How to avoid using the GUI in Windows Server 2012?

Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 that "the epoch-making user interface" is the most troublesome for system administrators. This modern UI can be a good thing for the server user interface, for example, it will make things simple, but whether it is beneficial or not is still a lot of controversy.

Almost no administrators like to use, what they need is how to use it to work. For administrators, the system user interface (UI) in their eyes should be: simple and practical. And our familiar desktop and command line interface has now fallen to the second choice of the system. Here are some basic ways for administrators to avoid using the Windows Server 2012 GUI and solve problems.

Installing an alternative to the Start menu to bypass the app interface

The most straightforward way to avoid using this UI is to use a third-party application to completely bypass it. Many applications not only provide a way to bypass the GUI Start menu of Windows Server 2012, but also create a classic "Start" menu for Windows administrators from Windows 2000.

The good news is that there are thousands of such third-party applications. However, which application is the best choice will be the difficulty we face.

Since most of these applications have not been tested in a server environment, my advice is to choose the smallest program and choose applications that simply skip or disable the new start menu. Minimize the attack surface of the system.

One such application is called "Skip Metro Suite". Once installed and enabled, it will automatically switch to the desktop when it logs in. Skip Metro Suite can also disable some other Windows 8 visual effects, such as the hot corner of Windows, so it is still very useful for administrators who insist on using Windows 8. Recently the application has been rewritten to reduce the space it occupies, and now it can run as a standalone application without the need for an installation.

Move as many management tools as possible to the desktop to avoid cumbersome interface switching

This requires some additional work for the administrator, although it does not require additional software. Administrators load a large number of management tools every day, then pin them to the desktop taskbar or create shortcuts on the desktop. Remember: This can be a bit annoying to constantly switch back and forth between settings. If you want to use the menus to launch applications directly on your desktop, there are a number of third-party tools that do not require a Metro UI to and from Windows 8. One of my favorite tools is PortableApps, which is also a library of many common, useful open source and free applications.

If you want to restore the "My Computer" and "Control Panel" icons to your desktop, you can install the Desktop Experience feature by adding the Roles and Features Wizard on the User Interface and Infrastructure menus. achieve.

Using the fewest server interfaces

This may be a bit extreme, but it's worth mentioning. The minimal server interface in Windows Server 2012 is to install only Server Core, which provides enough GUI functionality for running GUI-dependent applications. The minimized server interface can run tools like “Server Manager” without having to interact with the Metro UI's menus.

The downside is that it doesn't provide you with a traditional desktop, IE or resource manager, so it's minimal. It's important to note that because of this, when you run any software that uses a resource manager component, the software is likely to crash.

Fortunately, in Windows Server 2012, you can switch between standard installation and Server Core using only one Powershell command:

#Install-Windowsfeature server-gui- Shell –remove –restart

Of course, this requires a system reboot.

If Microsoft constantly changes the UI style of Windows, it does move everyone's "cheese". When we are used to the way things work, it has changed. Sometimes this is a good thing, but more often, it doesn't necessarily have a good effect.

On the plus side, no matter what we think, the next version of the Windows Server 2012 GUI is waiting for the price, and perhaps by then, Microsoft has replaced it with a more suitable management environment. This UI, or the user has adapted to the way this UI is used. But before that, at least we have a choice.

The above is how to avoid the use of GUI in Windows Server 2012, I hope to help everyone, thank you for reading.