Windows Server 2022 is the successor of Windows Server 2019 and it’s the mainstream of Windows Server on the market so far. It was announced on March 2021 on the Microsoft Ignite event. As the essential skills of the Windows Server administrator you should know how-to install the Windows Server 2022 on either physical server or on hypervisor. In general, most administrators would go for Windows Server with GUI (with desktop experience) as it provides comprehensive capabilities and functionality but also consumes a lots of system resources compared to the Server Core. In this article, I’ll demonstrate step by step how to deploy Windows Server 2022 Core on Type 2 hypervisor (Hyper-V).
Minimum of hardware requirements for Windows Server 2022
CPU:
- 1.4 GHz 64-bit processor
- Compatible with x64 instruction set
- Supports NX and DEP
- Supports CMPXCHG16b, LAHF/SAHF, and PrefetchW
- Supports Second Level Address Translation (EPT or NPT)
RAM:
- 512 MB for Server Core
- 2 GB for Server with Desktop Experience
- ECC (Error Correcting Code) type or similar technology for physical host deployments
Storage:
- 32 GB of space
Network:
- An Ethernet adapter that can achieve a throughput of at least 1 gigabit per second
- Compliant with the PCI Express architecture specification
As per Microsoft’s comment “unless otherwise specified, these minimum hardware requirements apply to all installation options (Server Core and Server with Desktop Experience) for both Windows Server Standard and Windows Server Datacenter editions)”.
Life cycle of Windows Server 2022
The life cycle of Windows Server 2022 is started on Aug 18th 2021, and the mainstream end on Oct 13th 2026, with extend support end on Oct 14th 2031.
Steps for installing Windows Server 2022 Core on Hyper-V
1.Launch Hyper-V Manager from your desktop or Stat menu.
2.Navigate to New > then click Next under the prompt of “New Virtual Machine Wizard”.
3.Naming the VM and select a dedicated location for store VM files > then click Next. (In my case, I do not go with the default location instead to save under Documents folder).
4.Choose the generation of the virtual machine. As Generation 2 support Secure Boot feature plus support larger volume so ideally suggest to go with Gen 2. (To know the different refer to Should I create a generation 1 or 2 virtual machine in Hyper-V? | Microsoft Learn)
5.Specify the amount of memory to allocate to your virtual machine > then hit Next button. As we are installing Windows Server 2022 Core the minimum amount of memory is 512MB if you can recall from the prerequisite. But in general go with 1024MB (1GB) should be enough as either way you can modify it later.
6.For the time being regarding the network just remain “Not Connected” > then click Next.
7.Create a virtual hard disk for the virtual machine > only modify the size > then click Next button. In general, you may go with default 128GB or you modify based on your needs.
8.Choose the ISO file for the desired Windows Server 2022 Core > then click Next button.
9.At this point you may just click Finish button in order to let Hyper-V to handle the rest of setup and configuration.
10.Once complete, suggest you to adjusting the hardware by right clicking on the virtual machine > settings > then you can adjust the number of core/processors for your VM also RAM, plus other features or hardware per your requirements. In my case, I set CPU with 4 core + enable Secure Boot + modify memory.
11.All set, double-clicking on the VM or right-clicking on the VM > select Start to boot up the VM.
If you saw the following error, you need to perform a reboot then press the enter key as if no intervention it will not boot up the selected ISO file.
12.Click “Install now” > select “Windows Server 2022 Standard Evaluation” > then click Next button > check the box to accept EULA > click Next button.
13.Select the “custom” option > select the drive > Click New button to create a new volume > select the Primary partition > then click Next button.
14.If all good then you should see installing process initiated. It should be only takes 10mins to even less depends on your physical device performance.
15.By the moment you saw the following prompt then the installation state has been completed. Following up the prompt to setup a new password for the default Administrator account.
16.At the moment, you saw the following “Sconfig window” the whole installation stage are completed. You can perform further actions with the Sconfig window or enter PowerShell cmdlets.
References
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-server-2022
Should I create a generation 1 or 2 virtual machine in Hyper-V? | Microsoft Learn
