Jul 04, 2016 PsTools.; 2 minutes to read; In this article. By Mark Russinovich. Published: July 4, 2016. Download PsTools Suite (2.7 MB). The Windows NT and Windows 2000 Resource Kits come with a number of command-line tools that help you administer your Windows NT/2K systems. The Windows Server 2008 Resource kit has tremendous ammounts of detail into how the difference aspects of Windows actually works. This is a great way to study for the MCITP exams when used in conjunction with the Training Kits for each exam. If you really want to get to know Windows Server 2008, this is the product to buy.
Resource Kit is a term used by Microsoft for a set of software resources and documentation released for their software products, but which is not part of that product. Resource kits offer supplementary resources such as technical guidance, compatibility and troubleshooting information, management, support, maintenance and deployment guides and multipurpose useful administrative utilities, which are available separately.
The most common form of the Resource Kits are as a large book or box set of books which come with CD-ROM(s), both of which have been supplemented in some cases such as the Resource Kits for Windows NT Server versions 3.51 and 4.0 and Windows 2000 Server.
The text of the Resource Kit books are also available with versions of the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) CD-ROMs, and a large subset to complete set of the tools included in the kits can be downloaded from the Microsoft web site. The tools can include everything from extra commands for the command line to general interest programmes like 3D Paint to network-related tools to performance monitoring tools to interpreters for programming languages like Perl, Rexx, and others to interoperability tools like Windows versions of some Unix commands and shells.
The Resource Kits, especially in the case of the Windows NT-2000 stream of operating systems, also include third-party software like various versions of Crystal Reports and PowerDesk.
Typically, Microsoft releases resource kits after every major version of Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office or another major product. Resource kits have also been released for Internet Explorer, BackOffice and other software.
Those seeking Windows-Unix interoperability in various forms can also use an unrelated software product, Windows Services For Unix, which contains such items as the InterixC and Korn shells, ActiveState's ActivePerl and many other Posix-compliant tools and additions to the operating system. This package is sometimes confused with being a Resource Kit for Unix. The Microsoft Office resource kits are also relevant to the versions of these office suites for the MacIntosh.
The Resource Kit tools mainly help administrators streamline management tasks such as troubleshooting operating system issues, configuring networking and security features, managing Active Directory and automating application deployment. The resource kits are also geared towards 'power users' and contain other tools such as extra commands for the Windows batch/shell environment, programming aids, database tools, and miscellaneous tools. Interpreters for programming languages such as Perl, Rexx, KiXtart, awk and a version of the Unix Korn shell are available with many of the operating system Resource Kits, including those for both the Windows 95-98 and Windows NT-2000 streams of operating systems.
Windows Resource Kit was introduced with Windows 3.0 in 1991 and has since been released for every Windows version, except for Windows Me, Windows CE and Windows 98 Second Edition. A Resource kit for MS-DOS 6.22 was released in 1992. Resource Kits were also not produced for Microsoft's two non-Windows operating systems, OS/2 (prior to version 3.0) and Xenix mainly because they were not actively promoted after 1991. With the Windows NT-2000 stream of operating systems, separate kits are released for the Workstation (or Professional) and Server versions thereof; the latter's documentation is a box set of four to a dozen or so books in each case whereas a single large book comes with the former as well as for the Windows 3.11, Windows 95 and Windows 98 Resource Kits.
The Windows 95 and Windows 98 Resource Kit documentations and tools were available free of charge and a Resource Kit Sampler was included on the respective Windows installation CD-ROM discs. Resource Kit tools can generally be downloaded from the Microsoft Download Center free of charge[citation needed], while the technical guidance and information is released in the form of Microsoft Press books. The CD-ROM discs accompanying the books, contain electronic versions of the books and include the Resource Kit tools and utilities, some of which may be exclusive.
The Windows NT 4.0 Resource Kits (Workstation and Server) contained a particularly large number of tools and utilities as well as third-party software. The tools included in these kits for command-line use are considered by many Windows NT shell programmers to be essential to getting the full use of the facility.
In the past, Microsoft used to release supplements for some Resource Kits which offered revised and new tools and resources. Microsoft released two supplements for the Windows NT 3.51 Server Resource Kit, four supplements for the Windows NT 4.0 Server Resource Kit and one supplement for the Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit. Some of these utilities (such as robocopy and takeown) later shipped as part of Windows XP and Windows Vista. Others were included in later Resource Kits. Older Resource Kits are no longer available from Microsoft but can in most cases be ordered from booksellers.
The Windows 2000 Resource Kit also contains over 300 utilities.[1] For Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, over 120 tools and utilities have been updated.[2] The Windows disc for Windows 2000, Windows XP and later operating systems also includes a set of tools known as Windows Support Tools. Many of the support tools are also included in the Resource Kit, some being updated versions of past Resource Kit tools. The Microsoft web site has downloads of Windows 2000/XP era tools which are in addition to those in the standard kits or updated version of the ones shipping in the Resource Kits. Windows XP Professional Resource Kit, Third Edition was released after Windows XP Service Pack 2.[3] All of the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools are available for download free of charge.[4]
There have been no native 64-bit resource kit tools produced and existing 32-bit resource kit tools are not supported on x64 platforms.[5] The text of the all of the Resource Kit books is included in the MSDN Library CD/DVD-ROM sets.[6] Full implentations of MSDN contain all of the Resource Kits in text or HTML format as well as some of the others, full documentation for Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, and Back Office as well as all of the operating systems covered.
In 2007, Microsoft released the Windows Vista Resource Kit.[7] In 2008, Windows Server 2008 Resource Kits was released and Windows Vista Resource Kit, Second Edition was updated for Service Pack 1. The Windows Vista Resource Kit ships with several sample VBScripts and few PowerShell scripts. Microsoft has also released Resource Kits for Group Policy, Windows security, Active Directory, Terminal Services and Internet Information Services 7.
Windows 7 Resource Kit was released on September 14, 2009.[8] Microsoft has announced that new unsupported Resource Kit tools will not be provided for current and future operating systems.[9]
The Office Resource Kit and tools are included on the respective Office CD/DVD and/or separately. The tools are also available for download from Microsoft web site.[10]
Microsoft has also released Resource Kits for Internet Explorer, Windows Media, Internet Information Services, Back Office and several server products such as SharePoint and Microsoft Exchange Server.
The PowerShell team has released a Resource Kit PowerShell Pack,[11] a collection of PowerShell modules that adds over 700 scripts to those already present in Windows 7.
Microsoft Press eReference Library: *eBooks of all 7 Resource Kit volumes
This article describes the tools that are available in Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) for Windows.
Original product version: Windows 10, version 1909, Windows 10, version 1903, Windows 10, version 1809. Windows 7 Service Pack 1. Windows Server 2019. Windows Server 2012 R2
Original KB number: 2693643
RSAT enables IT administrators to remotely manage roles and features in Windows Server from a computer that is running Windows 10 and Windows 7 Service Pack 1.
You can't install RSAT on computers that are running Home or Standard editions of Windows. You can install RSAT only on Professional or Enterprise editions of the Windows client operating system. Unless the download page specifically states that RSAT applies to a beta, preview, or other prerelease version of Windows, you must be running a full (RTM) release of the Windows operating system to install and use RSAT. Some users have found ways of manually cracking or hacking the RSAT MSU to install RSAT on unsupported releases or editions of Windows. This behavior is a violation of the Windows end-user license agreement.
Installing RSAT is similar to installing Adminpak.msi in Windows 2000-based or Windows XP-based client computers. However, there's one major difference: in Windows 7, the tools aren't automatically available after you download and install RSAT. Enable the tools that you want to use by using Control Panel. To enable the tools, click Start, click Control Panel, click Programs and Features, and then click Turn Windows features on or off.
In the RSAT releases for Windows 10, tools are again all enabled by default. You can open Turn Windows features on or off to disable tools that you don't want to use for Windows 7.
For RSAT in Windows 7, you must enable the tools for the roles and features that you want to manage after you run the downloaded installation package.
Note
You can't do the following changes for RSAT in Windows 8 or later versions.
If you have to install management tools in Windows Server 2012 R2 for specific roles or features that are running on remote servers, you don't have to install additional software. Start the Add Roles and Features Wizard in Windows Server 2012 R2 and later versions. Then, on the Select Features page, expand Remote Server Administration Tools, and then select the tools that you want to install. Complete the wizard to install your management tools.
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 | AD CS tools include the Certification Authority, Certificate Templates, Enterprise PKI, and Online Responder Management snap-ins. | √ | √ |
Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) tools and Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) tools | AD DS and AD LDS tools include the following tools: - Active Directory Administrative Center - Active Directory Domains and Trusts - Active Directory Sites and Services - Active Directory Users and Computers - ADSI Edit - Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell - Tools such as
| √ | |
Best Practices Analyzer | Best Practices Analyzer cmdlets for Windows PowerShell | √ | √ |
BitLocker Drive Encryption Administration Utilities | Manage-bde , Windows PowerShell cmdlets for BitLocker, BitLocker Recovery Password Viewer for Active Directory | √ | √ |
DHCP Server tools | DHCP Server tools include the DHCP Management Console, the DHCP Server cmdlet module for Windows PowerShell, and the Netsh command-line tool. | √ | √ |
DirectAccess, Routing, and Remote Access | - Routing and Remote Access management console - Connection Manager Administration Kit console - Remote Access provider for Windows PowerShell - Web Application Proxy | √ | √ |
DNS Server tools | DNS Server tools include the DNS Manager snap-in, the DNS module for Windows PowerShell, and the Ddnscmd.exe command-line tool. | √ | √ |
Failover Clustering tools | Failover Clustering tools include Failover Cluster Manager, Failover Clusters (Windows PowerShell cmdlets), MSClus, Cluster.exe, Cluster-Aware Updating management console, Cluster-Aware Updating cmdlets for Windows PowerShell | √ | √ GUI tools support Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview and Windows Server 2012 R2. Only PowerShell tools work in Windows Server 2012. |
File Services tools | File Services tools include the following tools: - Share and Storage Management tools - Distributed File System tools
- File Server Resource Manager tools
- Services for NFS Administration tools - iSCSI management cmdlets for Windows PowerShell - Work Folders Management tools | √ | √ 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 | Group Policy Management tools include Group Policy Management Console, Group Policy Management Editor, and Group Policy Starter GPO Editor. | √ | √ Group Policy has some new features in Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview that aren't available on older operating systems. |
Hyper-V tools | Hyper-V tools include the Hyper-V Manager snap-in and the Virtual Machine Connection remote access tool. | 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 | IP Address Management client console | √ 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 | NIC Teaming management console | √ | √ |
Network Controller | Network Controller PowerShell module | Not available | √ |
Network Load Balancing tools | Network Load Balancing tools include the Network Load Balancing Manager, Network Load Balancing Windows PowerShell cmdlets, and the NLB.exe and WLBS.exe command-line tools. | √ | √ |
Remote Desktop Services tools | Remote Desktop Services tools include: - Remote Desktop snap-ins - RD Gateway Manager - tsgateway.msc - RD Licensing Manager - licmgr.exe - RD Licensing Diagnoser - lsdiag.msc Use Server Manager to administer all other RDS role services except RD Gateway and RD Licensing. | √ | √ |
Server for NIS tools | Server for NIS tools include an extension to the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in, and the Ypclear.exe command-line tool | These tools aren't available in RSAT for Windows 10 and later releases. | |
Server Manager | Server Manager includes the Server Manager console. Remote management with Server Manager is available in Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview, Windows Server 2012 R2, and Windows Server 2012. | √ | √ |
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) Server tools | SMTP Server tools include the SMTP snap-in. | These tools aren't available in RSAT for Windows 8 and later releases. | |
Storage Explorer tools | Storage Explorer tools include the Storage Explorer snap-in. | These tools aren't available in RSAT for Windows 8 and later releases. | |
Storage Manager for Storage Area Network (SAN) tools | Storage Manager for SAN tools include the Storage Manager for SAN snap-in and the Provisionstorage.exe command-line tool. | These tools aren't available in RSAT for Windows 8 and later releases. | |
Volume Activation | Manage Volume Activation, vmw.exe | √ | √ |
Windows System Resource Manager tools | Windows System Resource Manager tools include the Windows System Resource Manager snap-in and the Wsrmc.exe command-line tool. | √ 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 | Windows Server Update Services tools include the Windows Server Update Services snap-in, WSUS.msc, and PowerShell cmdlets. | √ | √ |