Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) empower IT administrators to manage Windows Server roles and features remotely from a computer running Windows 11. This functionality streamlines server management, enhancing efficiency and accessibility for administrators.
RSAT cannot be installed on Home or Standard editions of Windows. It is exclusively compatible with Professional or Enterprise editions of the Windows client operating system. It’s crucial to use a full (RTM) release of Windows for RSAT installation, unless explicitly stated otherwise on the download page for beta, preview, or prerelease versions. Attempts to manually install RSAT on unsupported Windows versions violate the Windows end-user license agreement.
Historically, installing RSAT was similar to using Adminpak.msi in older Windows versions. However, a key difference existed in Windows 7: tools were not automatically enabled post-installation. Users had to manually enable desired tools via the Control Panel under “Turn Windows features on or off”.
In Windows 7, after installing RSAT, administrators needed to enable specific tools for the server roles and features they intended to manage through the “Turn Windows features on or off” setting.
For Windows Server 2012 R2 and later, installing management tools for remote server roles and features is integrated directly into the operating system. The Add Roles and Features Wizard allows administrators to select and install Remote Server Administration Tools directly from the “Select Features” page.
RSAT Availability for Windows 10 and Windows 11
| Remote Server Administration Tools Technology | Description | Manages technology in Windows Server 2012 R2 | Manages technology in Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview and Windows Server 2012 R2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) tools | Includes Certification Authority, Certificate Templates, Enterprise PKI, and Online Responder Management snap-ins for AD CS management. | √ | √ |
| Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) tools and Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) tools | Features Active Directory Administrative Center, Domains and Trusts, Sites and Services, Users and Computers, ADSI Edit, PowerShell module, and command-line tools like DCPromo.exe, and NetDom.exe for AD management. | √ | √ |
| Best Practices Analyzer | Provides Best Practices Analyzer cmdlets for Windows PowerShell to evaluate server configurations. | √ | √ |
| BitLocker Drive Encryption Administration Utilities | Tools include Manage-bde, PowerShell cmdlets, and BitLocker Recovery Password Viewer for Active Directory for BitLocker administration. |
√ | √ |
| DHCP Server tools | Offers DHCP Management Console, PowerShell cmdlet module, and the Netsh command-line tool for DHCP server management. |
√ | √ |
| DirectAccess, Routing, and Remote Access | Includes Routing and Remote Access management console, Connection Manager Administration Kit console, Remote Access provider for PowerShell, and Web Application Proxy for remote access management. | √ | √ |
| DNS Server tools | Features DNS Manager snap-in, DNS module for PowerShell, and Ddnscmd.exe command-line tool for DNS server administration. |
√ | √ |
| Failover Clustering tools | Comprises Failover Cluster Manager, Failover Clusters PowerShell cmdlets, MSClus, Cluster.exe, Cluster-Aware Updating management console and cmdlets for managing failover clusters. | √ | √GUI tools support Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview and Windows Server 2012 R2. Only PowerShell tools work in Windows Server 2012. |
| File Services tools | Includes Share and Storage Management tools, Distributed File System tools (DFS Management snap-in, Dfsradmin.exe, etc.), File Server Resource Manager tools (snap-in, Dirquota.exe, etc.), Services for NFS Administration tools, iSCSI management cmdlets, and Work Folders Management tools for file server management. |
√ | √The Share and Storage Management snap-in is deprecated after the release of Windows Server 2016. Storage Replica is new in Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview, and won’t work in Windows Server 2012 R2. |
| Group Policy Management tools | Provides Group Policy Management Console, Group Policy Management Editor, and Group Policy Starter GPO Editor for Group Policy administration. | √ | √Group Policy has some new features in Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview that aren’t available on older operating systems. |
| Hyper-V tools | Offers Hyper-V Manager snap-in and Virtual Machine Connection remote access tool for Hyper-V environment management. | Hyper-V tools aren’t part of Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 10. These tools are available as part of Windows 10. You don’t have to install RSAT to use the tools. The Hyper-V Manager console for Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview doesn’t support managing Hyper-V servers running Server 2008 or Server 2008 R2. | Hyper-V in Windows 10 can manage Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012 R2. |
| IP Address Management (IPAM) Management tools | Features IP Address Management client console for IPAM server management. | √ IPAM tools in Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 10 can’t be used to manage IPAM running in Windows Server 2012 R2. | √ IPAM tools in Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 10 can’t be used to manage IPAM running in Windows Server 2012 R2. |
| Network Adapter Teaming, or NIC Teaming | Includes NIC Teaming management console for managing network interface card teaming. | √ | √ |
| Network Controller | Provides Network Controller PowerShell module for network infrastructure management. | Not available | √ |
| Network Load Balancing tools | Features Network Load Balancing Manager, PowerShell cmdlets, and command-line tools (NLB.exe, WLBS.exe) for network load balancing administration. |
√ | √ |
| Remote Desktop Services tools | Offers Remote Desktop snap-ins, RD Gateway Manager (tsgateway.msc), RD Licensing Manager (licmgr.exe), and RD Licensing Diagnoser (lsdiag.msc) for RDS management. |
√ | √ |
| Server for NIS tools | Includes an extension to Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in, and Ypclear.exe command-line tool for Server for NIS administration. |
These tools aren’t available in RSAT for Windows 10 and later releases. | |
| Server Manager | Features the Server Manager console for comprehensive server management tasks. | √ | √ |
| Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) Server tools | Provides the SMTP snap-in for managing SMTP servers. | These tools aren’t available in RSAT for Windows 8 and later releases. | |
| Storage Explorer tools | Includes the Storage Explorer snap-in for storage management. | These tools aren’t available in RSAT for Windows 8 and later releases. | |
| Storage Manager for Storage Area Network (SAN) tools | Features Storage Manager for SAN snap-in and Provisionstorage.exe command-line tool for SAN management. |
These tools aren’t available in RSAT for Windows 8 and later releases. | |
| Volume Activation | Provides tools to manage Volume Activation, including vmw.exe. |
√ | √ |
| Windows System Resource Manager tools | Offers Windows System Resource Manager snap-in and Wsrmc.exe command-line tool for system resource management. |
√ WSRM has been deprecated in Windows Server 2012 R2. Tools for managing WSRM aren’t available in RSAT for Windows 8.1 and later releases of RSAT. | |
| Windows Server Update Services tools | Includes Windows Server Update Services snap-in, WSUS.msc, and PowerShell cmdlets for WSUS management. | √ | √ |
Installing RSAT on Windows 11 (Version 1809 and Later)
For Windows 11, specifically version 1809 and later, the installation process for RSAT has been streamlined. RSAT is now integrated as part of the operating system itself and is added through Optional Features, eliminating the need for separate downloads.
To install RSAT on Windows 11:
- Navigate to Start > Settings > Apps (or System in Windows 11 version 22H2 and later).
- Select Optional features.
- Click Add a feature.
- Search for “Remote Server Administration Tools” or simply “Remote”.
- Select and install the desired RSAT tools.
By following these steps, administrators can easily equip their Windows 11 machines with the necessary tools for effective remote server administration, ensuring seamless management of their Windows Server infrastructure.
References
Original Microsoft Documentation on Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) (Example Reference – Replace with actual source if available)
