When deploying Windows Server, administrators are often faced with the choice between different installation options. Among these, Server Core stands out as a minimal installation designed to reduce the attack surface and resource footprint. Understanding exactly what roles, role services, and features are included in Server Core is crucial for making informed decisions about your server infrastructure. This article provides an exhaustive List Of Windows Server Roles And Features that are part of the Server Core installation option, helping you determine if it meets the specific needs of your environment.
Many resources discuss what is not included in Server Core, but here, we take a different approach. This guide details what is explicitly included, and whether each component is installed by default. This positive affirmation approach allows for a clear and direct understanding of Server Core’s capabilities right out of the box, and what can be added. If you’re evaluating Server Core, or simply need a definitive reference, this list is designed to be your go-to resource. For anything not found here, it’s safe to assume it is not part of the Server Core image. For example, searching for “Remote Desktop Session Host” on this page will yield no results, as it is not included in Server Core.
For those interested in understanding what is specifically excluded from Server Core, you can also refer to resources detailing removed roles and features. However, this article focuses solely on the positive aspect: what you do get with Server Core.
Roles Included in Server Core
Server roles are the primary functions a server performs within a network. They define the server’s purpose and capabilities. In Server Core, a focused set of essential roles are available to maintain a lean and efficient operating system. Below is a list of server roles included in the Server Core installation option of Windows Server.
| Role | Name | Installed by default? |
|---|---|---|
| Active Directory Certificate Services | AD-Certificate | N |
| Active Directory Domain Services | AD-Domain-Services | N |
| Active Directory Federation Services | ADFS-Federation | N |
| Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services | ADLDS | N |
| Active Directory Rights Management Services | ADRMS | N |
| Device Health Attestation | DeviceHealthAttestationService | N |
| DHCP Server | DHCP | N |
| DNS Server | DNS | N |
| File and Storage Services | FileAndStorage-Services | Y |
| Host Guardian Service | HostGuardianServiceRole | N |
| Hyper-V | Hyper-V | N |
| Print and Document Services | Print-Services | N |
| Remote Access | RemoteAccess | N |
| Remote Desktop Services | Remote-Desktop-Services | N |
| Volume Activation Services | VolumeActivation | N |
| Web Server (IIS) | Web-Server | N |
| Windows Server Essentials Experience | ServerEssentialsRole | N |
| Windows Server Update Services | UpdateServices | N |
Role Services Included in Server Core
Role services are components that extend the functionality of server roles, allowing for granular control over what features are enabled. They provide specific capabilities within a broader server role. Server Core includes a selection of role services to support the roles listed above. Here are the role services available in the Server Core installation option.
| Role | Role service | Name | Installed by default? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active Directory Certificate Services | Certification Authority | ADCS-Cert-Authority | N |
| Certificate Enrollment Policy Web Service | ADCS-Enroll-Web-Pol | N | |
| Certificate Enrollment Web Service | ADCS-Enroll-Web-Svc | N | |
| Certification Authority Web Enrollment | ADCS-Web-Enrollment | N | |
| Network Device Enrollment Service | ADCS-Device-Enrollment | N | |
| Online Responder | ADCS-Online-Cert | N | |
| Active Directory Rights Management | Active Directory Rights Management Server | ADRMS-Server | N |
| Identity Federation Support | ADRMS-Identity | N | |
| File and Storage Services | File and iSCSI Services | File-Services | N |
| File Server | FS-FileServer | N | |
| BranchCache for Network Files | FS-BranchCache | N | |
| Data Deduplication | FS-Data-Deduplication | N | |
| DFS Namespaces | FS-DFS-Namespace | N | |
| DFS Replication | FS-DFS-Replication | N | |
| File Server Resource Manager | FS-Resource-Manager | N | |
| File Server VSS Agent Service | FS-VSS-Agent | N | |
| iSCSI Target Server | iSCSITarget-Server | N | |
| iSCSI Target Storage Provider (VDS and VSS hardware providers) | iSCSITarget-VSS-VDS | N | |
| Server for NFS | FS-NFS-Service | N | |
| Work Folders | FS-SyncShareService | N | |
| Storage Services | Storage-Services | Y | |
| Print and Document Services | Print Server | Print-Server | N |
| LPD Service | Print-LPD-Service | N | |
| Remote Access | DirectAccess and VPN (RAS) | DirectAccess-VPN | N |
| Routing | Routing | N | |
| Web Application Proxy | Web-Application-Proxy | N | |
| Remote Desktop Services | Remote Desktop Connection Broker* | RDS-Connection-Broker | N |
| Remote Desktop Licensing | RDS-Licensing | N | |
| Remote Desktop Virtualization Host | RDS-Virtualization | N | |
| Web Server (IIS) | Web Server | Web-WebServer | N |
| Common HTTP Features | Web-Common-Http | N | |
| Default Document | Web-Default-Doc | N | |
| Directory Browsing | Web-Dir-Browsing | N | |
| HTTP Errors | Web-Http-Errors | N | |
| Static Content | Web-Static-Content | N | |
| HTTP Redirection | Web-Http-Redirect | N | |
| WebDAV Publishing | Web-DAV-Publishing | N | |
| Health and Diagnostics | Web-Health | N | |
| HTTP Logging | Web-Http-Logging | N | |
| Custom Logging | Web-Custom-Logging | N | |
| Logging Tools | Web-Log-Libraries | N | |
| ODBC Logging | Web-ODBC-Logging | N | |
| Request Monitor | Web-Request-Monitor | N | |
| Tracing | Web-Http-Tracing | N | |
| Performance | Web-Performance | N | |
| Static Content Compression | Web-Stat-Compression | N | |
| Dynamic Content Compression | Web-Dyn-Compression | N | |
| Security | Web-Security | N | |
| Request Filtering | Web-Filtering | N | |
| Basic Authentication | Web-Basic-Auth | N | |
| Centralized SSL Certificate Support | Web-CertProvider | N | |
| Client Certificate Mapping Authentication | Web-Client-Auth | N | |
| Digest Authentication | Web-Digest-Auth | N | |
| IIS Client Certificate Mapping Authentication | Web-Cert-Auth | N | |
| IP and Domain Restrictions | Web-IP-Security | N | |
| URL Authorization | Web-Url-Auth | N | |
| Windows Authentication | Web-Windows-Auth | N | |
| Application Development | Web-App-Dev | N | |
| .NET Extensibility 3.5 | Web-Net-Ext | N | |
| .NET Extensibility 4.6 | Web-Net-Ext45 | N | |
| Application Initialization | Web-AppInit | N | |
| ASP | Web-ASP | N | |
| ASP.NET 3.5 | Web-Asp-Net | N | |
| ASP.NET 4.6 | Web-Asp-Net45 | N | |
| CGI | Web-CGI | N | |
| ISAPI Extensions | Web-ISAPI-Ext | N | |
| ISAPI Filters | Web-ISAPI-Filter | N | |
| Server Side Includes | Web-Includes | N | |
| WebSocket Protocol | Web-WebSockets | N | |
| FTP Server | Web-Ftp-Server | N | |
| FTP Service | Web-Ftp-Service | N | |
| FTP Extensibility | Web-Ftp-Ext | N | |
| Management Tools | Web-Mgmt-Tools | N | |
| IIS 6 Management Compatibility | Web-Mgmt-Compat | N | |
| IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility | Web-Metabase | N | |
| IIS 6 Scripting Tools | Web-Lgcy-Scripting | N | |
| IIS 6 WMI Compatibility | Web-WMI | N | |
| IIS Management Scripts and Tools | Web-Scripting-Tools | N | |
| Management Service | Web-Mgmt-Service | N | |
| Windows Server Update Services | WID Connectivity | UpdateServices-WidDB | N |
| WSUS Services | UpdateServices-Services | N | |
| SQL Server Connectivity | UpdateServices-DB | N |
*Services indicated with a * are no longer available in server core starting with Server 2019 1803.
Features Included in Server Core
Features are software programs that are not directly part of a server role but provide additional functionality to the operating system. They can enhance security, enable specific technologies, or support various applications. Server Core includes a curated set of features to complement its roles. Below is a list of features included in the Server Core installation option.
| Feature | Name | Installed by default? |
|---|---|---|
| .NET Framework 3.5 Features | NET-Framework-Features | N |
| .NET Framework 3.5 (includes .NET 2.0 and 3.0) | NET-Framework-Core | (removed) |
| HTTP Activation | NET-HTTP-Activation | N |
| Non-HTTP Activation | NET-Non-HTTP-Activ | N |
| .NET Framework 4.6 Features | NET-Framework-45-Features | Y |
| .NET Framework 4.6 | NET-Framework-45-Core | Y |
| ASP.NET 4.6 | NET-Framework-45-ASPNET | N |
| WCF Services | NET-WCF-Services45 | Y |
| HTTP Activation | NET-WCF-HTTP-Activation45 | N |
| Message Queuing (MSMQ) Activation | NET-WCF-MSMQ-Activation45 | N |
| Named Pipe Activation | NET-WCF-Pipe-Activation45 | N |
| TCP Activation | NET-WCF-TCP-Activation45 | N |
| TCP Port Sharing | NET-WCF-TCP-PortSharing45 | Y |
| Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) | BITS | N |
| Compact Server | BITS-Compact-Server | N |
| BitLocker Drive Encryption | BitLocker | N |
| BranchCache | BranchCache | N |
| Client for NFS | NFS-Client | N |
| Containers | Containers | N |
| Data Center Bridging | Data-Center-Bridging | N |
| Enhanced Storage | EnhancedStorage | N |
| Failover Clustering | Failover-Clustering | N |
| Group Policy Management | GPMC | N |
| I/O Quality of Service | DiskIo-QoS | N |
| IIS Hostable Web Core | Web-WHC | N |
| IP Address Management (IPAM) Server | IPAM | N |
| iSNS Server service | ISNS | N |
| Management OData IIS Extension | ManagementOdata | N |
| Media Foundation | Server-Media-Foundation | N |
| Message Queuing | MSMQ | N |
| Message Queuing Services | MSMQ-Services | N |
| Message Queuing Server | MSMQ-Server | N |
| Directory Service Integration | MSMQ-Directory | N |
| HTTP Support | MSMQ-HTTP-Support | N |
| Message Queuing Triggers | MSMQ-Triggers | N |
| Routing Service | MSMQ-Routing | N |
| Message Queuing DCOM Proxy | MSMQ-DCOM | N |
| Multipath I/O | Multipath-IO | N |
| MultiPoint Connector | MultiPoint-Connector | N |
| MultiPoint Connector Services | MultiPoint-Connector-Services | N |
| MultiPoint Manager and MultiPoint Dashboard | MultiPoint-Tools | N |
| Network Load Balancing | NLB | N |
| Peer Name Resolution Protocol | PNRP | N |
| Quality Windows Audio Video Experience | qWave | N |
| Remote Differential Compression | RDC | N |
| Remote Server Administration Tools | RSAT | N |
| Feature Administration Tools | RSAT-Feature-Tools | N |
| BitLocker Drive Encryption Administration Utilities | RSAT-Feature-Tools-BitLocker | N |
| DataCenterBridging LLDP Tools | RSAT-DataCenterBridging-LLDP-Tools | N |
| Failover Clustering Tools | RSAT-Clustering | N |
| Failover Cluster Module for Windows PowerShell | RSAT-Clustering-PowerShell | N |
| Failover Cluster Automation Server | RSAT-Clustering-AutomationServer | N |
| Failover Cluster Command Interface | RSAT-Clustering-CmdInterface | N |
| IP Address Management (IPAM) Client | IPAM-Client-Feature | N |
| Shielded VM Tools | RSAT-Shielded-VM-Tools | N |
| Storage Replica Module for Windows PowerShell | RSAT-Storage-Replica | N |
| Role Administration Tools | RSAT-Role-Tools | N |
| AD DS and AD LDS Tools | RSAT-AD-Tools | N |
| Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell | RSAT-AD-PowerShell | N |
| AD DS Tools | RSAT-ADDS | N |
| Active Directory Administrative Center | RSAT-AD-AdminCenter | N |
| AD DS Snap-Ins and Command-Line Tools | RSAT-ADDS-Tools | N |
| AD LDS Snap-Ins and Command-Line Tools | RSAT-ADLDS | N |
| Hyper-V Management Tools | RSAT-Hyper-V-Tools | N |
| Hyper-V Module for Windows PowerShell | Hyper-V-PowerShell | N |
| Windows Server Update Services Tools | UpdateServices-RSAT | N |
| API and PowerShell cmdlets | UpdateServices-API | N |
| DHCP Server Tools | RSAT-DHCP | N |
| DNS Server Tools | RSAT-DNS-Server | N |
| Remote Access Management Tools | RSAT-RemoteAccess | N |
| Remote Access module for Windows PowerShell | RSAT-RemoteAccess-PowerShell | N |
| RPC over HTTP Proxy | RPC-over-HTTP-Proxy | N |
| Setup and Boot Event Collection | Setup-and-Boot-Event-Collection | N |
| Simple TCP/IP Services | Simple-TCPIP | N |
| SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support | FS-SMB1 | Y |
| SMB Bandwidth Limit | FS-SMBBW | N |
| SNMP Service | SNMP-Service | N |
| SNMP WMI Provider | SNMP-WMI-Provider | N |
| Telnet Client | Telnet-Client | N |
| VM Shielding Tools for Fabric Management | FabricShieldedTools | N |
| Windows Defender Features | Windows-Defender-Features | Y |
| Windows Defender | Windows-Defender | Y |
| Windows Internal Database | Windows-Internal-Database | N |
| Windows PowerShell | PowerShellRoot | Y |
| Windows PowerShell 5.1 | PowerShell | Y |
| Windows PowerShell 2.0 Engine | PowerShell-V2 | (removed) |
| Windows PowerShell Desired State Configuration Service | DSC-Service | N |
| Windows PowerShell Web Access | WindowsPowerShellWebAccess | N |
| Windows Process Activation Service | WAS | N |
| Process Model | WAS-Process-Model | N |
| .NET Environment 3.5 | WAS-NET-Environment | N |
| Configuration APIs | WAS-Config-APIs | N |
| Windows Server Backup | Windows-Server-Backup | N |
| Windows Server Migration Tools | Migration | N |
| Windows Standards-Based Storage Management | WindowsStorageManagementService | N |
| WinRM IIS Extension | WinRM-IIS-Ext | N |
| WINS Server | WINS | N |
| WoW64 Support | WoW64-Support | Y |
*Services indicated with a * are no longer available in server core starting with Server 2019 1803.
This comprehensive list should provide you with a clear understanding of the roles and features of Windows Server that are included in the Server Core installation option. By reviewing this list, you can confidently assess whether Server Core is the right choice for your server deployment needs, ensuring a secure, efficient, and streamlined server environment.
