Understanding Windows Server Core

Windows server core is a “minimal” installation option for Windows Server 2008. What this means is that when you choose this option during setup (or when using unattended setup), Windows Server 2008 installs a minimum set of components on your machine that will allow you to run certain (but not all) server roles. In other words, selecting the Windows server core installation option installs only a subset of the binaries that are installed when you choose the full installation option for Windows Server 2008.