Install and configure Windows Server 2012 in Core mode

3. List, add and remove roles and features in Core mode

Now that our server is configured, we can install roles and features.
To do this, you will need the Powershell console that is already preinstalled.

To launch it, type :

Batch

start powershell

The "Windows PowerShell" program will appear.
In this console, you can use the DOS commands, as well as the PowerShell commands.

3.1. List roles and features available in Windows Server 2012

To install a role or feature, you will obviously need its name in PowerShell.
To know it, just use the command :

PowerShell

Get-WindowsFeature

Note : loading the list may take some time.

3.2. List installed roles and features

To know the roles and features that are currently installed on your server, you must use this command :

PowerShell

Get-WindowsFeature | Where-Object {$_.InstallState -eq "Installed"}

3.3. List roles and features that are not available in Core mode

In Core mode, some roles and features are not available by default.
This means that you will need the Internet (to connect to Windows Update) or an installation media (installation DVD, for example) to install them.

To list these roles and features, use this command :

PowerShell

Get-WindowsFeature | Where-Object {$_.InstallState -eq "Removed"}

3.4. Add a role or feature

To add a role or feature, simply use the "Install-WindowsFeature" PowerShell command and specify the name of the role or the feature that you want to install.

For example, to install the Windows Server IIS web server, you must use this command :

PowerShell

Install-WindowsFeature Web-Server

Once installed, Windows will display 3 informations :

• Success : True = installation done correctly and False = installation error
• Restart Needed : Yes = reboot required and No = no reboot required
• Exit Code : Success = installation completed successfully. And error in the other case.

3.5. Remove a role or a feature

To remove a role or feature, the syntax is the same except that you will use the "Remove-WindowsFeature" command instead of "Install-WindowsFeature".
To uninstall the IIS web server, you must type :

PowerShell

Remove-WindowsFeature Web-Server

Once uninstalled, you will find the same 3 informations as above (Success, Restart Needed, Exit Code).

In this case, Windows Server asks us to restart the server.
To do this, you can use the DOS command "shutdown /r" or use the PowerShell command :

PowerShell

Restart-Computer