Configure Remote Management in Server Manager

In Windows Server® 2012 R2 and Windows Server® 2012, you can use Server Manager to perform management tasks on remote servers. Remote management is enabled by default on servers that are running Windows Server 2012. To manage a server remotely by using Server Manager, you add the server to the Server Manager server pool.

You can use Server Manager to manage remote servers that are running older releases of Windows Server, but the following updates are required to fully manage these older operating systems.

To manage servers that are running Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2, or Windows Server 2008 by using Server Manager in Windows Server 2012 R2, apply the following updates to the older operating systems.

• .NET Framework 4.5
  
• Windows Management Framework 4.0. The Windows Management Framework 4.0 download package updates Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) providers on Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Server 2008. The updated WMI providers let Server Manager collect information about roles and features that are installed on the managed servers. Until the update is applied, servers that are running Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2008 have a manageability status of Not accessible.
  
• The performance update associated with Knowledge Base article 2682011 allows Server Manager to collect performance data from Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2. This performance update is not necessary on servers that are running Windows Server 2012.
  

To manage servers that are running Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2008, apply the following updates to the older operating systems.

• .NET Framework 4
  
• Windows Management Framework 3.0 The Windows Management Framework 3.0 download package updates Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) providers on Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2. The updated WMI providers let Server Manager collect information about roles and features that are installed on the managed servers. Until the update is applied, servers that are running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 have a manageability status of Not accessible – Verify earlier versions run Windows Management Framework 3.0.
  
• The performance update associated with Knowledge Base article 2682011 allows Server Manager to collect performance data from Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

To enable Server Manager remote management by using the Windows interface

1. Note
   The settings that are controlled by the Configure Remote Management dialog box do not affect parts of Server Manager that use DCOM for remote communications.
   On the computer that you want to manage remotely, open Server Manager, if it is not already open. On the Windows taskbar, click Server Manager. On the Start screen, click theServer Manager tile.
2. In the Properties area of the Local Servers page, click the hyperlinked value for the Remote management property.
3. Do one of the following, and then click OK.
   • To prevent this computer from being managed remotely by using Server Manager (or Windows PowerShell if it is installed), clear the Enable remote management of this server from other computers check box.
     
   • To let this computer be managed remotely by using Server Manager or Windows PowerShell, select Enable remote management of this server from other computers.
     

To enable Server Manager remote management by using Windows PowerShell

1. On the computer that you want to manage remotely, do one of the following to open a Windows PowerShell session with elevated user rights.
   • On the Windows desktop, right-click Windows PowerShell on the taskbar, and then click Run as Administrator.
     
   • On the Windows Start screen, right-click Windows PowerShell, and then on the app bar, click Run as Administrator.
     
2. Type the following, and then press Enter to enable all required firewall rule exceptions.
   Configure-SMRemoting.exe -enable

To enable Server Manager remote management by using the command line

1. On the computer that you want to manage remotely, open a command prompt session with elevated user rights. To do this, on the Start screen, type cmd, right-click theCommand Prompt tile when it is displayed in the Apps results, and then on the app bar, click Run as Administrator.
2. Run the following executable file.
   %windir%\system32\Configure-SMRemoting.exe
3. Do one of the following:
   • To disable remote management, type Configure-SMRemoting.exe -disable, and then press Enter.
     
   • To enable remote management, type Configure-SMRemoting.exe -enable, and then press Enter.
     
   • To view the current remote management setting, type Configure-SMRemoting.exe -get, and then press ENTER.