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The best cmdlets for PowerShell
The Horse's Mouth
In PowerShell 3.0, Microsoft lets admins manage, install, or adapt virtually any service on a Windows server via the shell. In this article, I introduce some of the new and interesting commandlets (cmdlets) that can make an admin's life easier. For example, the new Show-Command directive explains the use of other parameters in more detail, and with an Internet connection, you can update the help files in PowerShell using Update-Help.
Core Server with a GUI
For Windows Server 2012, installing as a core server is the recommended Microsoft approach and is selected by default. An important innovation in Windows Server 2012 is the ability to install the graphical interface in the PowerShell later on, which means you can convert a core server into a full-fledged server with a graphical interface, and the installed services will not be affected by the change. To do this, type powershell at the command prompt, and then type
Install-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Shell
in the PowerShell session. After a few minutes, the server reboots, and you have Windows Server 2012.
If you install a Core Server, the server lacks the binaries for installing the graphical interface. You must either configure an Internet connection for the server so that it can download the required data from Windows Update or specify the folder containing the Windows Server 2012 installation files. To install on a Core Server, you need to run:
Install-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra
You can also connect from a computer on the network using Server Manager. Alternatively, you can use the PowerShell commands:
Import-Module Dism Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -online -Featurename ServerCore-FullServer,Server-Gui-Shell,Server-Gui-Mgmt
The following command also installs the graphical interface:
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