Features in Windows Server
Let us now learn about the Features available in Windows Server and a comparison between Features in Windows Server Desktop Experience and Server Core. Please note that most of the Features available in Windows Server are disabled by default, after a fresh Windows Server installation.
Features enhance a Windows Server’s or a Role’s capabilities. Features can support or augment the functionality of the Windows Server itself or the Roles installed on that Windows Server.
Please click the following link to know more about Roles and Features in Windows Server. Please click the following link to know the Differences between Server Core and GUI (Desktop Experience).
Please click the following link to learn how to add Roles and Features in Windows Server.
Features available in Windows Server Desktop Experience
| Display Name of the Feature | Name of the Feature | Installed by default | Available in Desktop Experience |
|---|---|---|---|
| .NET Framework 3.5 Features | NET-Framework-Features | No | Yes |
| .NET Framework 4.8 Features | NET-Framework-45-Features | Installed | Yes |
| Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) | BITS | No | Yes |
| BitLocker Drive Encryption | BitLocker | No | Yes |
| BitLocker Network Unlock | BitLocker-NetworkUnlock | No | Yes |
| BranchCache | BranchCache | No | Yes |
| Client for NFS | NFS-Client | No | Yes |
| Containers | Containers | No | Yes |
| Data Center Bridging | Data-Center-Bridging | No | Yes |
| Direct Play | Direct-Play | No | Yes |
| Enhanced Storage | EnhancedStorage | No | Yes |
| Failover Clustering | Failover-Clustering | No | Yes |
| Group Policy Management | GPMC | No | Yes |
| Host Guardian Hyper-V Support | HostGuardian | No | Yes |
| I/O Quality of Service | DiskIo-QoS | No | Yes |
| IIS Hostable Web Core | Web-WHC | No | Yes |
| Internet Printing Client | Internet-Print-Client | No | Yes |
| IP Address Management (IPAM) Server | IPAM | No | Yes |
| LPR Port Monitor | LPR-Port-Monitor | No | Yes |
| Management OData IIS Extension | ManagementOdata | No | Yes |
| Media Foundation | Server-Media-Foundation | No | Yes |
| Message Queuing | MSMQ | No | Yes |
| Microsoft Defender Antivirus | Windows-Defender | Installed | Yes |
| Multipath I/O | Multipath-IO | No | Yes |
| MultiPoint Connector | MultiPoint-Connector | No | Yes |
| Network ATC | NetworkATC | No | Yes |
| Network Load Balancing | NLB | No | Yes |
| Network Virtualization | NetworkVirtualization | No | Yes |
| Quality Windows Audio Video Experience | qWave | No | Yes |
| RAS Connection Manager Administration Kit (CMAK) | CMAK | No | Yes |
| Remote Assistance | Remote-Assistance | No | Yes |
| Remote Differential Compression | RDC | No | Yes |
| Remote Server Administration Tools | RSAT | No | Yes |
| RPC over HTTP Proxy | RPC-over-HTTP-Proxy | No | Yes |
| Setup and Boot Event Collection | Setup-and-Boot-Event-Collection | No | Yes |
| Simple TCP/IP Services | Simple-TCPIP | No | Yes |
| SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support | FS-SMB1 | No | Yes |
| SMB Bandwidth Limit | FS-SMBBW | No | Yes |
| SNMP Service | SNMP-Service | No | Yes |
| Software Load Balancer | SoftwareLoadBalancer | No | Yes |
| Storage Migration Service | SMS | No | Yes |
| Storage Migration Service Proxy | SMS-Proxy | No | Yes |
| Storage Replica | Storage-Replica | No | Yes |
| System Data Archiver | System-DataArchiver | Installed | Yes |
| System Insights | System-Insights | No | Yes |
| Telnet Client | Telnet-Client | No | Yes |
| TFTP Client | TFTP-Client | No | Yes |
| VM Shielding Tools for Fabric Management | FabricShieldedTools | No | Yes |
| WebDAV Redirector | WebDAV-Redirector | No | Yes |
| Windows Biometric Framework | Biometric-Framework | No | Yes |
| Windows Identity Foundation 3.5 | Windows-Identity-Foundation | No | Yes |
| Windows Internal Database | Windows-Internal-Database | No | Yes |
| Windows PowerShell | PowerShellRoot | Installed | Yes |
| Windows Process Activation Service | WAS | No | Yes |
| Windows Search Service | Search-Service | No | Yes |
| Windows Server Backup | Windows-Server-Backup | No | Yes |
| Windows Server Migration Tools | Migration | No | Yes |
| Windows Standards-Based Storage Management | WindowsStorageManagementService | No | Yes |
| Windows Subsystem for Linux | Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux | No | Yes |
| Windows TIFF IFilter | Windows-TIFF-IFilter | No | Yes |
| WinRM IIS Extension | WinRM-IIS-Ext | No | Yes |
| WINS Server | WINS | No | Yes |
| Wireless LAN Service | Wireless-Networking | Installed | Yes |
| WoW64 Support | WoW64-Support | Installed | Yes |
| XPS Viewer | XPS-Viewer | Installed | Yes |
Features available in Windows Server Server Core
| Display Name of the Feature | Name of the Feature | Installed by default | Available in Server Core |
|---|---|---|---|
| .NET Framework 3.5 Features | NET-Framework-Features | No | Yes |
| .NET Framework 4.8 Features | NET-Framework-45-Features | Installed | Yes |
| Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) | BITS | No | Yes |
| BitLocker Drive Encryption | BitLocker | No | Yes |
| BranchCache | BranchCache | No | Yes |
| Client for NFS | NFS-Client | No | Yes |
| Containers | Containers | No | Yes |
| Data Center Bridging | Data-Center-Bridging | No | Yes |
| Enhanced Storage | EnhancedStorage | No | Yes |
| Failover Clustering | Failover-Clustering | No | Yes |
| Group Policy Management | GPMC | No | Yes |
| Host Guardian Hyper-V Support | HostGuardian | No | Yes |
| I/O Quality of Service | DiskIo-QoS | No | Yes |
| IIS Hostable Web Core | Web-WHC | No | Yes |
| IP Address Management (IPAM) Server | IPAM | No | Yes |
| Management OData IIS Extension | ManagementOdata | No | Yes |
| Media Foundation | Server-Media-Foundation | No | Yes |
| Message Queuing | MSMQ | No | Yes |
| Microsoft Defender Antivirus | Windows-Defender | Installed | Yes |
| Multipath I/O | Multipath-IO | No | Yes |
| Network ATC | NetworkATC | No | Yes |
| Network Load Balancing | NLB | No | Yes |
| Network Virtualization | NetworkVirtualization | No | Yes |
| Quality Windows Audio Video Experience | qWave | No | Yes |
| Remote Differential Compression | RDC | No | Yes |
| Remote Server Administration Tools | RSAT | No | Yes |
| RPC over HTTP Proxy | RPC-over-HTTP-Proxy | No | Yes |
| Setup and Boot Event Collection | Setup-and-Boot-Event-Collection | No | Yes |
| Simple TCP/IP Services | Simple-TCPIP | No | Yes |
| SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support | FS-SMB1 | No | Yes |
| SMB Bandwidth Limit | FS-SMBBW | No | Yes |
| SNMP Service | SNMP-Service | No | Yes |
| Software Load Balancer | SoftwareLoadBalancer | No | Yes |
| Storage Migration Service | SMS | No | Yes |
| Storage Migration Service Proxy | SMS-Proxy | No | Yes |
| Storage Replica | Storage-Replica | No | Yes |
| System Data Archiver | System-DataArchiver | Installed | Yes |
| System Insights | System-Insights | No | Yes |
| Telnet Client | Telnet-Client | No | Yes |
| VM Shielding Tools for Fabric Management | FabricShieldedTools | No | Yes |
| Windows Internal Database | Windows-Internal-Database | No | Yes |
| Windows PowerShell | PowerShellRoot | Installed | Yes |
| Windows Process Activation Service | WAS | No | Yes |
| Windows Server Backup | Windows-Server-Backup | No | Yes |
| Windows Server Migration Tools | Migration | No | Yes |
| Windows Standards-Based Storage Management | WindowsStorageManagementService | No | Yes |
| Windows Subsystem for Linux | Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux | No | Yes |
| WinRM IIS Extension | WinRM-IIS-Ext | No | Yes |
| WINS Server | WINS | No | Yes |
| WoW64 Support | WoW64-Support | Installed | Yes |
Written by Jajish Thomas.
Last updated on 8th July, 2024.