!IMPORTANT! This is not supported by Microsoft. Never do this in your production system.
Now, after we’re ready with the disclaimer, let the fun begin.
I always liked the idea of the Windows Server’s Core Edition. Who needs the GUI, right?
And I was always disappointed when Microsoft hasn’t announced the support of Windows Server Core for SharePoint Server.
I was planning to play with this scenario for years but I never took the time to actually try it out.
Finally the day arrived and I had time to remove the Graphical User Interface from my SharePoint Server 2013 Developer box.
The machine was running with Windows Server 2012 R2 and has the following components installed: Windows Server Active Directory, MS SQL Server 2014 and SharePoint Server 2013.
I ran the following PowerShell cmdlet:
Uninstall-WindowsFeature -Name "Desktop-Experience","Server-GUI-Shell" -Restart
And after the reboot I verified my Farm is still there:
I will be honest, I will not keep this machine and use it because I need the free space for my next project.
The next project is to install SharePoint Server on Windows Server Core without the GUI.