Windows 11 Arm PCs finally get RSAT support

Microsoft just fixed a major Windows 11 Arm headache for IT admins. A long-missing tool has finally arrived with the latest update.

A Windows 11 logo with an arm script

Remote Server Administration Tool (RSAT) is a very important tool leveraged by IT admins to remotely configure Windows Server features and roles from a Windows client, eliminating the need to directly access the server. Although x64-based Windows 11 did support RSAT capabilities, this feature was missing on Arm-based Windows 11 configurations, until now.

With March's Patch Tuesday update, five popular RSAT components are now available on Arm-based Windows 11 PCs. These are:

Active Directory Domain Services & AD LDS Tools: Remotely manage Active Directory domains, users, and Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) instances.
Active Directory Certificate Services Tools: Administer and manage certificate services and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) on Windows Servers.
Group Policy Management Console (GPMC): Create, edit, and manage Group Policy Objects to control settings in Active Directory environments.
DNS Server Tools: Configure and monitor DNS servers via the DNS Manager snap-in and command-line DNS utilities.
DHCP Server Tools: Manage DHCP servers and scopes to administer IP address allocation in your networks.

Up until now, IT admins had to use alternate software like Windows Admin Center or an x64 PC to for the same purpose, so this is a big step forward for RSAT on Windows 11. It should make remote configuration a lot easier for IT admins through native support on Arm-based versions of Windows 11 Pro and Enterprise.

In Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2, RSAT is an optional component that can be enabled through the Turn Windows features on or off interface, while in the recent Windows 11 26H1, it is available as Feature on Demand (FOD), and can be added through Settings > System > Optional Features > Add an optional feature. If IT admins were unsure about deploying Arm-based PCs in their environments due to lack of support for RSAT, they don't need to worry anymore, as Microsoft has made its Windows infrastructure more consistent in this regard. You can check out additional details here about the commands you need to run to install RSAT in Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2.