Installing SharePoint Server Subscription Edition on Windows Server Core

APPLIES TO: 2013 2016 2019 Subscription Edition SharePoint in Microsoft 365

Compared to classic Windows Server with Desktop Experience, Windows Server Core is a leaner deployment mode for SharePoint Server Subscription Edition as server core minimizes the number of OS features and services that are installed and running only those that are truly needed for a server. This deployment option reduces the demand on system resources (CPU, RAM, and disk space) and the potential attack surface for security vulnerabilities. Microsoft encourages Windows Server customers to move to this installation option as and when feasible for better support.

Perform the following steps to install SharePoint Server Subscription Edition on Windows Server Core:

1. Mount the ISO file to your server by using the Mount-DiskImage cmdlet, or by specifying it as a virtual drive in your virtual machine manager.

   Mount-DiskImage -ImagePath "C:\SharePoint Files\OfficeServer.iso"
   

2. Run the SharePoint prerequisite installer (prerequisiteinstaller.exe) on your server.

3. Copy the \Files\SetupSilent\config.xml file from your mounted ISO disk image to a writable location.

   Copy-Item -Path "D:\Files\SetupSilent\config.xml" -Destination "C:\SharePoint Files"
   

4. If the config.xml file in your writable location has a read-only file attribute, remove it.

   Set-ItemProperty -Path "C:\SharePoint Files\config.xml" -Name IsReadOnly -Value $false
   

5. Open the config.xml file in your writable location for editing.

   notepad.exe "C:\SharePoint Files\config.xml"
   

6. Find and remove the <!-- and --> text strings within the file. Don't remove the text in between these two text strings.

7. Replace the Enter Product Key Here text string in the file with your SharePoint Server product key.

8. Save your changes to the config.xml file.

9. Run SharePoint setup (setup.exe) on your server in command-line mode. Add the following command-line parameters when launching setup.exe:

   • /config <config file> (Where <config file> is the path to your writable config.xml file)
   • /IAcceptTheLicenseTerms (Specifying this parameter signifies that you have read, understand, and agree to the license terms of SharePoint Server and Project Server.)

   D:\setup.exe /config "C:\SharePoint Files\config.xml" /IAcceptTheLicenseTerms
   

10. Once SharePoint setup has completed, reboot your server.

11. Run the following SharePoint PowerShell cmdlets with their appropriate parameters to create or join a farm.

    1. New-SPConfigurationDatabase to create a farm or Connect-SPConfigurationDatabase to join a farm.
    2. Update-SPFlightsConfigFile -FilePath "C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\Web Server Extensions\16\CONFIG\SPFlightRawConfig.json"
    3. Install-SPHelpCollection -All
    4. Initialize-SPResourceSecurity
    5. Install-SPService
    6. Install-SPFeature -AllExistingFeatures
    7. New-SPCentralAdministration
    8. Install-SPApplicationContent

    Note

    You can also use the PSCONFIG.EXE command line tool or the PSConfigUI.exe GUI tool. However, PSConfigUI.exe will crash on Windows Server Core if it needs to display a summary of error messages at the end of the sequence due to a dependency on HTML rendering components.

12. Configure the service applications and web applications in your farm through the Farm Configuration Wizard.

    Note

    You must use a web browser from another computer to access the Central Administration website. Windows Server Core does not include a web browser.