Windows Server 2012 Hardening (Part I)
Servers are the penultimate layer of security between potential threats and your organization’s data. Therefore, applying proper security policies specifically for each server profile is both important and necessary.
Common sense recommendations are to "stop all unnecessary services" or "turn off unused features". Fortunately, every new version of Windows Server is built to be more secure by default. That said, it is common to have several of different roles assigned to a single server as well as multiple sets of file servers, web servers, database servers, etc. So, how can we guarantee that each of these servers, with their different characteristics, is configured in compliance with the best security practices?
You cannot install SCM 4 on a Windows Server 2012 just like that, you’ll probably get a warning from the Program Compatibility Assistant. This is a known issue when installing SQL Server 2008 Express, even on supported OSes.
Besides, Windows Server is not on the list of SCM 4 supported OSes…
To overcome this, install a newer version of SQL Server, like SQL Server 2014 Express, before installing SCM and everything will go smoothly.
The procedure will be exactly the same as what we did for Windows 10, but now we are going to do same extra steps.
Common sense recommendations are to "stop all unnecessary services" or "turn off unused features". Fortunately, every new version of Windows Server is built to be more secure by default. That said, it is common to have several of different roles assigned to a single server as well as multiple sets of file servers, web servers, database servers, etc. So, how can we guarantee that each of these servers, with their different characteristics, is configured in compliance with the best security practices?
Using the Security Compliance Manager
Using SCM in Windows Server is basically the same as using it on a workstation. The major difference is related to what you can do with your GPOs once you are done.You cannot install SCM 4 on a Windows Server 2012 just like that, you’ll probably get a warning from the Program Compatibility Assistant. This is a known issue when installing SQL Server 2008 Express, even on supported OSes.
Besides, Windows Server is not on the list of SCM 4 supported OSes…
To overcome this, install a newer version of SQL Server, like SQL Server 2014 Express, before installing SCM and everything will go smoothly.
The procedure will be exactly the same as what we did for Windows 10, but now we are going to do same extra steps.
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