Windows Server 2008 R2 4

You can now build an ASP.NET application server on Server Core, which previously wasn't possible in 2008. Server Core is more secure, has a smaller footprint, and requires less hardware, but runs on CLI. The Server Core in 2008 was only usable as a web server, and nothing else.
Server Cores are typically managed through RSAT remotely. However, locally, you can use the following command to configure the server:
sconfig



The basic settings such as setting up networking and joining the domain controller should be done first.



We can now enable management tools like PowerShell inside 4 > 2.



We then enable MMC Remote Management and Server Manager Remote Management, from the same menu. (SMRM requires PowerShell first)

We need to use Deployment Image Servicing and Management to deploy roles. dism is the same as ocsetup. We first install .NET Framework 2 and 3 for Server Core:
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:NetFx2-ServerCore
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:NetFx3-ServerCore

Then we install IIS:
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:IIS-WebServerRole
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:IIS-ISAPIFilter
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:IIS-ISAPIExtensions
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:IIS-NetFxExtensibility
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:IIS-ASPNET
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:IIS-ManagementService

Next, we install Activation Service and the Configuration API:
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:WAS-WindowsActivationService
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:WAS-ConfigurationAPI

Finally, we install the FTP extension for IIS:
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:IIS-FTPServer
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:IIS-FTPSVC
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:IIS-FTPExtensibility

We need to allow the server to be managed through the Web Management Service:
Reg Add HKLM\Software\Microsoft\WebManagement\Server /V EnableRemoteManagement /T REG_DWORD /D 1

We finally we start the Web Management Service:
net start wmsvc

To manage the server, we have to connect through the Server Manager from another machine to start the ASP Core service.



After it's done, go into Web Server (IIS) role from another system and connect to the remote server:



We will now set up the FTP server. We start by adding the FTP site from IIS Manager.



Follow through the self-explanatory guide. In this case, we want to use the FTP server for remote web server management, so we use C:\inetpub\ as the starting point for the FTP.

We typically use SSL together with a PKI, but we have none set up yet, so we should use No SSL. Authentication can be Anonymous or Basic. Anonymous authentication allows access without logging in. We can allow access to Specific Users or All users.



At any time, we can go back to FTP Authorization Rules to specify users and the permissions they can get.



These are the basic steps to set up a vanilla ASP Core server:
1) Change the password on the Administrator account.
2) Use sconfig to do basic configuration (Change Computer Name, Set-up Networking, Set-up Time/Date)
3) Use sconfig to enable remote management (Remote Management via MMC, PowerShell, RMSM)
4) Install roles (check the codes above)
5) Connect to the Server Core using Server Manager on separate machine
6) Connect to IIS Manager on separate machine
7) Create an FTP site for server core using IIS Manager
8) Set up User Accounts