Installing Windows 8 Remote Server Administation Tools (RSAT) onWindows 8 RTM

Windows RSAT tools are obviously a must have set of tools for any systems administrator, allowing you to control all aspects of your core server environment from the comfort of your Windows client.

During the Beta process of Windows 8, Microsoft released a version for the O/S (http://www.microsoft.com/en-ie/download/details.aspx?id=28972). The new RSAT tool provided support for Server 2012 whilst sacrificing support for earlier Hyper-V servers and clusters, something I am sure will be corrected in the full release of the Win 8 RSAT expected later this month.

If you really feel the need to get the BETA RSAT tools installed on the RTM build of Windows 8, you will need to force the installation by running the MSU from the command line / explorer will generate an error.

To force the install of Windows 8 RSAT beta simply follow the below procedure.

1. Download the Windows 8 RSAT MSU in either of its 32bit or 64bit flavours available on the Microsoft Download site (see link above).
2. Expand the MSU using the following example:
   (64 bit)
   expand –f:* C:\RSAT\MSU\Windows6.2-KB2693643-x64.msu C:\RSAT\EXPANDED
   
   
   
   (32 bit)
   expand –f:* C:\RSAT\MSU\Windows6.2-KB2693643-x86.msu C:\RSAT\EXPANDED
3. Once the files are expanded you can use the Windows package manager (PKGMGR.exe) to install the update silently.
   
   pkgmgr /ip /m:C:\RSAT\Expanded\Windows6.2-KB2693643-x64.cab
   
   
4. The package will install silently and will take up to 10 minutes depending on your hardware, you can monitor the PKGMGR.exe process to determine when the update is installed.
5. Once the update is installed go into Control Panel, Programs and Features and Turn Windows Features on or off. You should notice that the remote administration tool are installed:
   
   

UPDATE : RSAT RTM released : http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=28972