Installation: Quick and Easy

The installation process is the first obvious clue that Windows Server 2008 is closely related to Windows Vista. Anyone who has ever installed Vista will recognize the setup routine.

Using Vista’s installation routine is a major benefit, especially for a server OS. Administrators can partition the system’s hard drives during setup. More importantly, they can install the necessary AHCI or RAID storage drivers from a CD/DVD or even a USB thumb drive. Thus, error-prone floppies can finally be sent to their well-earned retirement.

Full Installation or Core Only?

There is another change that comes with the new setup routine as well. The admin can now choose between the (default) full installation and selecting core components.

This allows the server to be installed without the standard user interface. If selected, the system can only be configured using command line scripts. This decision should not be made lightly, as you can’t simply switch between the two installation types. If decide later on that you want to use the standard user interface after all, you’ll have to completely reinstall the entire server.

Product Activation

Product activation is now also identical with that found in Windows Vista. The installation routine requires a product key to be entered before it begins copying files to the hard drive. Setup also offers the option of automatically activating your copy of Windows after the installation completes.

Installation: Done in 20 Minutes

Copying the setup files from the DVD to the hard drive only takes about one minute. That’s rather fast considering the DVD contains 1.9 GB for the 32 bit version and 2.5 GB for the 64-bit one. However, extracting and uncompressing the files takes a good deal longer. After 20 minutes, the operating system is installed.

Windows Server 2008 takes up 10 GB of hard drive space.