While Windows Server 2008 doesn't include wget by default, it offers several built-in alternatives for HTTP file downloads:

:: Using bitsadmin (Background Intelligent Transfer Service)
bitsadmin /transfer mydownloadjob /download /priority normal http://example.com/file.zip C:\downloads\file.zip

:: Using certutil (Certificate Utility)
certutil -urlcache -split -f http://example.com/file.zip file.zip

Although not strictly "command line", PowerShell comes pre-installed and provides robust download capabilities:

# Basic download
(New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadFile("http://example.com/file.zip", "C:\downloads\file.zip")

# With progress display
$wc = New-Object System.Net.WebClient
$wc.DownloadProgressChanged += {Write-Progress -Activity "Downloading" -Status "$($_.ProgressPercentage)%"}
$wc.DownloadFileAsync("http://example.com/file.zip", "C:\downloads\file.zip")

For environments where PowerShell isn't available, VBScript can be executed from command prompt:

' Save as download.vbs
Set x = CreateObject("MSXML2.XMLHTTP")
x.Open "GET", "http://example.com/file.zip", False
x.Send
Set s = CreateObject("ADODB.Stream")
s.Open
s.Type = 1
s.Write x.responseBody
s.SaveToFile "C:\downloads\file.zip", 2

For more complex scenarios requiring authentication or custom headers:

:: Using bitsadmin with credentials
bitsadmin /transfer myjob /download /priority normal http://example.com/protected.zip C:\secure.zip /setcredentials server user pass

:: PowerShell with headers
$headers = @{"Authorization"="Bearer token123"}
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "http://api.example.com/data" -Headers $headers -OutFile "data.json"

Native tools support download resumption for large files:

:: Using bitsadmin to resume
bitsadmin /resume mydownloadjob

:: PowerShell alternative
$client = New-Object System.Net.WebClient
if (Test-Path "partial.file") {
    $client.DownloadFile("http://example.com/large.iso", "complete.iso")
}

Windows Server 2008 includes several native command-line tools that can handle HTTP file downloads without requiring third-party installations like wget or cURL. Here are the most practical approaches:

The most reliable built-in solution is bitsadmin.exe, which supports HTTP/HTTPS protocols:

REM Basic download example
bitsadmin /transfer mydownloadjob /download /priority normal http://example.com/file.zip C:\Downloads\file.zip

REM With authentication
bitsadmin /transfer securejob /download /priority high http://secured.com/data.xml C:\temp\data.xml /setcredentials server user password

While limited in PS1.0, you can perform basic downloads:

$webClient = New-Object System.Net.WebClient
$webClient.DownloadFile("http://example.com/largefile.iso", "C:\temp\largefile.iso")

For environments with strict security policies, create a download.vbs file:

Set objXMLHTTP = CreateObject("MSXML2.XMLHTTP")
Set objADOStream = CreateObject("ADODB.Stream")
objXMLHTTP.Open "GET", "http://example.com/package.exe", False
objXMLHTTP.Send()

If objXMLHTTP.Status = 200 Then
    objADOStream.Open
    objADOStream.Type = 1
    objADOStream.Write objXMLHTTP.responseBody
    objADOStream.Position = 0
    objADOStream.SaveToFile "C:\temp\package.exe"
    objADOStream.Close
End If

Large Files: Use bitsadmin with /priority high for better transfer management

Authentication Required: Both bitsadmin and the VBScript method support credentials

HTTPS Sites: All native methods support HTTPS, though may require proper certificate configuration

For production environments, I recommend bitsadmin for its resume capability and logging features. Create a batch wrapper for complex scenarios:

@echo off
set url=http://mirror.example.com/software/v2.3/installer.msi
set dest=C:\packages\installer.msi

bitsadmin /create download_package
bitsadmin /addfile download_package %url% %dest%
bitsadmin /setnotifycmdline download_package "%SystemRoot%\System32\cmd.exe" "/c echo Download complete >> C:\logs\download.log"
bitsadmin /resume download_package
bitsadmin /complete download_package