To create a sandbox installation in VMware Workstation I usually have to start with a Windows Server. I am using VMware Workstation Pro as it makes it possible to build more complex sandbox installations with multiple servers like SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Groups.
This is a description of the installation and configuration of a general Windows Server to be used in different roles. When the configuration is completed I can clone the virtual machine to build the desired sandbox.
First I download the ISO installation image from Microsoft. Currently it is Windows Server 2023 Standard Edition. To use it I also have to get a license key from my Visual Studio subscription.
Then a new virtual machine is created on the ISO image with the license key. The VM is created with 16 GB memory, 4 vCores and 64 GB hard disk. After installation Windows Update is executed.
Configurations
- Network adapter: Change to paravirtual adapter „vmxnet3“. This is a off-line operation I have described earlier.
- Network adapter: Do not allow to turn off device to save energy.
- Network adapter: Show hidden devices in Device Manager and remove old Intel Gigabit Network Connection.
- Keyboard: Add Danish keyboard to English profile and remove English keyboard. This is as I live in Denmark.
- Location: Change to UK and set to UTC to avoid daylight savings etc.
- Server Manager: Do not start automatic.
- Print Spooler: Stop and disable service.
Script to do all this will be in SQLAdmin Github.
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