Benefits of a Server Core installation
The Server Core installation option of Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 provides the following benefits:
* Reduced maintenance. Because the Server Core installation option installs only what is required to have a manageable server for the supported roles, less maintenance is required than on a full installation of Windows Server 2008.
* Reduced attack surface. Because Server Core installations are minimal, there are fewer applications running on the server, which decreases the attack surface.
* Reduced management. Because fewer applications and services are installed on a server running the Server Core installation, there is less to manage.
* Less disk space required. A Server Core installation requires only about 3.5 gigabytes (GB) of disk space to install and approximately 3 GB for operations after the installation.
