Once the server has been converted to Server Core, all administration must be performed at the command line on the server, or remotely from a management server or workstation using the command line or GUI administration tools. Removing the GUI can be accomplished by executing the following PowerShell command: Remove-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra –Restart Based on my experience, I suggest performing initial configuration and testing of the DirectAccess solution with the GUI installed, and then removing the GUI just before placing the DirectAccess server in to production. System startup times are faster, and this refactored installation option also reduces servicing requirements (patching), eliminating many reboots and increasing availability and overall system uptime.įigure 1 – Windows Server 2012 R2 Core Desktop (Yes, that’s it!)ĭirectAccess is a workload that lends itself well to running on Server Core, and I highly recommend leveraging this configuration whenever possible. Server Core also features a dramatically reduced footprint, consuming less RAM and disk space. Server Core has a greatly reduced attack surface compared to the full GUI version, which is positive from a security perspective. There are a number of important advantages that come with running DirectAccess on Server Core. Beginning with Windows Server 2012, the Routing and Remote Access (RRAS) role, which includes DirectAccess, is a supported workload on Server Core. With each subsequent release, Microsoft continues to add support for additional roles on Server Core. Server Core was first introduced with Windows Server 2008 and originally included only a limited number of supported roles. Windows Server Core is an operating system configuration option that does not include a Graphical User Interface (GUI).

If you are deploying DirectAccess on Windows Server 2016, you must install server core initially. Important Note: The ability to switch back and forth between the full GUI and core versions of Windows was removed from Windows Server 2016.

Windows server 12 r2