The RMS Platform

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

RMS platform comprises the following basic elements that enable rights management:

  • Trusted entity to issue a root certificate. This entity is provided by Microsoft. For more information, see RMS Trust Hierarchy in RMS: Technical Reference in this documentation collection.

  • RMS. RMS is a server technology for Windows Server 2003 that certifies trusted entities, licenses rights-protected information, enrolls servers and users, and administers functions of rights management. The RMS technology facilitates the setup steps that enable trusted entities to use rights-protected information. You can extend RMS to support additional features by using the Microsoft Windows Rights Management Services Software Development Kit (SDK).

  • Rights Management Services client. To install and use RMS-enabled applications, users who are in an RMS environment must have a client computer that has the Microsoft Windows Rights Management Services client software installed and activated. To download the RMS with SP2 client, see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=76880.

    Note

    Because the RMS client is built into the Windows Vista® operating system, a separate installation is no longer required.

  • RMS-enabled applications. These applications allow users to specify usage rights for the content that they create and distribute. You can develop RMS-enabled applications for operating systems starting with Microsoft Windows 2000. You can extend existing applications so that they are RMS-enabled. One example of an RMS-enabled application that has been extended to support RMS is Microsoft Internet Explorer. To download the Rights Management Add-on for Internet Explorer, see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=14450. You can use this add-on in Internet Explorer starting with version 5.01 to enable viewing rights-protected content. You can develop RMS-enabled applications by using the Rights Management Services SDK.