This article has been written to introduce the 18 Windows Server 2008 roles and show the command line tool which can be used to view, add or remove these roles

The Windows Server 2008 roles include:

• Active Directory Certificate Services: (AD CS) provides a customizable service for issuing and managing public key certificates.

• Active Directory Domain Services: (AD DS) stores directory data and manages communication between users and domains, including user logon processes, authentication, and directory searches. An example of a server running AD DS is an Active Directory domain controller.

• Active Directory Federation Services: (AD FS) provides Web single-sign-on (SSO) technologies to authenticate a user to multiple Web applications over the life of a single online session.

• Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services: (AD LDS) this is a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory service that provides flexible support for directory-enabled applications, without the restrictions of Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)

• Active Directory Rights Management Services: (AD RMS) is an information protection technology that works with AD RMS-enabled applications to help safeguard digital information from unauthorized use. Content owners can define who can open, modify, print, forward, or take other actions with the information.

• Application Server: These provide an integrated environment for deploying and running custom, server-based business applications that are built with the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0. The Application Server role supports applications that use COM+, Message Queuing, Web services, and distributed transactions.

• Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol Server: (DHCP) These servers automatically provide client computers and other TCP/IP based network devices with valid IP addresses and options that allow them to connect to other network resources, such as DNS servers and routers.

1. Domain Name System Server: (DNS) This is the name resolution protocol for TCP/IP networks, such as the Internet. Client computers query a DNS server to resolve memorable, alphanumeric DNS names to the IP addresses that computers use to communicate with each other.

• Fax Server: Used centrally manage fax devices and enable users to send and receive faxes. Note: This role MUST be installed with the Print Server role.

• Print Services: This enables you to share printers on a network, as well as to centralize print server and network printer management tasks. It also enables you to migrate print servers and deploy printer connections using Group Policy.

• File Services: These provide technologies that help manage storage, ensure fast file searching, enable file replication, manage shared folders and enable access for UNIX client computers

• Network Policy and Access Services: This allows the provision of local and remote network access to define and enforce policies for network access authentication and authorization

• Streaming Media Services: This enables managed delivery of live or on-demand digital media content, including Windows Media Audio (WMA) and Windows Media Video (WMV), over networks by using administrative interfaces in Microsoft Windows Media Services 2008.

• Terminal Services: Provides technologies that enable users to access Windows-based programs that are installed on a terminal server, or to access the full Windows desktop. With Terminal Services, users can access a terminal server from within a corporate network or from the Internet.

• Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI): This is an industry specification for publishing and locating information about Web services.

• Web Server: Windows Server 2008 delivers IIS 7.0, which is a unified Web platform that integrates IIS, ASP.NET, Windows Communication Foundation, and Windows SharePoint Services allowing the sharing of information with users on the Internet, an intranet, or an extranet.

• Windows Deployment Services: This is the updated and redesigned version of the Remote Installation Service (RIS) found on Windows Server 2003. This can be used to re-image computers using customized images and enables the remote deployment of Windows operating systems, such as Windows Vista.

• Windows Server Virtualization: Provides software infrastructure and basic management tools in Windows Server 2008 that you can use to create and manage a virtualized server computing environment.

Having introduced the roles lets look at how these can be viewed, added or removed

Server Manager

This is designed as a single graphical all-in-one tool to manage Windows Server 2008 replacing both Manage your Server and Add / Remove Windows Components found on previous versions of Windows Server. Server Manager can be used to manage all the roles installed on the server and the system information, displaying the server status and identifying problems with server role configuration.

Servermanagercmd.exe

This is the command line tool found in the %windir% \ system32 folder that can be used to display a list of roles and features already installed on the server along with the command line name

For example:

Servermanagercmd -query

This command will display a list of roles installed on the server along with the roles command line name

Servermanagercmd -install web-server

This command will install the web server role where “web-server” is the command line name

Servermanagercmd -remove web-server

This command will un-install the web server role where “web-server” is the command line name

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