The Remote Tools package is intended for computers that don't have Visual Studio so that you can debug, test, and profile apps that are executing on them. However, Visual Studio must be installed on the development computer that's connected to the computers that have the Remote Tools. Connection to the remote debugger and profiler tools is supported in Visual Studio Ultimate 2012, Visual Studio Premium 2012, Visual Studio Professional 2012, and Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows 8. Connection to the test features requires Visual Studio Ultimate 2012 or Visual Studio Test Professional 2012.

This update is the latest in a cumulative series of feature additions and bug fixes for Visual Studio 2012. Periodic updates enable us to enhance and expand Visual Studio more frequently to support the latest software development innovations for building and managing modern apps. For information about the latest update, see the Visual Studio 2012 Update 5 KB Article.

Support for Visual Studio 2012 is only provided on this current update, which is considered the Visual Studio 2012 Service Pack, as well as the Visual Studio 2012 RTM version, released in August, 2012. For more information see the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy.