How to Install Windows Server 2022

Windows Server 2022 is Microsoft's LTSC release and the current "stable for ten years" target. This guide walks through installing it on bare metal or a hypervisor, with the post-install steps that matter for a production-shaped Domain Controller or app server.

Prerequisites

• A server / VM with ≥ 2 vCPU, 4 GiB RAM, 64 GiB disk (more for AD/file shares).
• The Windows Server 2022 ISO from the Microsoft Evaluation Center or your VL portal.
• A planned hostname and (if joining a domain) network/DNS info.

Step 1: Boot the installer

Attach the ISO, boot, choose your language/keyboard, then Install Now.

When asked for the edition pick one of:

• Standard (Desktop Experience) — has the GUI; lighter on resources than Datacenter.
• Datacenter — unlimited VM rights and software-defined storage features.
• (Server Core) — no GUI; the right pick for AD DCs, file servers, app hosts; managed remotely via Admin Center / PowerShell.

For a typical workload pick Standard (Desktop Experience) until you are comfortable; move to Core afterwards.

Step 2: Partitioning

On a 64 GiB disk you typically get 100 MB EFI + 16 MB MSR + the rest as C:. Reject that on production servers — create two partitions:

• C: 80 GiB — OS + page file.
• D: remaining — data, logs, app installs.

Keeping app data off C: makes later resizing (Hyper-V dynamic disk, SAN LUN expand) much less risky.

Step 3: Administrator password and first login

Set a 20+ character password. Sign in. The Server Manager wizard opens automatically.

Step 4: Rename and configure networking

Open PowerShell as administrator:

Rename-Computer -NewName "DC01-RUH" -Restart

# After reboot, set a static IP (replace adapter name)
New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" `
                 -IPAddress 10.0.10.10 -PrefixLength 24 `
                 -DefaultGateway 10.0.10.1

Set-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" `
                           -ServerAddresses 10.0.10.10,1.1.1.1

Set-TimeZone -Id "Arab Standard Time"

Step 5: Updates, firewall, RDP

# Approve and run Windows Update
Install-Module PSWindowsUpdate -Force -Scope AllUsers
Import-Module PSWindowsUpdate
Get-WindowsUpdate -AcceptAll -Install -AutoReboot

# Enable RDP, allow it through Defender Firewall
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server" `
                 -Name "fDenyTSConnections" -Value 0
Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "Remote Desktop"

Step 6: Install roles only when you need them

Get-WindowsFeature
Install-WindowsFeature -Name AD-Domain-Services, DNS, GPMC -IncludeManagementTools

That command promotes a Server Manager session into a domain-controller-ready box. Do not install roles you are not using — every role is an attack surface.

Verify

Get-ComputerInfo | Select-Object CsName, OsName, OsVersion, WindowsBuildLabEx
Get-NetIPAddress -AddressFamily IPv4 | Format-Table
Get-WindowsFeature | Where-Object Installed

Conclusion

Windows Server 2022 installs in 15 minutes and is ready for any role from AD DC to IIS host. Standard with Desktop Experience is fine for learning; move to Server Core for production once you are comfortable with PowerShell remoting.

Next steps

• Promote this host to a domain controller with Active Directory promotion.
• Configure inbound rules via Windows Firewall with PowerShell.
• Set up web hosting with IIS Web Server on Windows.