Microsoft released the RSAT for Windows 7 overnight. This allows you to manage your servers from a desktop computer.
“Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7 enables IT administrators to manage roles and features that are installed on remote computers that are running Windows Server 2008 R2 (and, for some roles and features, Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2003) from a remote computer that is running Windows 7. It includes support for remote management of computers that are running either the Server Core or full installation options of Windows Server 2008 R2, and for some roles and features, Windows Server 2008. Some roles and features on Windows Server 2003 can be managed remotely by using Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7, although the Server Core installation option is not available with the Windows Server 2003 operating system.
This feature is comparable in functionality to the Windows Server 2003 Administrative Tools Pack and Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 (SP1).
Supported Operating Systems: Windows 7; Windows Server 2003; Windows Server 2008; Windows Server 2008 R2
Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7 can be installed on computers that are running the Enterprise, Professional, or Ultimate editions of Windows 7.
Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7 runs on both x86- and x64-based editions of Windows 7, and can be used to manage roles and features that are running on either the Server Core or full installation options of the x64-based Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system. Remote management is also supported for some roles and features that run on Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2003.
Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7 should not be installed on a computer that is running the Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack or Windows 2000 Server® Administration Tools Pack. Remove all versions of Administration Tools Pack or Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows Vista SP1 from the computer before you install Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7.
Only one copy at a time of Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7 can be installed on a computer. Before you install a new package, remove any existing copies of Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7. This includes any copies that are in different languages”.
Here’s the list of admin tools, courtesy of John Howard:
Server Administration Tools:
- Server Manager
Role Administration Tools:
- Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) Tools
- Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) Tools
- Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) Tools
- DHCP Server Tools
- DNS Server Tools
- File Services Tools
- Hyper-V Tools
- Terminal Services Tools
Feature Administration Tools:
- BitLocker Password Recovery Viewer
- Failover Clustering Tools
- Group Policy Management Tools
- Network Load Balancing Tools
- SMTP Server Tools
- Storage Explorer Tools
- Storage Manager for SANs Tools
- Windows System Resource Manager Tools
I recently wrote a piece about the new Server Manager for a W2008 R2 book. It’s got one HUGE improvement: the ability to manage remote machines, as long as those machines have been configured to allow remote management. That also allows remote management via PowerShell so that might not be desirable for everyone.
Speaking of PowerShell, the PowerShell Module for Active Directory was also in that chapter that I wrote. It is very cool, even for a PSH newbie like me. I even figured out how to create many customised users from a CSV file with a 1 line cmdlet. That’ll be in the book.