Windows 2008 gives you two installation options or installation types
Windows 2008 can be installed in two types,
1. Full installation
2. Server Core installation
Full installation
This option install the complete installation in windows server, this installation includes the entire user interface and support all the server roles, it’s a normal server installation like the windows 2003 server
Server Core installation
This is a new feature in the windows 2008 server, in the Server Core installation, which is a cut-down version of Windows without the Windows Explorer GUI. Because you don’t have the Windows Explorer to provide the GUI interface that you are used to,
You configure everything through the command line interface or remotely using a Microsoft Management Console (MMC). The Server Core can be used for dedicated machines with basic roles such as Domain controller/Active Directory Domain Services, DNS Server, DHCP Server, file server, print server, Windows Media Server, IIS 7 web server and Windows Server Virtualization virtual server.
We able to open some of the GUI application in the in the Server Core installation of windows 2008, notepad, task manager, Data and Time console, Regional Settings console and all other are managed through remote management
