Remote Server Administration Tools Overview

Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2

To ease remote server management, Microsoft has included a remote administration tools pack with Windows Server® 2008 R2.

You can install the Remote Server Administration Tools pack on computers running the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system, and use the Remote Server Administration Tools pack to manage computers running either Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, or for some tools, Windows Server 2003.

What is the Remote Server Administration Tools pack?

The Remote Server Administration Tools pack is a feature available with Windows Server 2008 R2 that enables remote management of Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2003 from a computer running Windows Server 2008 R2, by allowing you to open and run management tools and snap-ins to manage roles, role services, or features on a remote computer.

As with other management tools included with Windows Server 2008 R2, Remote Server Administration Tools are secure by default. The default Remote Server Administration Tools configuration opens only those ports and enables only those services required for remote management to work.

For more information about roles, role services, and features in Windows Server 2008 R2, see the topic "Roles, Role Services, and Features" in the Server Manager Help.

Roles and features you can manage with Remote Server Administration Tools

Management tools for the following roles and features are available in Windows Server 2008 R2.

Remote Server Administration Tools for roles

Note

This list of roles may have been updated since this content was published. To check for updates, see the Windows Server 2008 R2 TechCenter (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=122006).

Remote Server Administration Tools role Description

Active Directory Certificate Services Tools

Active Directory Certificate Services Tools includes the Certification Authority, Certificate Templates, Enterprise PKI, and Online Responder Management snap-ins.

Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) and Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) Tools

Active Directory Domain Services includes Active Directory Users and Computers, Active Directory Domains and Trusts, Active Directory Sites and Services, Active Directory Administrative Center, Server for NIS tools, the Active Directory Windows PowerShell provider and cmdlets, and other snap-ins and command-line tools for remotely managing Active Directory Domain Services.

Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services Tools includes Active Directory Sites and Services, ADSI Edit, Schema Manager, and other snap-ins and command-line tools for managing Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services.

Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS) Tools

Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS) Tools includes the Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS) snap-in.

DHCP Server Tools

DHCP Server Tools includes the DHCP snap-in.

DNS Server Tools

DNS Server Tools includes the DNS Manager snap-in and dnscmd.exe command-line tool.

Fax Server Tools

Fax Server Tools includes the Fax Service Manager snap-in.

File Services Tools

File Services Tools include the following:

  • Distributed File System Tools includes the DFS Management snap-in, and the dfsradmin.exe, dfsrdiag.exe, dfscmd.exe, dfsdiag.exe, and dfsutil.exe command-line tools.

  • File Server Resource Manager Tools includes the File Server Resource Manager snap-in, and the filescrn.exe and storrept.exe command-line tools.

  • Services for Network File System Tools includes the Network File System snap-in, and the nfsadmin.exe, showmount.exe, and rpcinfo.exe command-line tools.

Hyper-V™ Tools

Hyper-V Tools includes the Hyper-V Manager snap-in and other tools for managing Hyper-V.

Network Policy and Access Services Tools

Network Policy and Access Services Tools includes the Routing and Remote Access and Health Registration Authority snap-ins.

Print and Document Services Tools

Print and Document Services Tools includes the Print Management snap-in.

Remote Desktop Services Tools

Remote Desktop Services Tools includes the RemoteApp Manager, RD Gateway Manager, and RD Licensing Manager snap-ins.

  • RD Connection Broker Tools includes the RemoteApp and Desktop Connection Manager snap-ins.

Web Server (IIS) Tools

Web Server (IIS) Tools includes the Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 Manager and IIS Manager snap-ins.

Windows Deployment Services Tools

Windows Deployment Services Tools includes the Windows Deployment Services snap-in, wdsutil.exe command-line tool, and Remote Install extension for the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in.

Remote Server Administration Tools for features

Note

This list of features may have been updated since this content was published. To check for updates, see the Windows Server 2008 R2 TechCenter (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=122006).

Remote Server Administration Tools feature Description

BitLocker Drive Encryption Administration Utilities

BitLocker Drive Encryption Administration Utilities includes the manage-bde.wsf script, and the BitLocker Active Directory Recovery Password Viewer.

BITS Server Extensions Tools

BITS Server Extensions Tools includes the Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 Manager and IIS Manager snap-ins.

Failover Clustering Tools

Failover Clustering Tools includes the Failover Cluster Manager snap-in and the cluster.exe command-line tool.

Network Load Balancing Tools

Network Load Balancing Tools includes the Network Load Balancing Manager snap-in, and the nlb.exe and wlbs.exe command-line tools.

SMTP Server Tools

SMTP Server Tools includes the Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 Manager snap-in.

WINS Server Tools

Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) Server Tools includes the WINS snap-in.

Installing Remote Server Administration Tools

Note

You must either be a member of the Administrators group on the server on which you want to install the Remote Server Administration Tools pack, or you must be logged on to the computer using the built-in Administrator account. Additionally, if you are installing Remote Server Administration Tools by using the command-line interface, you must open the Command Prompt window with elevated privileges.

You can install Remote Server Administration Tools in one of the following ways.

  • Add Features Wizard. Commands that open the Add Features Wizard are found in three locations.

    • Server Manager. Server Manager opens by default when the Initial Configuration Tasks window is closed, or you can open it by clicking Server Manager on the Administrative Tools menu.

    • Initial Configuration Tasks. The Initial Configuration Tasks window opens by default after starting a computer running Windows Server 2008.

    • Control Panel. Open Control Panel, open Programs and Features, and then click Turn Windows features on or off. A command in the Server Manager home page opens the Add Features Wizard.

  • Windows PowerShell. To install Remote Server Administration Tools by using Windows PowerShell, see the topic see the topic "Installing the Remote Server Administration Tools pack" in the Remote Server Administration Tools help. The Windows PowerShell cmdlet set for Server Manager can be used either to install or remove Remote Server Administration Tools.

  • Server Manager command line. To install Remote Server Administration Tools by using the Server Manager command line, see the topic "Installing the Remote Server Administration Tools pack" in the Remote Server Administration Tools help. Because of security restrictions imposed by User Account Control, you must open the Command Prompt with elevated privileges by right-clicking the Command Prompt executable, or the Command Prompt object on the Start menu, and then clicking Run as administrator.

Note

When you install tools for specific roles, role services, and features within Remote Server Administration Tools, you install only a set of snap-ins and tools for remote management of those roles, role services, and features installed on other computers. Installing Remote Server Administration Tools does not install any roles or features on the local computer.

Managing with Remote Server Administration Tools

To manage roles, role services, or features on remote computers by using Remote Server Administration Tools, you must specify in the snap-in or management tool the name of the computer on which the role, role service, or feature that you want to manage is installed. Typically, in a snap-in, you can specify the remote computer by clicking the Connect to another computer command in the Actions pane, or on the Action menu.

For More Information

To learn more about Remote Server Administration Tools, you can view the Help on your server. To do this, search for and then double-click RSAT.chm to open it. RSAT.chm is typically stored in %windir%\Help\mui\0409.

For more information about Remote Server Administration Tools and managing roles, role services, and features by using their remote administration tools, see the Windows Server 2008 R2 TechCenter (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=122006).