Managing Windows Server 2012 : Managing Server 2012 Remotely - Installing RSAT

RSAT for the Windows 8 client is available from Microsoft’s Download Center. Both 32-bit and 64-bit editions are available.

Before installing RSAT, make sure any older versions of the Administration Tools Pack or RSAT are removed from the client machine, if previously installed.

Download and install the Windows6.2-KB958830-x64.msu file for 64-bit, or Windows6.2-KB958830-x86.msu for 32-bit.

After install, go to the Start screen in the Windows 8 client and open Administrative Tools (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Administrative Tools tile (far upper-right)

Within the Administrative Tools folder are the graphical utilities needed to run Windows Servers, including Active Directory Administrative Center, DNS Manager, DHCP, and Server Manager. (See Figure 2.)

Figure 2. The Administrative Tools folder

In Figure 3, Server Manager is opened on a Windows 8 client joined to the same domain as a Server 2012 system. Click Manage at the top-right corner of the Server Manager menu, then click Add Servers, to bring the servers you want to manage into the console.

You can search for servers via Active Directory, via DNS, or by importing the servers’ information in a file. Figure 4 shows a search for all servers in the domain.

Figure 3. Server Manager running on a Windows 8 client

Figure 4. Server search

Click the arrow to the right of the server listing to add the server(s) into the console.

Once you add a server, all the roles and features installed on the server are displayed in the client’s Server Manager console, just as if you were using Server Manager on the local server.