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Windows Server 2019 VM

Windows Server 2019 VM creation on a Linux host using KVM​

This process gives us a fairly minimal Windows Server 2019 VM running under KVM. This process has only been tested on Fedora Linux.

Define the VM name and location​

# Define the new VM name:
export VMNAME="win2019-01"
mkdir -p ~/VMs/"${VMNAME}"
cd ~/VMs/"${VMNAME}"

# Set a custom folder icon with GNOME:
gio set -t string ${HOME}/VMs/${VMNAME} metadata::custom-icon file://${HOME}/Pictures/icons/folder-windows-server-2025.png

Creating the VM​

# Copy the base image to the VM specific directory:
rsync --progress ~/VMs/base_images/win-serv-2019-c-base.qcow2 ~/VMs/${VMNAME}/${VMNAME}-c.qcow2

# Create the VM:
virt-install \
  --connect qemu:///session \
  --hvm \
  --name "${VMNAME}" \
  --memory "8192" \
  --vcpus "2" \
  --disk path="${HOME}/VMs/${VMNAME}/${VMNAME}-c.qcow2",bus=sata \
  --cdrom "${HOME}/VMs/ISOs/Windows/VirtIO-Win/latest/virtio-win-0.1.285.iso" \
  --os-variant "win2k19" \
  --graphics spice \
  --network=bridge:virbr0 \
  --boot hd \
  --noautoconsole \
  --import

Select the Windows Server 2019 Datacenter Evaluation (Desktop Experience) option when prompted.

Installing VirtIO drivers​

After the OS has been initialized the system will automatically shut down. Start the system back up, set the default Administrator password (See Keeper) and login. Run the following application from the DVD and accept all the defaults:

virtio-win-guest-tools

This will install the Virtual IO drivers, QEMU guest agent and the SPICE tools. Eject the ISO from the VM when the install has completed. Do not reboot yet!

Set the desktop resolution to: 2560 x 1600 at 150% scale.
Run the PowerShell script at: Set background colors for Windows desktops to set the intended desktop color.

Set the hostname​

Set the hostname via an administrative level PowerShell instance:

Rename-Computer -NewName "win2019-01"

A system restart will be required for this to take effect, but do not reboot yet!

Set the time zone​

Run the tzutil CLI utility in an administrative level PowerShell instance:

tzutil /s "UTC"

Ensure the system clock matches wall time after setting this.

Windows Update​

Run the sconfig CLI utility in an administrative level PowerShell instance:

sconfig
# Option 5 - Enable Automatic updates
# Option 6 - Install updates
#   Choose 1 to search for All updates
#   then A again to install All updates
#   Restart when requested

Install all available updates and reboot. This step may have to be run 3 times to get all of the updates installed. Continue until no more updates are available.

Installing PowerShell 7​

Install the latest available version of PowerShell on Windows Server 2019, this installs to: C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7

Invoke-Expression "& { $(Invoke-RestMethod 'https://aka.ms/install-powershell.ps1') } -useMSI -Quiet -EnablePSRemoting"

There will be a new PowerShell 7 (x64) item on the Start Menu. You should right click on this item and select: Pin to Start

Install Git etc.​

Here we’ll install a few basic utilities to make our life easier:

# Determine the path to the users Downloads folder
$DownloadsPath = (New-Object -ComObject Shell.Application).Namespace('shell:Downloads').Self.Path

# Windows Server 2012 R2 does not use TLS 1.3 as most modern sites expect
[Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12

# Download Git
Invoke-WebRequest `
  -Uri "https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/releases/download/v2.51.2.windows.1/Git-2.51.2-64-bit.exe" `
  -OutFile "$DownloadsPath\Git-2.51.2-64-bit.exe"

# Download Notepad++
Invoke-WebRequest `
  -Uri "https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/releases/download/v8.9.5/npp.8.9.5.Installer.x64.exe" `
  -OutFile "$DownloadsPath\npp.8.9.5.Installer.x64.exe"

# Download 7-Zip
Invoke-WebRequest `
  -Uri "https://www.7-zip.org/a/7z2501-x64.exe" `
  -OutFile "$DownloadsPath\7z2501-x64.exe"

You can manually install these apps using the defaults.

Install marcosnils/bin for managing random binaries​

bin is a lightweight, cross-platform binary manager that simplifies downloading, installing, and managing binaries without requiring root privileges. See the doc at: bin - Effortless binary manager

Uninstall PowerShell ISE​

This tool does not support PowerShell 7 therefore it should be removed from the system and its usage discouraged.

dism /online /disable-feature /featurename:MicrosoftWindowsPowerShellISE

Expected response:

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.14393.4169

Image Version: 10.0.14393.7426

Disabling feature(s)
[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.

Optional Installs​

Installing IIS​

Install-WindowsFeature -name Web-Server -IncludeManagementTools

Expected response:

Success Restart Needed Exit Code      Feature Result
------- -------------- ---------      --------------
True    No             Success        {Common HTTP Features, Default Document, Dir…

Verify what features are installed:

Get-WindowsFeature | Where-Object {$_.Installed -eq $true} | Format-Table Name, InstallState

Expected result:

Name                      InstallState
----                      ------------
FileAndStorage-Services   Installed
Storage-Services          Installed
Web-Server                Installed
Web-WebServer             Installed
Web-Common-Http           Installed
Web-Default-Doc           Installed
Web-Dir-Browsing          Installed
Web-Http-Errors           Installed
Web-Static-Content        Installed
Web-Health                Installed
Web-Http-Logging          Installed
Web-Performance           Installed
Web-Stat-Compression      Installed
Web-Security              Installed
Web-Filtering             Installed
Web-Mgmt-Tools            Installed
Web-Mgmt-Console          Installed
NET-Framework-45-Features Installed
NET-Framework-45-Core     Installed
NET-WCF-Services45        Installed
NET-WCF-TCP-PortSharing45 Installed
Windows-Defender          Installed
System-DataArchiver       Installed
WindowsAdminCenterSetup   Installed
PowerShellRoot            Installed
PowerShell                Installed
Wireless-Networking       Installed
WoW64-Support             Installed
XPS-Viewer                Installed