installing office on a windows 2008 server

E

eon

2[H]4U
Joined
Oct 11, 2003
Messages
2,218
this is a general server we use for various stuff...
scheduled .net scripts, sql server database, IIS intranet webservices.
Would it be bad practice to install office on this server just as a way to conveniently open up word docs on it?
Thanks
 
If you need office, install office. If you can get by with a word viewer, that might be a better option.
 
Yes, it would be bad practice. Office is an attack vector, but even if it weren't it's such a monstrous application that it introduces an enormous amount of complexity to the server that you probably don't want to deal with. I would even recommend against installing the viewer for much the same reasons.

The only time office belongs on a server is when server software calls for it ( sadly, a frequent concern ), or where the server in question is a remote desktop server. Otherwise, it's best to keep your servers as clean as possible.
 
If it's a server for management task but otherwise serves no purpose, specifically, it could be wiped and reinstalled without losing anything important, I don't see the big deal.

If it's a web server, sql server, domain controller etc then absolutely not.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top