As we have demonstrated in one of our Core Server screencasts –
How to Install Domain Controller Role on Server Core, running DCPROMO requires that you provide the necessary information either by an unattend file or by switches. By default, Core Server does not come with a DCPROMO wizard.
Another, more comfortable option is, to provide the answers in unattend file (for example unattend.txt), and run DCPROMO using this file.
One of the options in the CoreConfigurator utility, written by Guy Teverovsky, Core Server Configurator is, to run a DCPROMO wizard which helps you generate a DCPROMO answer file, and run DCPROMO with it.
It is still a good idea to take a look at the DCPROMO options, as we have demonstrated in our previous screencast. Depending on your needs, you have to decide which of them will be suitable for your situation. The CoreConfigurator DCPROMO wizard generally covers the most important parameters. In addition, when you finish generating the answer file, you have the option to modify your answers manually, add more parameters if necessary, and save the file. At this point, you can choose to cancel the wizard and run DCPROMO later using the created unattend file, or run DCPROMO through the wizard. In a production environment, cancelling the wizard and running manually DCPROMO with the generated unattend file will provide you with real time information about the DCPROMO process, and the stages through which it goes. It is also a good idea to pipe these results into a log file and examine it at the end. For the purposes of this demonstration, we will finish DCPROMO using the CoreConfigurator.
In the following screencast, you will see how to promote a Server Core as a DC, and how to check the result of DCPROMO.