Remote management

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

Remote management

This topic contains a brief overview of the remote management features available in the Windows Server 2003 family. It is divided into three sections: New and updated features since Windows Server 2003 (without SP1), New and updated features since Windows NT 4.0, and New and updated features since Windows 2000.

For links to more information about the features in this release, see New Features.

The Windows Server 2003 family includes a variety of remote management features. For detailed information on how to use these features, see Remote Administration.

New and updated features since Windows Server 2003 (without SP1)

Windows Server 2003 operating systems with Service Pack 1 (SP1) offer the following improvements (compared to Windows Server 2003 without SP1) that help provide increased levels of support for remote management:

  • Remote Installation Services
    Users can now use the Remote Installation Preparation (RIPrep) Wizard to install an x64-based server image.

New and updated features since Windows NT 4.0

The Windows Server 2003 family offers the following improvements (in comparison to Windows NT 4.0) that help provide increased levels of support for remote management:

  • Microsoft Management Console
    You can use Microsoft Management Console (MMC) to arrange the administrative tools and processes that you need within a single interface. You can also delegate tasks to specific users by creating preconfigured MMCs that contain the tools you select. For more information, see Microsoft Management Console.
  • Scripting with Windows Script Host
    By using Windows Script Host (WSH), you can automate such actions as creating a shortcut and connecting to and disconnecting from a network server. WSH is language independent. You can write scripts in common scripting languages, such as Microsoft Visual Basic®, Scripting Edition, (VBScript) and JScript. For more information, see Windows Script Host.
  • Remote Installation Services
    With Remote Installation Services (RIS), you can create installation images of operating systems or even of complete computer configurations, including desktop settings and applications. You can then make these images available to users at client computers. The client computers must support remote booting with the Pre-Boot eXecution Environment (PXE) ROM, or else they must be started with a remote-startup floppy disk. For more information, see Remote Installation Services. This feature is not included on computers running the Microsoft® Windows Server® 2003, Web Edition, operating system. For more information, see Overview of Windows Server 2003, Web Edition.

New and updated features since Windows 2000

The Windows Server 2003 family offers the following improvements (in comparison to Windows 2000) that help provide increased levels of support for remote management:

  • Remote Desktop for Administration
    With Remote Desktop for Administration (formerly known as Terminal Services in Remote Administration mode), you can administer a computer from virtually any computer on your network. Based on Terminal Services technology, Remote Desktop for Administration is specifically designed for server management. You can use Remote Desktop for Administration to log on to the server remotely as though you were logged on to it locally. Additionally, Remote Desktop for Administration now supports greater color depth and screen resolution. For more information about this feature, see Remote Desktop for Administration.
  • Remote Assistance
    You can use Remote Assistance to remotely administer a computer. If you have an invitation, Remote Assistance is a convenient way for you to connect to a remote computer from a computer running Windows XP or any product in the Windows Server 2003 family. After you are connected, you can view the remote computer's screen and chat in real time. If the person requesting assistance allows you to, you can even use the mouse and keyboard to work on the remote computer. For more information, see Windows interface administrative tool reference A-Z: Remote Assistance. This feature is not available on the Itanium-based versions of the Windows operating systems.
  • ****Web Interface for Remote Administration (Windows Server 2003, Web Edition only)
    On Windows Server 2003, Web Edition, the Web Interface for Remote Administration is a Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)-based application that is used to configure and manage the server from a remote client. Individual servers, entire server farms, and multiple sites per server can be managed from a single remote workstation. The Web Interface for Remote Administration provides a simple means of performing common Web server configuration tasks, including:

    • Creating and deleting Web sites

    • Configuring network settings

    • Managing local user accounts

    • Restarting the Web server

  • Remote Installation Services improvements
    Enhancements to Remote Installation Services (RIS) include support for both Windows Server 2003 family and Windows XP product installations, more control over answer file processing for an RIS installation, and access to network files in recovery modes. This feature is not included on computers running the Microsoft® Windows Server® 2003, Web Edition, operating system. For more information, see Overview of Windows Server 2003, Web Edition.