SharePoint 2013 TIP: export Windows Server settings after SharePoint deployment

After successfully deploying SharePoint to the first SharePoint server in the farm, I would like to save the Windows Server settings so that I can build the next SharePoint farm servers identical to the first one.  This can be done in several ways, one method is to save the Windows Server configuration settings to a file that can later be imported via PowerShell.

Procedure

1. Launch Server Manager.
2. Click Add roles and features.
3. Click through until you get to the Features selection.  At this point, if you haven't enabled anything, the Next button will be disabled.  You need to get past this panel in order to reach the export settings capability.
4. Enable any feature, and then click Next.  The Confirmation panel appears.  On this panel, at the bottom, you'll see the Export configuration settings link.  
5. Hover the cursor over this link to see the PowerShell commandlet needed to import this file at another server.
   
   .
6. Now click the link.  The file will be saved to your default home folder.

References

• How to: Import Export (Setup) Windows Server 2012 configuration windows features