How to install RSAT in Windows 10

RSAT refers to the ‘Remote Server Ad­min­is­tra­tion Tools’ provided by Windows. Ad­min­is­trat­ors use these tools to remotely access Windows servers to perform a variety of ad­min­is­trat­ive tasks, such as in­stalling software or editing roles and functions.

What are RSAT tools in Windows 10?

Remote Server Ad­min­is­tra­tion Tools (RSAT) are Windows server com­pon­ents for clients. They allow admins to remotely control and manage Windows servers and computers. RSAT tools are only available in the Business and En­ter­prise versions of Windows 10. The Home, Standard and Education editions are not able to install or enable RSAT. RSAT tools can also only be installed on Windows Server 2019 and Windows Server 2022. RSAT tools have been an optional feature on Windows operating systems since October 2018 and they only require ac­tiv­a­tion. An update is required for older Windows 10 versions.

The RSAT software gives users with ad­min­is­trat­or rights access to a wide range of features for routine remote ad­min­is­tra­tion tasks. The software is con­trolled and managed using the command prompt or the GUI (graphical user interface). RSAT ad­min­is­tra­tion tasks include:

• Perform updates
• Install, uninstall, or edit software and programs
• Assign or change roles
• Run services and functions using remote desktop
• Manage Windows-based networks using Active Directory
• Manage user accounts and group policies
• Configure and monitor servers, systems, and ap­plic­a­tions
• Control and manage DNS, VPN, and file servers

How to enable RSAT for Windows 10

If you are using a supported Business or En­ter­prise version on Windows 10, you don’t need to download RSAT software. Windows remote tools have become an in­teg­rated part of the operating system. Simply go to the Windows optional features and activate the com­pon­ents.

Follow our step-by-step in­struc­tions to do this:

How to install RSAT on Windows 10 with GUI

The easiest way to activate RSAT tools is with the graphical user interface of Windows 10. RSAT is one of the ‘Features on Demand’ on Windows 10, so it can be activated quickly.

1. Open the Windows settings using the shortcut [Windows] + [i] or enter Settings in the Windows search line.
2. Go to Apps under Settings.
3. Select Optional features under Apps.
4. Click on Add features and Show features.
5. The available Windows features are listed here.
6. Type RSAT or Remote into the search line to find the RSAT features.
7. The available RSAT tools are listed here.
8. Activate the desired tool by ticking the box and clicking Next.

How to uninstall RSAT on Windows 10

To remove the RSAT features, go to Optional features under Apps and select the RSAT tools you want to uninstall under Installed features. However, before un­in­stalling, check whether an RSAT tool depends on another installed RSAT tool. Minor tools may encounter problems if you uninstall an as­so­ci­ated primary tool.

How to use RSAT tools on Windows 10

It is not possible to manage the local client computer with RSAT tools. You must add one or more remote servers for the tool. Your remote servers are managed in the Server Manager server pool. Check out the official Windows Learn guide for in­struc­tions on adding servers to the Server Manager.

RSAT tools can be found in the Tools menu in the Windows Server Manager. The Server Manager console can be accessed using the path Start > Apps > Ad­min­is­trat­ive Tools > Server Manager. Al­tern­at­ively, you can open the command prompt with [Windows] + [R], type Server­Man­ager, and press [Enter].

Available RSAT tools for Windows 10

RSAT tools for ad­min­is­trat­ive man­age­ment tasks on remote Windows devices and servers include the following features:

• Active Directory Cer­ti­fic­ate Services (AD CS) tools, e.g. snap-ins cer­ti­fic­ate authority, en­ter­prise PKI, online responder man­age­ment, and cer­ti­fic­ate templates)
• Tools for Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)
• Tools for Active Directory Light­weight Directory Services (AD LDS)
• Best Practices Analyzer
• BitLocker Drive En­cryp­tion Man­age­ment Utilities
• DHCP Server tools
• Dir­ec­tAc­cess, Routing, and Remote Access
• DNS Server tools
• Failover Cluster tools
• File Services tools
• Group Policy Man­age­ment tools
• Hyper-V tools
• IP Address Man­age­ment (IPAM) Man­age­ment tools
• Network Adapter Teaming or NIC Teaming
• Network Con­trol­ler
• Network Load Balancing tools
• Tools for Remote Desktop Services
• Server Manager
• Volume Ac­tiv­a­tion
• Tools for Windows Server Update Services

A complete overview with detailed de­scrip­tions of the available tools can be found on the official Microsoft Learn website.

Important safety con­sid­er­a­tions for RSAT

RSAT tools offers many benefits to en­ter­prises for the central man­age­ment of multiple servers and work­sta­tions. However, ap­pro­pri­ate security measures must be con­sidered for remote ad­min­is­trat­ive man­age­ment of critical data and systems. Intranet security vul­ner­ab­il­it­ies can pose a serious threat if cy­ber­se­cur­ity is in­ad­equate. If attackers manage to take control of ad­min­is­trat­ive roles, they can gain rapid access to several critical areas of the server structure. Therefore, it’s important to consider the following security aspects when ac­tiv­at­ing and using remote server ad­min­is­tra­tion tools:

• Accounts and groups with ad­min­is­trat­or priv­ileges and access to RSAT tools should be strictly protected to prevent un­au­thor­ised access to servers using remote tools.
• Ad­min­is­trat­ive hosts for RSAT tasks should be a dedicated, trusted work­sta­tion for ad­min­is­trat­ive tasks that has high access pro­tec­tion and two- or multi-factor au­then­tic­a­tion.

Ad­vant­ages of RSAT

Ac­tiv­at­ing RSAT tools has several benefits for admins who require remote man­age­ment and control of Windows servers and Windows services. Remote work and cloud computing are becoming in­creas­ingly popular over long distances and in­ter­na­tion­ally. A remote toolkit is becoming essential for every business. RSAT offers numerous functions for the ad­min­is­tra­tion of dis­trib­uted servers and computers using a central interface. This allows ad­min­is­trat­ive support services to be performed for multiple servers sim­ul­tan­eously. This saves time and effort and increases the security and ef­fi­ciency of business op­er­a­tions by mon­it­or­ing server per­form­ance, auto­mat­ing processes and managing roles.