Windows Server 2008 Initial Configuration Tasks - Part2 (Enable windows update,Enable firewall,Add roles,Add Features,Enable Remote desktop)

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This is continuation of part1 if you want to check part 1 check here .In this tutorial we will see other two options available in Windows Server 2008 Initial Configuration Tasks

• Update This Server

• Customize This Server

• Update This Server

In this section we have two sub sections

• Enable automatic updating and feedback

• Download and install updates

• Enable automatic updating and feedback

Once you click on it, you will receive a box to configure enabling manual or automatic configurations for sending error reports back to Microsoft, downloading and installating the latest updates , and allowing Microsoft to collect anonymous usage information. If you clicked on Enable Windows automatic updating and feedback (recommended), the Windows automatic updating, Windows error reporting, customer experience improvement program, will be turned on by default.

Now click on the Change Setting button next to each option and then turn off the settings that you do not wish them to be enabled.

Under Windows automatic updating, if you clicked on the Change Settings button, you can change the setting shown in the below image

Under Windows Error Reporting, if you clicked on the Change Settings button, you can change the setting shown in the below image

Under Customer Experience Improvement Program, if you clicked on the Change Settings button, you can change the setting shown in the below image

• Download and install updates

you can check for updates, or you can change the windows updates settings by clicking from the left side on Change settings, you will receive the same settings page we had seen earlier in the Enable automatic updating and feedback options

• Customize This Server : It has the following configuration options

• Add roles
• Add features
• Enable Remote Desktop
• Configure Windows Firewall

All these tasks and more can be configured with a single console called Server Manager.

• Add roles

By default, the server does not have any role, to configure this server with a role, click on Add Roles, you will receive the Before you begin page, take a moment to read it and then click on Next.

You can then choose which role you want to install, for example Active Directory Domain Services, DNS Server, DHCP Server and so on. I am not going to configure any role now.I will dicuss them later.

• Add Features

Also once you have a clean install of Windows Server 2008, the server will not have any feature installed on it, you can install features by clicking on Add features, you will have a list of all the available features, select any by enabling the checkbox beside the feature(s) you desire to install and then click on the Next button to continue with the wizard.

• Remote Desktop

It is disabled by default, and you will need to enable it if you wish to remotely control this server.

• Configure Windows Firewall

The Windows Firewall by default is turned on, if you desire to change any setting, click on Change Settings

To have a summary of all the configurations you have set on your server, click on Print, e-mail, or save this information.

An html page will open and will display for you all the configurations you have set, you can print , e-mail or save this information.

This page resides inside the following folder:

C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\ServerManager\InitialConfigurationTasks.html

Where C is the drive you have Windows Server installed on, and Administrator is the name of the user you are logging with.

Last note, that is if you have enabled the option Do not show this windows at logon

Running Initial Configuration Tasks (ICF)

if you wish to launch the ICT again, all you have to do is to go to Start > Run > type oobe click ok