Windows Server 2008 Core is a minimal server installation option for computers running on the Windows Server 2008 operating system. Server Core provides a low-maintenance server environment with limited functionality.
Windows Server 2008 Core supports the following server roles:
- Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)
- Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS)
- DHCP Server
- DNS Server
- File Services
- Print Services
- Streaming Media Services
- Internet Information Services (IIS)
- Virtualization
Local Security Policy allows enforcing many system, user and security-related settings, such as password policy, audit policy and user rights. Event Viewer can then be used to check log events.