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Bitsadmin Overview

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

Bitsadmin.exe: BITS Administration Utility

This command-line tool allows administrators to manage the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS), a background file transfer service and queue manager in Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP. Requests to BITS are submitted by an application and the files can be transferred in a throttled manner such that the interactive user is not affected by the bandwidth consumed. Requests are placed in a queue until the files are transferred, at which time the requesting application is invoked and notified of the completion.

Corresponding UI

The corresponding user interface for Background Intelligent Transfer Service can be found in the Windows Server 2003 Services snap-in, Services.msc. To open Services, click Start, click Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, click Administrative Tools, double-click Services, and then double-click Background Intelligent Transfer Services.

Concepts

Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) is a file-transfer technology similar in concept to other standard file-transfer protocols, such as FTP. BITS is used by various applications to manage file transfer using standard Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

BITS requires Internet Information Services (IIS) with BITS extensions to be running on the source server if you want to use BITS to upload files to your server.

Note

  • Internet Information Services is not required for downloads, only for uploads.

BITS is used by programs (such as Windows AutoUpdate) to download files by using spare bandwidth. BITS can maintain file transfers through network disconnections and computer restarts.

System Requirements

The following are the system requirements for this tool:

  • Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Professional, or Windows XP Home Edition

  • Internet Information Services (with the BITS Server Extension) is required to receive BITS uploads.

  • Administrator rights on the target computer (the computer receiving transfers) is required to modify the jobs of other users.

Note

  • BITS requires a Web server running on the source server for downloading files. For file uploads, BITS requires IIS and a corresponding server component to be running on the destination server.

File Required

  • Bitsadmin.exe

See Also

Concepts

Bitsadmin Remarks
Bitsadmin Syntax
Bitsadmin Examples
Alphabetical List of Tools
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Iologsum Overview
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Ftonline Overview
Filever Overview
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Dmdiag Overview
Dskprobe Overview
Diruse Overview
Dfsutil Overview
Connstat Overview
Cabarc Overview
Bitsadmin Overview