Share via

Installing or Removing the Remote Server Administration Tools Pack

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2

The Remote Server Administration Tools pack is a feature that is included with Windows Server® 2008 R2. You can install the Remote Server Administration Tools pack by using either the Add Features Wizard in Windows Server 2008 R2, or by using a command line to install the feature. The Remote Server Administration Tools pack is not available on Itanium-Based operating systems.

Prerequisites for installing the Remote Server Administration Tools pack

You can install the Remote Server Administration Tools pack on a computer that is running any Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system, except Itanium-Based operating systems and the Server Core installation option of the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system.

You should only install Remote Server Administration Tools to perform administrative tasks on computers that are running either Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2. Some tools might also work on roles or features that are running on Windows Server 2003.

You must be either 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 by using the built-in Administrator account.

In this topic

How to install the Remote Server Administration Tools pack

How to remove the Remote Server Administration Tools pack

How to install the Remote Server Administration Tools pack

You can install the Remote Server Administration Tools pack on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 R2 either by using the Windows user interface, Windows PowerShell, or the command line.

Using the Windows user interface

Using Windows PowerShell cmdlets

Using the command line

Using the Windows user interface

This procedure describes how to install Remote Server Administration Tools by using Server Manager.

To install the Remote Server Administration Tool pack by using the Windows user interface

  1. Open the Add Features Wizard by doing one of the following.

    • In the Initial Configuration Tasks window, in the Customize This Server area, click Add features.

    • Open Server Manager by clicking Start, pointing to Administrative Tools, and then clicking Server Manager. In the Features section of the Server Manager home page, click Add features.

Note

You can also open Server Manager by clicking the Server Manager button on the Quick Launch tool, or by typing servermanager into a Command Prompt window, and then pressing ENTER. 

  - Open Control Panel. Double-click **Programs and Features**. In the **Tasks** list, click **Turn Windows features on or off**. When the Server Manager console opens, click **Add features** in the **Features** section of the home page.

  1. On the Select Features page of the Add Features Wizard, select Remote Server Administration Tools.

  2. Open Role Administration Tools or Feature Administration Tools, depending on the technologies that you want to manage remotely. Select roles, role services, or features that are installed on other computers and that you want to manage from the current computer. Click Next.

Note

Installing Remote Server Administration Tools does not install any roles, role services, or features on a computer. For each role, role service, or feature that you select within Remote Server Administration Tools, you are installing only management tools and snap-ins that allow you to perform administration tasks for specified roles, role services, or features installed on other computers.

  1. On the Confirm Installation Options page, click Install.

  2. When installation is complete, exit the wizard.

Using Windows PowerShell cmdlets

This procedure describes how to use the Add-WindowsFeature cmdlet to install Remote Server Administration Tools on your computer.

To install Remote Server Administration Tools by using Windows PowerShell

  1. Open a Windows PowerShell session with elevated user rights. To do this, click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, click Windows PowerShell, right-click the Windows PowerShell shortcut, and then click Run as administrator.

  2. Import the Server Manager module into the Windows PowerShell session before working with Server Manager cmdlets. Type the following, and then press Enter.

    Import-Module Servermanager

Note

Windows PowerShell cmdlets are not case-sensitive.

  1. If you do not know the command name of the remote management tool that you want to install, type the following, and then press Enter to return a list of all command names in the Name column. The command name is required for the next step.

    Get-WindowsFeature

    You can install remote administration tools for all roles or all features in a single command instance by choosing one of the container identifiers shown in the following list.

    • RSAT for installing or removing all available Remote Server Administration Tools.

    • RSAT-Role-Tools for installing or removing all available remote role administration tools.

    • RSAT-Feature-Tools for installing or removing all available remote feature administration tools.

  2. Type the following, in which name represents the command name of the remote administration tool that was obtained in the previous step, and then press Enter to install the remote administration tool.

    Add-WindowsFeaturename

    You can install multiple tools by using commas to separate the command names, as shown in the following example.

    Add-WindowsFeature RSAT-RDS,RSAT-Web-Server,RSAT-BitLocker

  3. When installation is complete, verify that your selected remote administration tools installed by running the Get-WindowsFeature cmdlet as shown in step 3.

Using the command line

Note

Because of security restrictions imposed by User Account Control in Windows Server 2008 R2, to complete the following procedure, you must run a Command Prompt window with elevated user rights. To do this, click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.

Before you begin to install Remote Server Administration Tools by using the command line, we strongly recommend that you read the topic "Overview of Server Manager Commands" in the Server Manager Help.

This procedure shows how to install one set of tools contained within a single command identifier. If you want to install remote administration tools for multiple roles or features, you can do this in one of the following two ways.

  • You can install remote administration tools for all roles or all features in a single command instance by choosing one of the container identifiers shown in the following list.

    • RSAT for installing or removing all available Remote Server Administration Tools.

    • RSAT-Role-Tools for installing or removing all available remote role administration tools.

    • RSAT-Feature-Tools for installing or removing all available remote feature administration tools.

  • You can install or remove multiple remote administration tools by creating an answer file for the command that you use. For more information about how to create an answer file, see "Creating an Answer File for Server Manager Commands" in the Server Manager Help.

To install Remote Server Administration Tools by using a command line

  1. Open a Command Prompt window with elevated user rights by right-clicking the Command Prompt executable, or the Command Prompt object on the Start menu, and then clicking Run as administrator.

  2. At the prompt, type the following, where command Id represents the identifier (found in the previous table) for the tools that you want to install, and then press ENTER.

    ServerManagerCmd.exe -install <command Id>

Note

Command Prompt commands are not case-sensitive.
You can obtain a complete list of command identifiers by entering ServerManagerCmd.exe –query in a Command Prompt window opened with elevated user rights. Other parameters are available for the ServerManagerCmd.exe command, such as -restartthat automatically restarts the computer after installation if it is required by the administration tools that you have installed. We recommend that you read about additional Server Manager command line parameters in the topic "Overview of Server Manager Commands" in the Server Manager Help.

  1. When installation is complete, the command prompt displays an exit code of 0, together with a message that confirms a successful installation.

  2. If the installation failed or other messages are displayed, refer to "Interpreting Output from Server Manager Commands" in the Server Manager Help to identify and resolve any problems.

How to remove the Remote Server Administration Tools pack

You can remove Remote Server Administration Tools from a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 R2 either by using the Windows user interface, Windows PowerShell, or the command line.

Using the Windows user interface

Using Windows PowerShell cmdlets

Using the command line

Using the Windows user interface

This procedure describes how to remove tools within Remote Server Administration Tools by using Server Manager.

To remove Remote Server Administration Tools by using Windows

  1. Open the Remove Features Wizard by doing one of the following.

    • In the Initial Configuration Tasks window, in the Customize This Server area, click Remove features.

    • Open Server Manager by clicking Start, pointing to Administrative Tools, and then clicking Server Manager. In the Features section of the Server Manager home page, click Remove features.

Note

You can also open Server Manager by clicking the Server Manager button on the Quick Launch bar, or by typing servermanager into a Command Prompt window, and then pressing ENTER. 

  - Open Control Panel. Double-click **Programs and Features**. In the **Tasks** list, click **Turn Windows features on or off**. When the Server Manager console opens, click **Remove features** in the **Features** section of the home page.

  1. On the Select Features page of the Remove Features Wizard, select Remote Server Administration Tools Pack.

  2. Select remote administration tools that you want to remove from the local computer. Click Next.

Note

Removing Remote Server Administration Tools does not remove any roles, role services, or features from a computer. For each role, role service, or feature that you select within Remote Server Administration Tools, you are removing only management tools and snap-ins that allow you to perform administration tasks for specified roles, role services, or features installed on other computers.

  1. On the Confirm Removal Options page, click Remove.

  2. When removal is complete, exit the wizard.

Using Windows PowerShell cmdlets

This procedure describes how to use the Remove-WindowsFeature cmdlet to remove Remote Server Administration Tools from your computer.

To remove Remote Server Administration Tools by using Windows PowerShell

  1. Open a Windows PowerShell session with elevated user rights. To do this, click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, click Windows PowerShell, right-click the Windows PowerShell shortcut, and then click Run as administrator.

  2. Import the Server Manager module into the Windows PowerShell session before working with Server Manager cmdlets. Type the following, and then press Enter.

    Import-Module Servermanager

Note

Windows PowerShell cmdlets are not case-sensitive.

  1. If you do not know the command name of the remote management tool that you want to remove, type the following, and then press Enter to return a list of all command names in the Name column. The command name is required for the next step.

    Get-WindowsFeature

    You can remove remote administration tools for all roles or all features in a single command instance by choosing one of the container identifiers shown in the following list.

    • RSAT for removing all installed Remote Server Administration Tools.

    • RSAT-Role-Tools for removing all installed remote role administration tools.

    • RSAT-Feature-Tools for removing all installed remote feature administration tools.

  2. Type the following, in which name represents the command name of the remote administration tool that was obtained in the previous step, and then press Enter to remove the remote administration tool.

    Remove-WindowsFeaturename

    You can remove multiple tools by using commas to separate the command names, as shown in the following example.

    Remove-WindowsFeature RSAT-RDS,RSAT-Web-Server,RSAT-BitLocker

  3. When removal is complete, verify that your selected remote administration tools were removed by running the Get-WindowsFeature cmdlet as shown in step 3.

Using the command line

Note

Because of security restrictions imposed by User Account Control in Windows Server 2008 R2, to complete the following procedure, you must run a Command Prompt window with elevated user rights.

Before you start to remove Remote Server Administration Tools by using the command line, we strongly recommend that you read the topic "Overview of Server Manager Commands" in the Server Manager Help.

This procedure shows how to remove one set of tools contained in a single command identifier. If you want to remove remote administration tools for multiple roles or features, you can do this in one of the following two ways.

  • You can remove remote administration tools for all roles or all features in a single command instance by choosing one of the container identifiers shown in the following list.

    • RSAT for removing all installed Remote Server Administration Tools.

    • RSAT-Role-Tools for removing all installed remote role administration tools.

    • RSAT-Feature-Tools for removing all installed remote feature administration tools.

  • You can remove multiple remote administration tools by creating an answer file for the command that you use. For more information about creating an answer file, see "Creating an Answer File for Server Manager Commands" in the Server Manager Help.

To remove Remote Server Administration Tools by using a command line

  1. Open a Command Prompt window with elevated user rights by right-clicking the Command Prompt executable, or the Command Prompt object on the Start menu, and then clicking Run as administrator.

  2. At the prompt, type the following, where command Id represents the identifier (found in the previous table) for the tools that you want to remove, and then press ENTER.

    ServerManagerCmd.exe -remove <command Id>

Note

You can obtain a complete list of command identifiers by entering ServerManagerCmd.exe –query in a Command Prompt window opened with elevated user rights. Other parameters are available for this command, such as -restart, which automatically restarts the computer after removal if it is required by remaining programs on the computer. We recommend that you read about additional Server Manager command line parameters in the topic "Overview of Server Manager Commands" in the Server Manager Help.

  1. When removal is complete, the command prompt displays an exit code of 0, together with a message that confirms a successful removal.

  2. If the removal failed or other messages are displayed, refer to "Interpreting Output from Server Manager Commands" in the Server Manager Help to identify and resolve any problems.

See Also

Concepts

Remote Server Administration Tools Pack