running within Windows Server 2003 R2.
