Install Windows Server 2008 Server Roles with Server Manager

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

Use the content below to learn more about Server Manager and the server roles that are available in Windows Server 2008.

Server Manager. Learn how to install, manage, and monitor server roles, role services, and features from the full set of documentation for Server Manager.

Server roles in Windows Server 2008

The following server roles are available in Windows Server 2008.

Active Directory Certificate Services. Active Directory® Certificate Services (AD CS) provides customizable services for creating and managing public key certificates used in software security systems employing public key technologies.

File Services. File Services provides technologies for storage management, file replication, distributed namespace management, fast file searching, and streamlined client access to files.

Active Directory Domain Services. Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) stores information about users, computers, and other devices on the network. AD DS helps administrators securely manage this information and facilitates resource sharing and collaboration between users.

Hyper-V. Hyper-V provides the services that you can use to create and manage virtual machines and their resources. Each virtual machine is a virtualized computer system that operates in an isolated execution environment. This allows you to run multiple operating systems simultaneously.

Active Directory Federation Services. Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) provides Web single-sign-on (SSO) technologies to authenticate a user to multiple Web applications by using a single user account. AD FS accomplishes this by securely federating, or sharing, user identities and access rights, in the form of digital claims, between partner organizations.

Network Policy and Access Services. Network Policy and Access Services delivers a variety of methods to provide users with local and remote network connectivity, to connect network segments, and to allow network administrators to centrally manage network access and client health policies.

Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services. Organizations that have applications that require a directory for storing application data can use Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) as the data store.

Print and Document Services. Print Services enables the management of print servers and printers. A print server reduces administrative and management workload by centralizing printer management tasks.

Active Directory Rights Management Services. Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS) is information protection technology that works with AD RMS-enabled applications to help safeguard digital information from unauthorized use.

Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008. Terminal Services provides technologies that enable users to access Windows-based programs that are installed on a terminal server, or to access the Windows desktop itself from almost any computing device. Users can connect to a terminal server to run programs and to use network resources on that server.

Application Server. Application Server provides a complete solution for hosting and managing high-performance distributed business applications. Integrated services, such as the .NET Framework, Web Server Support, Message Queuing, COM+, Windows Communication Foundation, and failover Ccusters boost productivity throughout the application life cycle.

Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) Services. UDDI provides capabilities for sharing information about Web services within an organization's intranet, between business partners on an extranet, or on the Internet. UDDI Services can help improve the productivity of developers and IT professionals with more reliable and manageable applications.

DHCP Server. Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) allows servers to assign, or lease, IP addresses to computers and other devices that are enabled as DHCP clients. Deploying DHCP servers on the network automatically provides computers and other TCP/IP-based network devices with valid IP addresses and the additional configuration parameters these devices need.

Web Server (IIS). Web Server, or Internet Information Services (IIS), enables sharing of information on the Internet, an intranet, or an extranet. It is a unified Web platform that integrates IIS 7.0, ASP.NET, and Windows Communication Foundation. IIS 7.0 also features enhanced security, simplified diagnostics, and delegated administration.

DNS Server. Domain Name System (DNS) provides a standard method for associating names with numeric Internet addresses. This makes it possible for users to refer to network computers by using easy-to-remember names instead of a long series of numbers.

Windows Deployment Services. You can use Windows Deployment Services to install and configure Windows operating systems remotely on computers by using Pre-Boot Execution Environment (PXE) boot ROMs. Administration overhead is decreased through the implementation of the WdsMgmt Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in, which manages all aspects of Windows Deployment Services.

Fax Server. Fax Server sends and receives faxes, and allows you to manage fax resources such as jobs, settings, reports, and fax devices on this computer or on the network.

 

Note

For information about editions of Windows Server 2008, see Overview of Editions at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=111845.