What is tools tab in Server Manager?
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Updated on October 20, 2022 Show Managing your server has never been easier on Windows thanks to Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT). If you’re operating on Windows 10 or 11, RSAT is already part of your system. This guide will discuss what packages you will find in RSAT, and how you can enable them. RSAT is a set of Windows packages available for server management. It was originally released by Microsoft for Windows Vista SP1 users. Prior to RSAT, If you wanted to manage Windows servers with your client, you were able to with some hacks. But all in all it was a very painful process and a lot of administrators had to run a virtual machine or have a second box to do server administrative tasks. Below is an overview of the RSAT packages. You can find a complete list and details on Microsoft’s website.
RSAT has two main types of packages: tools for roles and tools for features. Tools for roles allows you to manage access to your server. It includes features like the Active Directory Certificate Services Tools, which incorporates the Certification Authority snap-in, the Certificate Templates snap-in, the Enterprise PKI snap-in, and the Online Responder Management snap-in. The Active Directory Certification Authority Tools, NIS Server tools, DHCP Server Tools, DNS Server Tools, and File service tools are all tools for roles. Tools for features allows you to control the other features on your server that don’t clearly fall into the “roles” category. This includes BitLocker Drive Encryption Tools, Failover Clustering Tools, Group Policy Management Tools, Network Load Balancing Tools, Server Tools, Storage Manager for SANs Tools, and Windows System Resource Manager Tools. Gone are the days of having to download and install RSAT onto your system. If you’re operating on Windows 10 or 11, RSAT is already available, and you can install it by navigating to “Settings” and “Apps & Features.” Just follow these instructions:
If you need a deeper dive into server management, check out this course from Pluralsight: Windows server administration tools allow network administrators to effectively manage features and roles from a computer running a supported version of Windows. These tools are provided in a Windows Server component called Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT). To take advantage of these tools, I’ll cover in this guide what they are, how to install them, and discuss how to get started using them more effectively with the support of a Windows server monitoring tool like my pick SolarWinds® Server & Application Monitor.
RSAT was initially introduced with Windows 2008 R2 and it includes the following tools to help network admins:
RSAT is supported for computers running:
This guide will review the benefits of using the above Windows server admin tools and how to install and use RSAT if you have a compatible operating system. These Windows server admin tools provide many benefits to both IT teams and companies as a whole: Network Administrator BenefitsUsing Windows server tools offers network admins several benefits. With remote administration, you have flexibility in managing and monitoring the network. You can update user privileges, reset passwords, and more from any location. You don’t need to be in a specific place to perform maintenance or updates. Another part of this flexibility is being able to use any device, as long as it can connect to the internet. This could be a desktop PC, but it could also be a tablet, a laptop, or a smartphone. You’ll be able to manage devices on the network no matter where they are. This allows you to work with a distributed team without reducing the quality of service. Additionally, you’ll often respond more quickly when you can address issues remotely. You won’t lose time from traveling to a specific location or waiting for a computer to be available. By saving time in this way, you can also focus more on maintenance and proactive measures to improve network operations all around. Business BenefitsWhen IT teams provide faster and more effective service, this benefits the business. End users have less downtime when they don’t need to wait as long for someone to troubleshoot and resolve their problem. This allows them to work more efficiently. Companies can also have employees in multiple locations without needing an IT team at each site. Additionally, since remote access improves response time overall, a smaller IT team can still handle all of the business networking needs. Once you’ve decided to use Windows server admin tools, it’s time to install. The Windows server administration tools pack can only be installed on Enterprise or Professional versions of Windows. It’s not available for use with Home or Standard versions. The installation instructions depend on which version of Windows you have. Starting with the release of Windows 10 v1809, RSAT needs to be installed as part of the “Features on Demand.” Prior versions required downloading the tools and then installing them. Installing RSAT for Windows 10 v1809 Or LaterFor the latest versions of Windows, installing RSAT through the “Features on Demand” is easy to do directly from the user interface.
Once you’ve selected the Install option, you can view the progress on the Manage Optional Features page. After installation is complete, you can begin using the tools. Microsoft also provides instructions to install using the command line if you prefer. Installing RSAT for Versions Before Windows 10 v1809For earlier versions of Windows 10, or earlier Windows versions, you’ll need to download RSAT from the Microsoft website. The Microsoft RSAT page has download links for the following versions:
There are five steps once you’ve completed the download:
After you’ve enabled the appropriate remote access tools, you can begin using them. If you install the RSAT tools, you’ll have a lot of functionality available for network administration. This includes:
To get the most out of your Windows server and RSAT functionality, though, it’s also important to have a tool to monitor the Windows server. This will give insight into the performance and health of server resources, services, applications running on the server, and hardware. To help get this most out of your Windows Server, using a product like SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor (SAM) can provide you with performance insights and capabilities beyond what’s possible with RSAT alone.  SAM is designed to track server metrics, identify any capacity issues with the server resources, and pinpoints processes or services impacting performance with comprehensive Windows monitoring tools. When you add a monitoring solution to RSAT tools, you’ll be able to troubleshoot problems even faster and quickly address issues to get end users back to optimal performance. Using Windows server admin tools to provide remote administration can help IT pros and overall business function. These tools are easy to install, and once available, they provide greater flexibility in network management, improve resolution times, and support a diversified workforce. The benefits can be even greater when you add a software to monitor server performance to support overall improved performance and help reduce downtimes, which makes for happier employees and better business. But don’t take my word for it—you can try a fully functional trial of SolarWinds SAM free for 30 days, so you can experience firsthand if Server & Application Monitor can help you more easily detect and troubleshoot performance issues faster. What tools are included in RSAT?Remote Server Administration Tools includes Server Manager, Microsoft Management Console (mmc) snap-ins, consoles, Windows PowerShell cmdlets and providers, and some command-line tools for managing roles and features that run on Windows Server.
How do I access RSAT tools?RSAT is now part of the Operating System an can be installed via Optional Features. To enable the tools, click Start, click Settings, click Apps, and then click Optional features, after that click on the panel Add a feature and enter Remote in the search bar.
What are administrative tools used for?Administrative Tools is a folder in the Windows 10 Control Panel. These folders contain tools for system administrators and advanced users.
How do I open remote admin tools?Setting Up RSAT. Open the Start menu, and search for Settings.. Once within Settings, go to Apps.. Click Manage Optional Features.. Click Add a feature.. Scroll down to the RSAT features you would like installed.. Click to install the selected RSAT feature.. |
