• Windows is a family of operating systems first created in 1985 by Microsoft for personal computers.. A remote computer or server is a system that you can access without physically working on the computer. You log into the remote computer from your local system, and then you can access data stored on the system or manage roles on those computers. You must, however, obtain software tools that are compatible with your Windows operating system.
  
  

Server 2008 Tool

• The Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7 is for IT administrators who need to access and maintain options and roles on remote computers. To use this tool, you must have the Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate editions of Windows 7, and the remote system must have either the full version of Windows Server 2008 or Server Core, which is a minimal server. A minimal server is a server designed to do only one a few functions. You can oversee both x86 and 64-bit computers with this tool. This is a free tool, and you can download it from the Microsoft Download Center.
  
  

VNC

• The VNC Personal Edition allows you to connect to and manipulate a remote computer, and you do this via an Internet connection. You can connect to computers using a different operating system. The VNC tool allows you to pull up the desktop screen of the remote computer via the VNC Viewer. The tool uses a secure login, which means that your data is encrypted, preventing others from reading it. You can download the software to your local computer, or you can use the hosted version. Hosted means that you can use the software within your browser, and you don't need to download any software. The hosted version uses a Java viewer. This is a free program that you can download from the author's website, and it is compatible with the Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems.
  
  

AD LDS

• The Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services Tools allows you to manage the storage options within the Active Directory, and it also helps applications access this information. The Active Directory is a Microsoft tool that manages certain network services. The AD LDS is designed for applications that need specific directory services, but that don't need to access all of the features provided by the Active Directory. This tool is for developers, and it is compatible with Windows Server 2008, Server 2003 and Windows XP Professional. This is a free tool provided by the Microsoft Corporation, and you can download it from the Microsoft Download Center.