Set IP address, join domain, configure firewall, rename and activate computer using command prompt

Andy

Andy

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Here are the essentials commands you need to configure your Windows Server Core instance.

Follow this tutorial to carry on these tasks with command prompt:

Set a static IP address
  1. At a command prompt, type:
    Code: 
    netsh interface ipv4 show interfaces
  2. Make a note of the number shown in the "Idx" column of the output for your network adapter. If your computer has more than one network adapter, make a note of the number corresponding to the network adapter for which you wish to set a static IP address.
  3. At the command prompt, type on one line:
    Code: 
    netsh interface ipv4 set address name="<ID>" source=static address=<StaticIP> mask=<SubnetMask> gateway=<DefaultGateway>
    In the above command:
    • "ID" is the number from step 2 above.
    • "StaticIP" is the static IP address that you are setting.
    • "SubnetMask" is the subnet mask for the IP address.
    • "DefaultGateway" is the default gateway.
  4. At the command prompt, type:
    Code: 
    netsh interface ipv4 add dnsserver name="<ID>" address=<DNSIP>index=1
    In the above command:
    • "ID" is the number from step 2 above.
    • "DNSIP" is the IP address of your DNS server.
  5. Repeat step 4 for each DNS server that you want to set, incrementing the index= number each time.
Note:
If you set the static IP address on the wrong network adapter, you can change back to using the DHCP address supplied by using the following command:
Code: 
netsh interface ipv4 set address name="<ID>" source=dhcp
In the above command, "ID" is the number of the network adapter from Step 2.

Join a domain
  1. At a command prompt, type:
    Code: 
    netdom join <ComputerName> /domain:<DomainName> /userd:<UserName> /password:*
    In the above command:
    • "ComputerName" is the name of the server that is running the Server Core installation.
    • "DomainName" is the name of the domain to join.
    • "UserName" is a domain user account with permission to join the domain.
  2. When prompted to enter the password, type the password for the domain user account specified by UserName.
  3. If you need to add a domain user account to the local Administrators group, type the following command:
    Code: 
    net localgroup administrators /add <DomainName>\<UserName>
  4. Restart the computer. You can do this by typing the following at a command prompt:
    Code: 
    shutdown /r /t 0
Rename the server
  1. Determine the current name of the server with the hostname or ipconfig command.
  2. At a command prompt, type:
    Code: 
    netdom renamecomputer <ComputerName> /NewName:<NewComputerName>
  3. Restart the computer.
Activate the server
At a command prompt, type:
Code: 
slmgr.vbs -ato

If activation is successful, no message will return in the command prompt.

Note:
You can also activate by phone, using a Key Management Service (KMS) server, or remotely by typing the following command at a command prompt of a computer that is running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008:
Code: 
cscript windows\system32\slmgr.vbs <ServerName> <UserName> <password>:-ato

Configure the firewall
Use the netsh advfirewall command. For example, to enable remote management from any MMC snap-in, type:
Code: 
netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="Remote Administration" new enable=yes

Note:
You can also use the Windows Firewall snap-in from a computer running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 to remotely manage the firewall on a server running a Server Core installation. To do this, you must first enable remote management of the firewall by running the following command on the computer running a Server Core installation:
Code: 
netsh advfirewall set currentprofile settings remotemanagement enable

I hope this tutorial been useful, if you have any questions, feel free to post them down below 👇
 
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