Installing RSAT Administration Tools on Windows 10 and 11

The Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) allow you to remotely manage roles and features on Windows Server hosts from desktop computers. RSAT includes both graphical MMC snap-ins, command-line tools, and PowerShell modules. You can install RSAT on both desktop computers running Windows 10 or 11, as well as on the Windows Server hosts. In this article, we’ll show you how to install RSAT on Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server 2022/2019/2022 online and offline through Feature on Demand from the Windows GUI and using the PowerShell console.

Install RSAT on Windows 10 as Features on Demand (FoD)

Prior to Windows 10 build 1809, the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) was installed as a separate MSU update that had to be manually downloaded from Microsoft servers and installed on computers. After each Windows 10 build upgrade, you had to manually download the new MSU package with the latest version of the RSAT package and install it on your computer. However, today the following message is displayed on the RSAT download page on the Microsoft website:

The fact is that in current Windows 10 builds, the Remote Server Administration Tools package doesn’t need to be downloaded manually. Now the Remote Server Administration Tools installation package is built-in into the Windows 10 image and is installed as a separate feature  (Features on Demand). You can now install RSAT on Windows 10 from the Settings app.

To install RSAT in Windows 10, go to Settings -> Apps -> Manage Optional Features -> Add a feature.

Select the required RSAT components and click Install.

The following server administration tools are available on Windows 10:

• RSAT: Active Directory Domain Services and Lightweight Directory Services Tools
• RSAT: BitLocker Drive Encryption Administration Utilities
• RSAT: Active Directory Certificate Services Tools
• RSAT: DHCP Server Tools (used to configure and manage DHCP server on Windows Server)
• RSAT: DNS Server Tools
• RSAT: Failover Clustering Tools
• RSAT: File Services Tools
• RSAT: Group Policy Management Tools
• RSAT: IP Address Management (IPAM) Client
• RSAT: Data Center Bridging LLDP Tools
• RSAT: Network Controller Management Tools
• RSAT: Network Load Balancing Tools
• RSAT: Remote Access Management Tools
• RSAT: Remote Desktop Services Tools
• RSAT: Server Manager
• RSAT: Shielded VM Tools
• RSAT: Storage Migration Service Management Tools
• RSAT: Storage Replica Module for Windows PowerShell
• RSAT: System Insights Module for Windows PowerShell
• RSAT: Volume Activation Tools (KMS server console)
• RSAT: Windows Server Update Services Tools.

Once installed, the graphical mmc RSAT snap-ins are available in the Control Panel under Administrative Tools (Control Panel\System and Security\Administrative Tools).

Install Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) on Windows 10 via PowerShell

You can install RSAT administration components using PowerShell. In this example, we will show you how to manage RSAT components in Windows 10 20H2.

Using the following command, you can list the RSAT components installed on your computer:

Get-WindowsCapability -Name RSAT* -Online | Select-Object -Property DisplayName, State

In our example, the DHCP and DNS management tools are installed (Installed), and all other RSAT modules are missing (NotPresent).

You can use the Add-WindowsCapacity cmdlet to install RSAT features on Windows.

To install a specific RSAT tool, such as AD management tools (including the ADUC console and the Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell), run the command:

Add-WindowsCapability –online –Name Rsat.ActiveDirectory.DS-LDS.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0

To install the DNS management console and the PowerShell DNSServer module, run:

Add-WindowsCapability –online –Name Rsat.Dns.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0

Etc.

Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name Rsat.FileServices.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name Rsat.GroupPolicy.Management.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name Rsat.IPAM.Client.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name Rsat.LLDP.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name Rsat.NetworkController.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name Rsat.NetworkLoadBalancing.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name Rsat.BitLocker.Recovery.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name Rsat.CertificateServices.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name Rsat.DHCP.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name Rsat.FailoverCluster.Management.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name Rsat.RemoteAccess.Management.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name Rsat.RemoteDesktop.Services.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name Rsat.ServerManager.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name Rsat.Shielded.VM.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name Rsat.StorageMigrationService.Management.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name Rsat.StorageReplica.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name Rsat.SystemInsights.Management.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name Rsat.VolumeActivation.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name Rsat.WSUS.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0

To install all the available RSAT tools at once, run:

Get-WindowsCapability -Name RSAT* -Online | Add-WindowsCapability –Online

To install only the missing RSAT tools, run:

Get-WindowsCapability -Name RSAT* -Online | where State -EQ NotPresent | Add-WindowsCapability –Online

Now make sure that all RSAT tools are installed (Installed state).

After that, the installed RSAT tools will appear in the Manage Optional Features panel.

Installing RSAT Tools on Windows 11

You can install RSAT on Windows 11 through the Settings -> Apps -> Optional Features -> Add an optional feature (View features) panel.

Type RSAT in the search field and select the RSAT features to install.

Also, you can use PowerShell to install RSAT on Windows 11:

Add-WindowsCapability –online –Name Rsat.ActiveDirectory.DS-LDS.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0

How to Install Remote Server Administration Tools on Windows Server 2022,2019, and 2016?

On Windows Server, you don’t need direct Internet access to install RSAT. RSAT features can be installed when the corresponding Windows Server roles or features are installed, or you can install them via Server Manager (Add Roles and Features -> Features -> Remote Server Administration Tools). All RSAT components are located into two sections: Feature Administration Tools and Role Administration Tools. Select the required options and click Next -> Next.

You can use the Install-WindowsFeature PowerShell cmdlet to install RSAT on Windows Server 2022, 2019, and 2016:

Get-WindowsFeature| Where-Object {$_.name -like "*RSAT*"}| ft Name,Installstate

To install the selected RSAT component, specify its name. For example, let’s install the RDS Licensing Diagnostic console:

Install-WindowsFeature RSAT-RDS-Licensing-Diagnosis-UI

You can access installed graphical RSAT consoles from Server Manager or through the Control Panel.

RSAT Tools Installation Error 0x800f0954 on Windows 10

If your Windows device is configured to receive updates from a local WSUS update server or SCCM SUP using Group Policy, you will receive error 0x800f0954 when installing RSAT via Add-WindowsCapability or DISM.

To correctly install RSAT components in Windows 10, you can temporarily disable updating from the WSUS server through the registry (open the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU and change the UseWUServer to 0) and restart the Windows Update Service (wuauserv).

You can use the following PowerShell script:

$currentWU = Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU" -Name "UseWUServer" | select -ExpandProperty UseWUServer
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU" -Name "UseWUServer" -Value 0
Restart-Service wuauserv
Get-WindowsCapability -Name RSAT* -Online | Add-WindowsCapability –Online
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU" -Name "UseWUServer" -Value $currentWU
Restart-Service wuauserv -force

Or you can configure a new Group Policy parameter that allows you to configure installation options for additional Windows and Features On Demand components (including RSAT).

1. Open the local GPO editor – gpedit.msc or use the domain Group Policy Management Console (gpmc.msc);
2. Go to the GPO section Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System;
3. Enable the policy Specify settings for optional component installation and component repair, and check the option Download repair content and optional features directly from Windows Updates instead of Windows Server Updates Services (WSUS);
4. Save the changes and update Group Policy settings (gpupdate /force).

Installing RSAT via PowerShell or DISM should now be completed without error.

Deploying RSAT on Windows 10 Offline Using FoD ISO Image

If you are facing the “Add-WindowsCapability failed. Error code = 0x800f0954” error when installing RSAT, or you don’t see RSAT in the list of optional features (No features to install), most likely your computer is configured to receive updates from the internal WSUS/SCCM SUP server. Let’s consider how to install RSAT in Windows 10 1903 offline (in disconnected environments / corporate domain networks without direct access to the Internet).

For offline RSAT installation, you need to download the FoD ISO image for your Windows 10 build from your personal section on the Microsoft MSDN / Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC). The image is named something like this: Windows 10 Features on Demand, version 1903.

For example, for Windows 10 1903 x64 you need to download the image file SW_DVD9_NTRL_Win_10_1903_64Bit_MultiLang_FOD.ISO (about 5 GB). Extract the iso image file to the shared network folder. You will get a set of *.cab files, including RSAT cab files.

Now, to install the RSAT components on the Windows 10 desktop, you need to specify the path to this FoD shared network folder. For example:

Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name Rsat.ActiveDirectory.DS-LDS.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0 -LimitAccess -Source \\fs01\Windows-FOD\Win101903x64\

You can also specify the path to the directory with the FoD components using the Group Policy parameter discussed above. To do this, in the Alternative source file path you need to specify the UNC directory path to the FoD folder.

Or you can set this parameter through the registry with a separate policy by specifying the directory path in the LocalSourcePath parameter (REG_Expand_SZ) under the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Servicing.
After that, users will be able to independently install RSAT components in Windows 10 through the graphical interface of Manage Optional Features.

Common Remote Server Administration Tools Installation Errors

• 0x8024402c, 0x80072f8f – Windows cannot access the Microsoft Update service to download RSAT files. Check internet access or install components from local FoD image: Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name Rsat.Dns.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0 -LimitAccess -Source E:\RSAT\
• 0x800f081f – check the path to the directory with RSAT components specified in the –Source parameter;
• 0x800f0950 – the error is similar to 0x800f0954;
• 0x80070490 – check and repair your Windows image using DISM: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth