How to Set Up Remote Desktop Services on Windows Server 2022

How to Set Up Windows Server 2022 Core (Minimal Installation)

Windows Server Core is a lean installation option that omits the Explorer shell, the Start menu, and most graphical management tools. The result is a server with a dramatically reduced attack surface, lower memory footprint, fewer patches required per month, and — critically — fewer reboots due to update cycles. Microsoft recommends Server Core as the default installation type for most server workloads. This guide covers installation, initial network and system configuration, remote management, and day-to-day administration tasks performed entirely from the command line.

What Server Core Is (and Is Not)

Server Core is not a stripped-down version of Windows. It still runs all the same Windows services, the NT kernel, the full Win32 subsystem, and every server role that Desktop Experience supports (including Active Directory, Hyper-V, DNS, DHCP, IIS, and File Services). What is missing is the shell layer: no Explorer, no Taskbar, no graphical Start menu. When you log in at the console, you see only a Command Prompt window and optionally a PowerShell session.

Server Core does not run most GUI applications but it does run notepad.exe, regedit.exe, taskmgr.exe, and msconfig.exe. You can also run powershell.exe and any .NET console applications. It is fully remote-manageable via Server Manager, Windows Admin Center, PowerShell remoting, and RSAT tools.

Installing Server Core

During Windows Server 2022 setup, the installation wizard presents a choice of installation types. Select “Windows Server 2022 Standard” or “Windows Server 2022 Datacenter” — the entries without “(Desktop Experience)” — to install Server Core. The wizard proceeds identically to a Desktop Experience installation: you enter a product key, accept the license, choose a partition, and the setup completes with a reboot.

If you are deploying via an unattended answer file (unattend.xml), set the InstallFrom element to reference the correct image index. Use dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:D:sourcesinstall.wim from a WinPE prompt to list available indexes and confirm you are selecting a Core image.

dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:D:sourcesinstall.wim

After setup, the server boots to a locked screen. Log in with the local Administrator account using the password you set during setup. A Command Prompt window opens automatically.

Initial Configuration with sconfig

sconfig is the Server Configuration tool — a text-based menu that handles the most common post-installation tasks without requiring you to memorize PowerShell syntax. On Windows Server 2022, sconfig is a PowerShell script that launches automatically when you open PowerShell on a fresh Server Core install.

sconfig

The menu presents numbered options:

1)  Domain/Workgroup
2)  Computer Name
3)  Add Local Administrator
4)  Configure Remote Management
5)  Windows Update Settings
6)  Download and Install Updates
7)  Remote Desktop
8)  Network Settings
9)  Date and Time
10) Telemetry Settings
11) Windows Activation
12) Log Off User
13) Restart Server
14) Shut Down Server
15) Exit to Command Line

Work through the menu in order for a new server: set a hostname (option 2), configure the network adapter (option 8), join a domain or workgroup (option 1), enable Remote Desktop if needed (option 7), and enable remote management (option 4). After a hostname change or domain join the server must reboot.

Configuring Network Settings from the Command Line

Option 8 in sconfig launches an interactive network configuration session. For scripted deployment or when you need more control, use PowerShell or netsh directly.

First, identify your network adapters:

Get-NetAdapter | Select-Object Name, InterfaceIndex, Status, MacAddress

Assign a static IP address (replace the adapter name and IP values for your environment):

New-NetIPAddress `
    -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" `
    -IPAddress 192.168.10.50 `
    -PrefixLength 24 `
    -DefaultGateway 192.168.10.1

Set DNS servers:

Set-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -ServerAddresses 192.168.10.10,192.168.10.11

Alternatively, using netsh (useful in batch files or WinPE):

netsh interface ipv4 set address name="Ethernet" static 192.168.10.50 255.255.255.0 192.168.10.1
netsh interface ipv4 set dnsservers name="Ethernet" static 192.168.10.10 primary
netsh interface ipv4 add dnsservers name="Ethernet" address=192.168.10.11 index=2

Enabling Remote Management

Remote management must be enabled before you can connect from Server Manager or Windows Admin Center on another computer. On Server Core, WinRM is typically enabled during setup but verify it:

# Check WinRM status
Get-Service WinRM | Select-Object Status, StartType

# Enable WinRM and configure the Windows Remote Management listener
Enable-PSRemoting -Force

# Allow remote management through Windows Firewall
Set-NetFirewallRule -Name "WINRM-HTTP-In-TCP" -Enabled True -Profile Any

To connect from a management workstation to this server using PowerShell remoting:

Enter-PSSession -ComputerName srv-core01 -Credential (Get-Credential)

If the management workstation is not domain-joined, you must add the server to the TrustedHosts list on the workstation:

Set-Item WSMan:localhostClientTrustedHosts -Value "srv-core01" -Force

Adding the Server to Server Manager

From any Windows Server 2022 Desktop Experience installation or Windows 10/11 with RSAT installed, open Server Manager, click Manage → Add Servers, then type the Server Core machine’s name or IP address. After adding it, you can manage roles, services, events, and performance counters remotely through the GUI without ever touching the console of the Core server.

Installing Roles and Features on Server Core

All server roles available on Desktop Experience are also available on Server Core. Use Install-WindowsFeature (also aliased as Add-WindowsFeature) to install them.

Install the DNS Server role:

Install-WindowsFeature -Name DNS -IncludeManagementTools

Install the DHCP Server role with management tools:

Install-WindowsFeature -Name DHCP -IncludeManagementTools

Install Active Directory Domain Services and promote to a domain controller:

Install-WindowsFeature -Name AD-Domain-Services -IncludeManagementTools

Import-Module ADDSDeployment
Install-ADDSForest `
    -DomainName "corp.example.com" `
    -DomainNetbiosName "CORP" `
    -InstallDns `
    -SafeModeAdministratorPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString "P@ssw0rd123!" -AsPlainText -Force) `
    -Force

Install the Hyper-V role (requires a reboot):

Install-WindowsFeature -Name Hyper-V -IncludeManagementTools -Restart

List all currently installed features:

Get-WindowsFeature | Where-Object {$_.Installed -eq $true} | Select-Object DisplayName, Name

Converting Desktop Experience to Server Core

Windows Server 2022 supports converting an existing Desktop Experience installation to Server Core without reinstalling. This is done by uninstalling the “Server-Gui-Shell” and “Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra” features:

Uninstall-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Shell, Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra -Restart

After reboot, the server runs as Server Core. This conversion is reversible — you can reinstall the GUI features from installation media at any time. Note that the conversion does not reduce the installed footprint significantly; for the full Server Core size benefit, install Core from the beginning.

Common Day-to-Day Server Core Commands

These are the commands you will use most frequently on a Server Core system:

# Start PowerShell from cmd.exe
powershell

# View system information
systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version" /C:"Total Physical Memory"

# List running services
Get-Service | Where-Object {$_.Status -eq "Running"} | Sort-Object DisplayName

# Stop and start a service
Stop-Service -Name Spooler
Start-Service -Name Spooler

# View disk usage
Get-PSDrive -PSProvider FileSystem | Select-Object Name, Used, Free

# Check Windows activation status
slmgr /xpr

# View event log errors from the last 24 hours
Get-WinEvent -LogName System -MaxEvents 100 |
    Where-Object {$_.LevelDisplayName -eq "Error" -and $_.TimeCreated -gt (Get-Date).AddHours(-24)}

# Rename the computer
Rename-Computer -NewName "SRV-CORE02" -Restart

# Join a domain
Add-Computer -DomainName "corp.example.com" -Credential (Get-Credential) -Restart

# View current IP configuration
Get-NetIPConfiguration

# Shut down the server
Stop-Computer -Force

Security Advantages of Server Core

The security benefits of Server Core are concrete and measurable. The attack surface is smaller because fewer components are installed: no Internet Explorer, no Windows Media Player, no XAML browser application support, no Direct3D, and no shell-integrated COM servers that are frequently targeted by exploit frameworks. Microsoft’s internal data shows that Server Core requires approximately 40% fewer security patches per year than Desktop Experience on comparable workloads.

The absence of a browser on the server eliminates entire classes of web-based exploitation. Phishing attacks that rely on a user clicking a link and executing a browser exploit have no surface to land on. Malware that depends on shell32.dll or explorer.exe hooks for persistence or privilege escalation finds fewer viable entry points.

Server Core also enforces better administrative discipline. Administrators cannot casually log in to the console to “quickly check something” using GUI tools they are accustomed to on desktop systems. All management happens over documented, auditable remote channels — PowerShell remoting, Server Manager, and Windows Admin Center — which makes change tracking more consistent.