.NET Framework Support on Server Core
6/22/2010
Support for a subset of the .NET Framework is available through optional features on Server Core for Windows Server 2008 R2. Applications and tools that require the subset of the .NET Framework that Server Core supports can therefore run on Server Core for Windows Server 2008 R2.
Note
Server Core for Windows Server 2008 does not support any version of the .NET Framework.
.NET is turned off by default on Server Core. Before a .NET application can run, you must install the appropriate version of the .NET Framework on the Server Core platform.
On a Server Core installation and on a full installation of Windows Server, you can enable the .NET Framework by installing the optional features for it. You cannot enable the .NET Framework by using the downloadable .NET Framework redistribution packages.
.NET Namespaces in Server Core
For information about the namespaces in the .NET Framework on Server Core, see Server Core .NET Functionality.
.NET Framework Versions
The following table shows the versions of the .NET Framework in Server Core for Windows Server 2008 R2.
| Version | Description |
|---|---|
.NET Framework 2.0 |
Subset of the .NET Framework 2.0 that is on a full installation of Windows Server |
.NET Framework 3.0 |
Subset of the .NET Framework 3.0 that includes Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) and Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) |
.NET Framework 3.5 |
Subset of the .NET Framework 3.5 that includes Language-Integrated Query (LINQ) and additions to Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) |
.NET Framework Optional Features on Server Core
The following table shows the optional features to install to enable the .NET Framework on Server Core for Windows Server 2008 R2.
| Version | 64-bit feature | 32-bit feature |
|---|---|---|
.NET Framework 2.0 |
NetFx2-ServerCore |
ServerCore-WOW64 NetFx2-ServerCore-WOW64 |
.NET Framework 3 |
NetFx3-ServerCore |
ServerCore-WOW64 NetFx3-ServerCore-WOW64 |
.NET Framework 3.5 |
NetFx3-ServerCore |
ServerCore-WOW64 NetFx3-ServerCore-WOW64 |
Application Validation by Using FxCop
In a .NET application for Server Core, you can use most but not all of the functionality in the .NET Framework 2.0 or .NET Framework 3.5. Even if the application runs correctly on your development workstation, the application can return errors on Server Core that are difficult to diagnose.
To help you avoid errors while developing the application for Server Core, you can use the FxCop tool to create validation rules based on which .NET managed code assemblies are included in Server Core. To get the FxCop tool, see this Microsoft Web site.
See Also
Reference
Concepts
IIS and Web Server Development on Server Core
Database Support on Server Core