Level: Intermediate

Don Jones

MVP

Curriculum Director for IT Pro Content

Pluralsight

The word is out: Microsoft would like you to stop using the GUI on your server, either locally or via RDP. In fact, other Microsoft products are increasingly positioning the GUI-free "Server Core" installation as their preferred platform. And, as services continue to be pushed into remote data centers (call it "the cloud," if you want), getting console access to the server will becoming increasingly impractical. Agree or disagree with this direction from Microsoft, but don't put your resume in risk by being unprepared for this new administrative model. Join world-renowned PowerShell expert Don Jones for an in-depth look at how to administer Windows Server 2012 entirely from the command-line. He'll start with a freshly-installed Win2012 "Server Core" GUI-free machine and walk through absolutely every step necessary to configure it, add server roles, configure those server roles, and more. Along the way you'll get a foundational education in supporting technologies like PowerShell Remoting, giving you even deeper value. Best of all, none of Don's demos will be pre-scripted or canned: He'll not only be showing you how to accomplish these tasks, but how he teaches himself to accomplish them on the fly. You'll come away learning more than you ever thought possible about PowerShell, about command-line administration, and gain a new confidence that Server Core is the right way to go for an increasing number of scenarios.

If this workshop interests you, be sure to check out the SQL Server Virtualization and in the Cloud track in the SQL Server Live! conference.