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The reason why a server and a desktop are different, is because Server hardware is geared towards high performance because a server is not serving just one person, but many. And each person it serves needs a little bit of ram and cpu time.
Keep in mind that on Windows Server, hardware is not supported in the same manner as on Windows 10 out of the box. That said, Windows Server has the same architecture when it comes to Windows for desktops. Windows Server 2016 shares the same core as Windows 10, Windows Server 2012 shares the same core as Windows 8. Windows Server 2008 R2 shares the same core as Windows 7, etc.. If you have drivers for the desktop version, they can usually be used on the Windows Server side too.
Here's first hand experience, not just some theoretical Johnny abusing his internet access. I run Windows Server Datacenter 2022 on my HP Probook G7. It does need some tweaking before installation (mostly services disabling/enabling, shutting down processes, registry additions and such) and a LOT of tweaking after installation so you better have intimate knowledge of Windosw OS. Installing wifi drivers and especially touchpad mouse drivers could be madness if you don't know what to do. Once you get all this behind you get a slim, straightforward and rock-solid OS to run for life. No bloatware, no BS. Most importantly, you don't have to worry about updates because you get only security long term updates (via LTSC channel) without all the trash they try to push in regular windows versions. All programs install and work perfectly - MS Office, Photoshop 2023, CorelDraw latest, Steganos, Acrobat DC and everything in between, no problems whatsoever. Why I did it? First, because I can, Second, due to the stability and reliability of the Server edition. Your milage may vary. Last piece of advice - do not listen to those saying it can't be done. Baby, it can and it's beautiful!
As of yet, I have not heard what the official installation procedure should be considering the content of this Knowledgebase article, which indicates that Server 2019 no longer plays nice by disabling it's internal antivirus and firewall components when 3rd party security clients are installed.
I had not seen or heard of this behavior before installing CPEP on a windows server 2019 VM hosting our Blackberry UEM MDM platform, so CPEP went in on top of the MS components. I have since only disabled the Windows Defender Firewall for just "domain" network profile for that VM.)
The SK also mentions that this can be done "via GPO" but does not cover how. (caveat, I have yet to, but will fully read through the whole admin guide and whatever other documentation I can find for the latest releases of CPEP to see if it is covered there and will report back if I have a definitive answer)
Which somewhat ambiguously seems to state that you can uninstall windows defender completely using the add remove roles and features Wizard, after suggesting earlier in the post that removing the feature components only removes the user interface.
Anyway, would anyone from Check Point proper like to suggest the specific steps one should take if we intend to deploy CPEP to even a newly built Windows 2016 or 2019 server with nothing but the OS installed yet?
Also, regarding the aforementioned Blackberry UEM server: I deployed the client while actually working with CP support on a Zoom remote support session. I happened to notice that windows firewall was still running during the same remote session; I was told at that stage that the wscsvc service was removed in the OS and this is Microsoft's doing and by their design. At the end of the day I am therefore at a disadvantage in the case of this specific production server if I was supposed to turn off Windows Defender Anti-Malware BEFORE installing CPEP.
So, a specific question, did I break anything by having installed CPEP on a windows Server 2019 machine before "turning off" Windows Defender Anti-Malware? I would assume not if the TAC engineer did not indicate this, but I want to be sure. Once I know what the correct "turn off" method is for Defender per CP, I just hope there is nothing I need to worry about having done things in the wrong order.
I would be interested to hear anyone's experiences with CPEP and Windows Server 2016 / 2019 and whether you noticed any issues, or whether you realized that Windows Defender components were still running.
I have not tried removing the Windows Defender Feature yet. I will try that now, but if there is a best practice way of disabling any Windows based security client components that might interfere with any of the full set of CPEP blades (via GPO) I would like to know.
Disabling Windows Defender Anti-Malware and Windows Defender Firewall is needed for Windows Server 2016/2019 machines only, if you plan to install Endpoint Security client on it with Anti-Malware and Firewall Blades.
If you wish to mass disable Windows Defender Firewall\uninstall Windows Defender Anti-Malware - Powershell scripts can be used from the instructions above for all Windows Servers 2016\2019. The scripts can be applied via GPO.
Yes, on Windows 10 machines, in case Endpoint Security Firewall or\and Endpoint Security Anti-Malware blades are installed - Windows Defender (AV) or\and Firewall will be turned off (this is done with wscsvc (Windows Security Service) service that must be running, which is absent in Windows Server 2016 and 2019, as per Solution section in SK159373 mentioned above).
Hi Kiril, We've recently started pushing out endpoint client upgrades to users who are on older version to E84.00 and some users have reported they are getting windows security popup after the update any idea why it might be coming?
yes the popup is related to windows defender firewall and mitel connect application but is it not supposed to happen when endpoint client is installed? we thought windows firewall service is turned off by checkpoint endpoint client.
I have seen this behavior on Windows Server 2016 and 2019 because (from what both TAC and development has told me) Microsoft removed the API call to hand off control of firewall and antimalware to third party products at install time. You need to manually disable them. Windows 10 however still plays nice and the Windows Security panel will indicate who is providing firewall and antivirus services. Take a look at that and see if it mentions Check Point as providing firewall. If so, that is an even more strange occurrence considering the dialog box you saw.
I'm having an issue with an ML350e v2 gen8 that I received to setup, but I'm trying to install Windows Server 2019, and it doesn't see the disk/array. This server has 2 phisical 300Gb SAS disks and 1 logical disk in RAID 1 out of those two. For comparison, I've installed the same Windows (via a bootable USB) in a DL380p gen8 and it worked just fine; the only significant difference I see between the two servers is that the DL380p comes with Smart Array P420i, whilst the ML350e comes with DYNAMIC Smart Array P420i and I'm not sure what the difference is.
Thanks for stopping by. The link you shared contains plenty information, none of it particularly addresses my issues. I saw a suggestion to disable VID however there is no option to disable VID in my BIOS settings.
May I know where is OS ISO image stored, is it on USB or mount to iLO virtual media.
Have you tried by mounting OS ISO image to iLO virtual media and installing OS through intelligent provisioning.
If yes, what is the error you are getting while installing OS through intelligent provisioning and mounting OS ISO image to iLO virtual media.
I have tried both options with the ISO is stored in USB. I can see it in th USB directory liasting via Intelligent Porvisioning. However when I try to select it nothing happens. I cannot progress with installing.
I did not have an OS media. However, I stumbled on this site -windows-server-on-hp.html. I followed the instructions and created a bootable USB with the server 2016 OS. Changed boot options so the server booted from USB then proceeded like I would on a PC.
I downlaoded the storage array drivers and loaded it when Windows set up requested. Everything else went fine. Upon completion I noticed the network card wasn't showing up in Control Panel. Fixed this by downloading HPE Intel i40eb network drivers.
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