Before you start an installation, you need to consider whether you want to manage the computer’s drives and partitions during the setup process. If you want to use the advanced drive setup options that Setup provides for creating and formatting partitions, you need to boot the computer by using the distribution media. If you don’t boot by using the distribution media, these options won’t be available, and you’ll be able to manage disk partitions only at a command prompt by using the DiskPart utility.

You have two installation options: a clean installation or an upgrade. When you install Windows Server 2012 R2, the Setup program automatically makes recovery options available on the server as an advanced boot option. In addition to a command line for troubleshooting and options for changing the startup behavior, you can use System Image Recovery to perform a full recovery of the computer by using a system image created previously. If other troubleshooting techniques fail to restore the computer and you have a system image for recovery, you can use this feature to restore the computer from the backup image.

If you have existing servers running the Windows operating system, you must decide which servers, if any, you will upgrade. The major differences between a clean installation and an upgrade are the following:

Before performing an upgrade, you should make sure the server’s installed software and hardware support Windows Server 2012 R2. You can download tools for testing compatibility and documentation at the Windows Server Catalog website (http://www.windowsservercatalog.com/).

Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2012 can be upgraded to Windows Server 2012 R2. In general, servers can be upgraded to a similar or higher edition of the product.

You cannot perform an upgrade installation of Windows Server 2012 R2 on a computer with a 32-bit operating system, even if the computer has 64-bit processors. You cannot upgrade Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2012 R2. In either case, you need to migrate the services the computer is providing to other servers and then perform a clean installation. The Windows Server Migration tools might be able to help you migrate your server. These tools are available on computers running Windows Server 2012 R2.

Windows Server 2012 R2 supports three installation types:

Although all three installation types use the same licensing rules and can be managed remotely using any available and permitted remote-administration technique, Full Server, Minimal Server Interface, and Server Core installations are completely different when it comes to local console administration. With a Full Server installation, you’re provided with a user interface that includes a full desktop environment for local console management of the server. With a Minimal Server Interface installation, you have only Microsoft Management Consoles, Server Manager, and a subset of Control Panel available for management tasks. Missing from both a Minimal Server Interface installation and a Server Core installation are File Explorer, taskbar, notification area, Internet Explorer, built-in help system, themes, desktop apps, and Windows Media Player.

Unlike earlier releases of Windows Server, you can change the installation type of any server running Windows Server 2012 R2. This is possible because a key difference among the installation types relates to whether the installation has the following User Interfaces And Infrastructure features:

Server Core installations have none of these features. Minimal Server Interface installations have only the Graphical Management Tools And Infrastructure feature, and Full Server installations have both the Graphical Management Tools And Infrastructure feature and the Server Graphical Shell feature.

Full Server installations also might have Desktop Experience, which provides Windows desktop functionality on the server. Windows features added include Windows Media Player, desktop themes, Video for Windows (AVI support), Disk Cleanup, Sync Center, Sound Recorder, Character Map, and Snipping Tool. These features enable you to use a server like a desktop computer, but they also can reduce the server’s overall performance.

When you know that Windows automatically installs or uninstalls dependent features, server roles, and management tools to match the installation type, you can convert from one installation type to another just by adding or removing the appropriate User Interfaces And Infrastructure features. For more information on converting the installation type, see the Postinstallation tasks section later in this chapter.

Windows Update is a convenient way of ensuring that the most recently updated driver and system files are always used during server installation. Windows Update connects to a distribution server containing updated files used during Windows installation. The files in Windows Update include setup information files, dynamic libraries used during setup, file assemblies, device drivers, and system files.

The Windows Update files can be obtained by using two methods:

Getting Windows Update files from the update site online is recommended for consumers and small businesses that do not have a full-time Windows administrator. Otherwise, your organization probably should centralize the functionality locally by using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) in a client/server configuration. WSUS is available as an optional download for Windows Server 2012 R2. Hosting Windows Update files on a local network provides you with additional security and the advantage of ensuring that important operating system updates are applied to all systems within your network environment.

You will want to assess the specifics of an installation and identify any tasks that must be done prior to installation. The following is a partial list—a general set of pointers to the installation-related tasks that must be performed:

You must also assess your installation requirements and plan the configuration of the drives and partitions on the target computers. If you must create a new partition, modify the system partition, or format the system partition before installation, you can use configuration tools such as the DiskPart, Format, and Convert commands to manage partitions (prior to beginning the automated installation).

When you are working with Windows Server 2012 R2 on BIOS-based systems, you should be aware of the special types of drive sections the operating system uses:

Although these volumes or partitions can be the same, they are required nonetheless. When you install Windows Server 2012 R2, the Setup program assesses all available hard disk drive resources. Typically, Windows Server 2012 R2 puts the boot and system volumes on the same drive and partition and marks this partition as the active partition. The advantage of this configuration is that you don’t need multiple drives for the operating system and can use an additional drive as a mirror of the operating system partitions.

A globally unique identifier (GUID) partition table (GPT)–based disk has two required partitions and one or more optional (original equipment manufacturer [OEM] or data) partitions (up to 128 total):

Although EFI-based computers can have both GPT and MBR disks, the computer must have at least one GPT disk for booting.

Now that you know how Windows Server 2012 R2 uses disks on both BIOS-based and EFI-based computers, consider carefully how you want to partition the hard disk drives. The boot and system files require about 10 GBs of space. To allow for flexibility, you should create a partition for the operating system with at least 40 GBs. This allows for the addition of service packs and other system files later. Don’t forget that you should also have enough disk space for the page file and crash dump; I recommend reserving additional disk space equivalent to twice the installed RAM for this purpose.

Although a server could have a single hard disk with a single partition, it sometimes is better to have multiple partitions, even if the computer has only one drive. By using multiple partitions, you can separate operating system files from application data, which might be a recommended best practice for the application. Although this permits the use of services that require installation on nonsystem partitions, it could make migrating to a future operating system more difficult.

For systems with multiple disks, this is a good time to think about whether you want to use a redundant array of independent disks (RAID) to add fault tolerance for the operating system. RAID can be performed at the hardware level or at the operating system level. You will find that the hardware-based RAID provides the best performance and is the easiest solution.

Increasingly, enterprises are using storage arrays. If your servers are allocated storage from storage arrays, keep in mind that each logical unit number, or LUN, assigned is a virtual disk and that the virtual disk likely is spread across multiple physical disks (also called spindles). Here, hardware-based RAID is configured within the storage array, and you might not need additional software-based RAID. That said, several software-based RAID options are available, and administrators often will want to implement one of these options as an additional safeguard, including:

RAID options are discussed in Chapter 12 and include the following:

Software-based RAID is implemented by using dynamic disks. For a bare-metal installation, the disks on the computer should be formatted as basic disks, and then after installation, you could upgrade to dynamic disks so that you can implement software-based RAID. On existing installations, the computer might already have dynamic disks, which could be the case if a computer is currently using Microsoft Windows Server and you are performing a new installation of Windows Server 2012 R2. Keep in mind, however, that dynamic disks are deprecated for all usages except mirrored boot volumes. If you want to mirror the volume that hosts the operating system, you might want to use dynamic disks because this is one of the best approaches.

For resilience, virtual disks that you create as part of a server’s Storage Spaces can also use mirroring or parity. As part of software configuration, you cannot use RAID 0 with system or boot volumes. More typically, operating system files are mirrored, and application data is striped with parity. If you plan to mirror the operating system, you will need two disks. If you plan to create a RAID 5 volume for your data, you’ll need at least three disks.

It is surprising how few organizations take the time to plan the names they’ll use for their computers. Sure, it is fun to have servers named Lefty, Curly, Moe, Ducky, Ruddy, and Aardvark, but just what do the names say about the role and location of those servers? You guessed it—nothing, which can make it difficult for users and even other administrators to find resources they need. Not to mention the management nightmare that happens when your six cutely named servers grow to number 50 or 500.

Rather than using names that are cute or arbitrary, decide on a naming scheme that is meaningful to both administrators and users—and this doesn’t mean naming servers after the seven dwarfs or the J. R. R. Tolkien characters in Lord of the Rings. Okay, it might be cool—way cool—to have servers named Bilbo, Gandalf, Frodo, and Gollum. However, pretty soon, you’d have Galadriel, Boromir, Theoden, Eowyn, and all the rest of the cast. At that point, you’d better be ready to field lots of questions, such as, “How do you spell Aeyowin, anyway?” or “What’s Thedding, and where is it again?”

To help users and ease the administrative burden, you might decide to use a naming scheme that helps identify what the computer does and where it is located. For example, you could name the first server in the Engineering department EngServer01 and the first server in the Technical Services department TechServer01. These names identify the computers as servers and specify the departments in which they are located. You might also have servers named CorpMail01 and CorpIntranet01, which identify the corporate mail and intranet servers, respectively.

Although naming conventions can be helpful, don’t go overboard. The names EngServer01, TechServer01, CorpMail01, and CorpIntranet01 help identify computers by role and location, but they aren’t overly complex. Keeping things simple should help ensure that the computer names are easy to remember and easy to work with. Stay away from overly complex names, such as SeattleSrvBldg48DC17 or SvrSeaB48F15-05, if at all possible. Overly complex names are unnecessary in most instances and probably contain information that most users don’t need. For example, users won’t care that a server is in building 48 or that it is on floor 15. In fact, that information might be too specific and could actually help someone who wants to break into or sabotage the corporate network. Instead of putting exact mapping information in the computer name, keep a spreadsheet that maps computer locations for administrative use and include only general information about the location or department in the computer name.

While we’re talking about security, keep in mind that some organizations use server names with arbitrary character strings on purpose. They want to make the network infrastructure difficult to discover and navigate for anyone trying to gain unauthorized access. Thus, they might use computer names like Srv4Wg8th3kb12a or Tkl82jeb4j2e9pz. Here, the organization is using random 15-character strings as computer names, giving up ease of use and reference with the goal of enhancing overall security.

Finally, keep in mind that computer names must be unique in the domain and must be 64 characters or fewer in length. The first 15 characters of the computer name are used as the pre–Windows 2000 computer name for Network Basic Input/Output System (NetBIOS) communications and also must be unique in the domain. Further, for Domain Name System (DNS) compatibility, the name should consist of only alphanumeric characters (A–Z, a–z, and 0–9) and the hyphen.

During installation, you must decide on several important network and domain membership options, such as the following:

To perform a clean installation of Windows Server 2012 R2, complete the following steps:

Although Windows Server 2012 R2 provides an upgrade option during installation, an upgrade with Windows Server 2012 R2 might not be your best option. Why? Not every Windows role, role service, feature, or application can be upgraded. When you start an upgrade, Setup performs compatibility checks to verify that all the components and applications installed on the computer can be upgraded. Identified issues are shown in a compatibility report.

The compatibility report will notify you about identified problems and might include guidance on what you need to do before upgrading the server. If incompatible components and applications are installed, you should stop the upgrade and take any required, corrective actions before continuing with the upgrade. Keep in mind that Setup might not identify every compatibility issue, so there might still be unidentified issues that need to be resolved. In addition, keep in mind that any files that an application cannot locate after the upgrade process might have been moved to the temporary storage directory (%SystemDrive%$WINDOWS.~Q). Because of the challenges presented with upgrading a server, it often is more efficient to migrate services and applications a server is hosting to other servers and then perform a clean installation.

The steps you perform for an upgrade installation of Windows Server 2012 R2 are nearly identical to those you follow for a clean installation. The key difference is that in step 10, you need to select the installation type as Upgrade. If you started Setup from the boot prompt rather than from within Windows itself, the upgrade option is disabled. To upgrade rather than perform a clean install, you need to restart the computer and boot the currently installed operating system. After you log on, you then need to start the installation.

Because you are upgrading the operating system, you do not need to choose an installation location. During this process, Setup copies the full disk image of Windows Server 2012 R2 to the system disk. Afterward, Setup installs features based on the computer’s configuration and detected hardware. When Setup finishes the installation, the operating system will be loaded, and you can complete the installation.

When Setup finishes the installation, you’ll see the logon screen. After you log on, you can perform initial configuration tasks.

After you install Windows Server 2012 R2, you should configure TCP/IP networking. If the type of licensing you are using requires product activation after installation, you have 10 days to complete online activation. If you don’t, the evaluation period begins and runs for 180 days. During the evaluation period, a notification is displayed on the desktop, telling you the number of days remaining in the evaluation period (except in Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials). You can also run slmgr.vbs /dlv from an elevated command prompt to see the time remaining.

You have several activation options, including activating over the Internet, by telephone, and by various automated activation techniques.

When you access a command prompt from within Setup, you access the Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) that Setup uses to install the operating system. During installation, you can access a command prompt at any time by pressing Shift+F10. As Table 2-2 shows, Windows PE gives you access to many of the same command-line tools that are available in a standard installation of Windows Server 2012 R2.

During installation, you might be unable to select the hard disk you want to use. This issue can occur if the hard-disk partition contains an invalid byte-offset value. To resolve this issue, you need to remove the partitions on the hard disk (which destroys all associated data) and then create the necessary partitions by using the advanced options in the Setup program. During installation, on the Where Do You Want To Install Windows? page, you can remove unrecognized hard-disk partitions by following these steps:

During installation, on the Where Do You Want To Install Windows? page, you can use the Load Drivers option to load the device drivers for a hard disk drive. Typically, you use this option when a disk drive you want to use for installing the operating system isn’t available for selection because the device drivers aren’t available.

To load the device drivers and make the hard disk available for use during installation, follow these steps:

You can use the Rescan button to have Setup rescan the computer’s removable media drives for the device drivers. If you are unable to install a device driver successfully, tap or click the back arrow button in the upper-left corner of the Install Windows dialog box to go back to the previous page.

When you are performing a clean installation and have started the computer from the distribution media, the Where Do You Want To Install Windows? page has additional options. You can display these options by tapping or clicking Drive Options (Advanced). These additional options are used as follows:

Creating a partition is the key task you need to perform, but you can also delete and extend partitions as necessary. You generally don’t need to format partitions because Setup will handle this for you. If the advanced options aren’t available, you can still work with the computer’s disks by following these steps:

Setup can fail for a variety of reasons, but more often than not it’s because of incompatible hardware components or the failure of the system to meet the minimum requirements for a Windows Server 2012 R2 installation. With this in mind, start troubleshooting by looking at the potential points of failure and how these failure points can be resolved.

If you can get past the potential points of failure, you still might find that the installation locks up or freezes. In this case, you might get a stop error; then again, you might not.

Most stop errors have cryptic error codes rather than clear messages telling you what’s wrong. If you get a stop error, write down the error number or code and then refer to the Microsoft Knowledge Base (available online at http://support.microsoft.com/) for help troubleshooting the problem. To break out of the stop, you most likely will have to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete (sometimes several times) to get the server to restart. If this doesn’t break out of the stop, press and hold the power button on the server until it reboots. Alternatively, disconnect the system power, wait a few seconds, and then connect it again.

The Windows operating system should start up and go directly back to Setup. In some cases, you will see a boot menu. If so, choose Windows Setup to allow the Setup program to attempt to continue the installation. Setup could freeze again. If it does, stay with it and repeat this process—sometimes it takes several tries to get completely through the installation process.

RAM and CPUs can also be the source of problems. Issues to watch out for include the following:

Most of the time, the installation or setup problem is caused by a compatibility issue with the Windows operating system, and that problem can be fixed by making changes to firmware settings. Sometimes, however, the problem is the firmware, and you’ll find that you must upgrade the firmware to resolve the problem.

Check with the hardware vendor to see whether a firmware upgrade is available. If so, install it as the hardware vendor directs. If a new firmware version isn’t available, you might be able to disable the incompatible option prior to setup. If this doesn’t work, the option you changed wasn’t the source of the problem, and you should reenable it before continuing.

Finally, hard-disk-drive settings could also cause lockups or freezes, particularly if you are using Integrated Device Electronics (IDE) drives. When using IDE drives and controllers, you want to ensure that the system recognizes both the drives and the controllers and that both are enabled and configured properly in firmware. You might have to check jumper settings on the drives and the cables that connect the drives. As discussed previously, check for conflicts among the drives, controllers, and other system components. You might need to remove unnecessary components, such as the sound card, temporarily to see whether this resolves a conflict. If a DVD drive is on the same channel as the disk drives, try moving it to the secondary channel and configuring it as a master device. You can also try lowering the data transfer rate for the IDE drives.