If you’re new to Windows 2008 server you’ve likely noticed that when you try to run the Telnet Client from the command prompt (telnet.exe) that it returns an error message that telnet is not installed.
Microsoft, and many other vendors have decided that due to the unencrypted nature of the telnet datastream and the fact that your username and password are also sent unencrypted over the wire, that telnet is a security vulnerability and should not be used. Microsoft recommends you use an SSH client instead.
However, many existing devices, such as older routers and switches do not support telnet and must still be managed. Thankfully for us, Microsoft has included Telnet with Windows 2008, but simply did not install or enable it by default.
Enabling Telnet on Windows 2008 Server
Open the Server Manager. Click Start -> Server Manager.
From the left pane, click on Features.
Click on Add Features.
From the available features pane, click on Telnet Client, and then click Next.
Click on Install.
Windows 2008 Server will start the initialization process…
and then install the Telnet Client.
Installation will finish. Click Close.
Finally, you can drop the the command prompt and successfully execute telnet.exe.
That’s all there is to it!
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