Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack Overview

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack Overview

Microsoft® Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack provides administrators with tools for managing their servers remotely from platforms:

• The Windows Server 2003 family

• Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 1 (SP1)

• Windows XP Professional with QFE Q329357

These tools are packaged as adminpak.msi on the Microsoft® Windows Server 2003 family CDs. These tools support 32-bit and 64-bit server operating systems.

These tools can be classified into four categories.

• System administration

• Network administration

• Storage management

• Directory services administration

Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack also provides Convenience Consoles which combine certain of these tools into packages for managing or delegating frequent tasks.

For Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack to be installed on Windows XP Professional, you must either apply Service Pack 1 to the operating system or install the hotfix included with Knowledge Base Article Q329357. See article Q329357, "Windows Server 2003 adminpak.msi may not run on Windows XP 2600 Machines," in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.

For more information, see Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack Best practices.

You must have administrative permissions on the local computer to install or run Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack. For security reasons, Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack should be removed if the computer running Windows XP Professional is to be used by a non-administrator. In addition, you should be aware of specific security requirements for each tool.

For more information, see:

• Managing remotely with the Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack tools

• Convenience Consoles in Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack

Finding Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Packs

You can find and download Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Packs on the following Web sites:

• Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=91722)

  Allows administrators to remotely manage Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003.

• Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 Administration Tools Pack (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=54895)

  Allows administrators to remotely manage computers running Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003 family operating systems. This site provides the Service Pack 1 version (build 5.2.3790.1830) of the adminpak.msi file.

• Windows Server 2003 R2 Administration Tools Pack (x86) (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=73895)

  Allows administrators to remotely manage computers running 32-bit versions of the Windows Server 2003 R2 family of operating systems. The management tools downloadable from this site allow management of features specific to Windows Server 2003 R2.

• Windows Server 2003 R2 Administration Tools Pack (x64) (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=110584)

  Allows administrators to remotely manage computers running 64-bit versions of the Windows Server 2003 R2 family of operating systems. The management tools contained in these packages manage features specific to Windows Server 2003 R2.