Installing Windows Server 2012

Applies To: Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2

This document provides information about installing the Windows Server 2012 operating system, including any known issues that you may need to work around before starting an installation. It also provides information that you can use to troubleshoot problems that may occur during the installation. For information about serious known issues that you may need to work around after installation is complete, see the release notes, available at the same location as this document.

Setup works in several stages. You will be prompted for some basic information, and then Setup will copy files and restart the computer. Setup concludes by presenting a menu for Initial Configuration Tasks, which you can use to configure your server for your specific needs.

Preinstallation information

System requirements

The following are estimated system requirements for the Windows Server 2012. If your computer has less than the «minimum» requirements, you will not be able to install this product correctly. Actual requirements will vary based on your system configuration and the applications and features you install.

Processor

Processor performance depends not only on the clock frequency of the processor, but also on the number of processor cores and the size of the processor cache. The following are the processor requirements for this product:

• Minimum: 1.4В GHz 64-bit processor

The following are the estimated RAM requirements for this product:

• Minimum: 512 MB

Disk space requirements

The following are the estimated minimum disk space requirements for the system partition.

Minimum: 32 GB

Be aware that 32 GB should be considered an absolute minimum value for successful installation. The system partition will need extra space for any of the following circumstances: If you install the system over a network. Computers with more than 16 GB of RAM will require more disk space for paging, hibernation, and dump files.

Other requirements

You also need to have the following:

Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher-resolution monitor

Keyboard and MicrosoftВ® mouse (or other compatible pointing device)

Internet access (fees may apply)

Important information for x64-based operating systems

Ensure that you have updated and digitally signed kernel-mode drivers for Windows ServerВ 2012

If you install a Plug and Play device, you may receive a warning if the driver is not digitally signed. If you install an application that contains a driver that is not digitally signed, you will not receive an error during Setup. In both cases, Windows Server 2012 will not load the unsigned driver.

If you are not sure whether the driver is digitally signed, or if you are unable to boot into your computer after the installation, use the following procedure to disable the driver signature requirement. This procedure enables your computer to start correctly, and the unsigned driver will load successfully.

To disable the signature requirement for the current boot process:

Restart the computer and during startup, press F8.

Select Advanced Boot Options.

Select Disable Driver Signature Enforcement.

Boot into WindowsВ® and uninstall the unsigned driver.

Before you start Setup

Before you install Windows Server 2012, follow the steps in this section to prepare for the installation.

Disconnect UPS devices. If you have an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) connected to your destination computer, disconnect the serial cable before running Setup. Setup automatically attempts to detect devices that are connected to serial ports, and UPS equipment can cause issues with the detection process.

Back up your servers. Your backup should include all data and configuration information that is necessary for the computer to function. It is important to perform a backup of configuration information for servers, especially those that provide network infrastructure, such as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) servers. When you perform the backup, be sure to include the boot and system partitions and the system state data. Another way to back up configuration information is to create a backup set for Automated System Recovery.

Disable your virus protection software. Virus protection software can interfere with installation. For example, it can make installation much slower by scanning every file that is copied locally to your computer.

Provide mass storage drivers. If your manufacturer has supplied a separate driver file, save the file to a floppy disk, CD, DVD, or Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drive in either the root directory of the media or the amd64 folder. To provide the driver during Setup, on the disk selection page, click Load Driver (or press F6). You can browse to locate the driver or have Setup search the media.

Be aware that Windows Firewall is on by default. Server applications that must receive unsolicited inbound connections will fail until you create inbound firewall rules to allow them. Check with your application vendor to determine which ports and protocols are necessary for the application to run correctly.

Supported upgrade paths

The table below briefly summarizes supported upgrade paths to Windows Server 2012. For more details on upgrade paths, important caveats to upgrade, and additional information about evaluation versions, see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=260917.

If you do not see your current version in the left column, upgrading to this release of Windows Server 2012 is not supported.

If you see more than one edition in the right column, upgrade to either edition from the same starting version is supported.

If you are running:

You can upgrade to these editions:

Windows Server 2008 Standard with SP2 or Windows Server 2008 Enterprise with SP2

Windows Server 2012 Standard, Windows Server 2012 Datacenter

Windows Server 2008 Datacenter with SP2

Windows Server 2012 Datacenter

Windows Web Server 2008

Windows Server 2012 Standard

Windows ServerВ 2008В R2 Standard with SP1 or Windows ServerВ 2008В R2 Enterprise with SP1

Windows Server 2012 Standard, Windows Server 2012 Datacenter

Windows ServerВ 2008В R2 Datacenter with SP1

Windows Server 2012 Datacenter

Windows Web ServerВ 2008В R2

Windows Server 2012 Standard

Copyright

This document is provided “as-is”. Information and views expressed in this document, including URL and other Internet Web site references, may change without notice.

This document does not provide you with any legal rights to any intellectual property in any Microsoft product. You may copy and use this document for your internal, reference purposes.

В©2012 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Microsoft, Active Directory, Hyper-V, MS-DOS, Windows, WindowsВ NT, Windows Server, and Windows Vista are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

This product contains graphics filter software; this software is based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group.

All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Install and Deploy Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2012

Applies To: Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2

Use the articles in this section to learn how to install and deploy Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2012.

Did you know that Microsoft Azure provides similar functionality in the cloud? Learn more about Microsoft Azure virtualization solutions.

Create a hybrid virtualization solution in Microsoft Azure:
— Create and upload a Windows Server VHD to AzureВ

Windows Server 2012 R2

Windows Server 2012 R2 Update
This topic summarizes the features included in the Windows Server 2012 R2 Update. Related updates have also been released for Windows 8.1 and Windows 8.1 RT.

System Requirements and Installation Information for Windows Server 2012 R2
This document provides information about installing the Windows Server 2012 R2 operating system, including important steps to take prior to installation, supported upgrade paths for the release, and information about installing versions distributed as virtual hard disk (VHD) files.

Release Notes: Important Issues in Windows Server 2012 R2
These release notes address the most critical issues and information about the Windows Server 2012 R2 operating system.

Upgrade Options for Windows Server 2012 R2
This document summarizes key information about the supported upgrade paths from previously licensed retail versions of Windows Server to Windows Server 2012 R2.

Features Removed or Deprecated in Windows Server 2012 R2
These features and functionalities in Windows Server 2012 R2 have either been removed from the product in the current release or are planned for potential removal in subsequent releases (“deprecated”).

Common Management Tasks and Navigation in Windows
Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2012 feature the new Modern user interface. This topic helps you find and open common management tools, create shortcuts to frequently used programs, run programs with elevated privileges, and perform common tasks such signing in and out, restarting, and shutting down computers that are running Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2012.

Windows Server 2012

Installing Windows Server 2012
This document provides information about installing the Windows Server 2012 operating system, including any known issues that you might need to work around before starting an installation. It also provides information that you can use to troubleshoot problems that may occur during the installation.

Release Notes: Important Issues in Windows Server 2012
These release notes address the most critical issues and information about the Windows Server 2012 operating system. For information about by-design changes, new features, and fixes in this release, see documentation and announcements from the specific feature teams.

Evaluation Versions and Upgrade Options for Windows Server 2012
This document summarizes key information about evaluation versions of Windows Server 2012, including where to obtain them, the limits on their use, and how to convert them to full retail versions. It also summarizes the supported upgrade paths from previously licensed retail versions of Windows Server to Windows Server 2012.

Windows Server Installation Options
This document summarizes the differences between the installation options available for Windows Server 2012, including the features that are installed with each option, the management options available after installation, and how to switch between the installation options during use.

Server Core and Full Server Integration Overview
In Windows Server 2012, the Server Core installation option is no longer an irrevocable selection that is made during setup. An administrator now has the flexibility to change to a Server Core installation or a full, GUI-based installation as needed, after operating system installation is finished.

Configure and Manage Server Core Installations
This collection of topics provides the information needed to install and deploy Server Core servers; install, manage, and uninstall server roles and features; and manage the server locally or remotely. It also includes a quick reference table of common tasks and the commands for accomplishing them locally on a Server Core server.

Features Removed or Deprecated in Windows Server 2012
This is a list of features and functionalities in Windows Server 2012 that have either been removed from the product in the current release or are planned for potential removal in subsequent releases. The list is intended for IT pros who are updating operating systems in a commercial environment.

Common Management Tasks and Navigation in Windows
Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 feature the new Windows user interface. This topic helps you find and open common management tools, create shortcuts to frequently used programs, run programs with elevated user rights, and perform common tasks such as signing in and out, restarting, and shutting down computers that are running Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8.

Course 20410-D: Installing and Configuring Windows Server® 2012

Get hands-on instruction and practice installing and configuring Windows Server 2012, including Windows Server 2012 R2, in this five-day Microsoft Official Course. This course is part one in a series of three courses that provides the skills and knowledge necessary to implement a core Windows Server 2012 infrastructure in an existing enterprise environment. В

The three courses collectively cover implementing, managing, maintaining and provisioning services and infrastructure in a Windows Server 2012 environment. Although there is some cross-over of skills and tasks across these courses, this course focuses on the initial implementation and configuration of core services, such as Networking, Storage, Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), Group Policy, File and Print Services, and Hyper-V. В

This course maps directly to and is the preferred choice for hands-on preparation for the Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) Exam 410: Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012, which is the first of three exams required for the MCSA: Windows Server 2012 credential. В

Labs in this course are based on Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows 8.1.

Audience profile

This course is intended for information technology (IT) professionals who have some knowledge and experience working with Windows operating systems and who want to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to install and perform the initial configuration of a Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2 server in an existing Windows server environment. Typically, candidates who are interested in attending this course include:

• Windows Server administrators who are relatively new to Windows Server administration and related technologies who are looking to learn more about Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2.
• IT professionals who are experienced in other non-Microsoft technologies, who meet the course prerequisites and are looking to cross-train on Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2.
• IT professionals who are looking to take the Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) 410: Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012В exam.
• IT professionals who want to take the Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) exams in DataCenter, Desktop Infrastructure, Messaging, Collaboration and Communications will also be interested in taking this courseВ as they prepareВ for the Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) exams. These are a prerequisite for their individual specialties.

Job role: Administrator

Preparation for exam: 70-410