RSAT Windows 8: Installing RSAT and RDCM for Remote Administration

This content originally covered Windows 8, which is long out of support — kept here for reference if you’re still administering a legacy Windows 8 environment. Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) let you manage Windows Server roles and features from a Windows desktop, and Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCM) gives you a single pane for organising and connecting to a large number of RDP sessions — both genuinely useful together on an admin workstation.

Downloads

• RSAT for Windows 8 was distributed as a standalone download from Microsoft (search “RSAT for Windows 8” on the Microsoft Download Center, as direct links to old KB packages move around).
• Remote Desktop Connection Manager is available from Microsoft’s official download page.

If You’re on Windows 10 or 11

RSAT is no longer a separate download — on Windows 10 (1809 and later) and Windows 11, it’s built in as optional Windows Features. Go to Settings > Apps > Optional Features > Add a feature and search for “RSAT” to install just the management tools you need.

Now Available on Arm64 Too (Updated for 2026)

If you’re installing RSAT the modern way via Settings on Windows 10/11, it’s worth knowing the tools now reach further than they used to: as of a March 2026 Patch Tuesday rollout, RSAT is available on Arm64-based Windows 11 devices for the first time, covering AD DS/LDS Tools, AD CS Tools, Server Manager, Group Policy Management, and DNS/DHCP Server Tools — across Windows 11 24H2, 25H2, and 26H1. If your admin workstation happens to be an Arm-based device, you’re no longer limited to the older RDCM-and-standalone-tools approach this post originally described.

Resources

• RSAT for Windows 8
• Remote Desktop Connection Manager
• Remote Desktop