Microsoft Management Console

Microsoft Management Console

\ windows \system32\mmc.exe

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Start All Programs Administrative Tools Computer Management

The Microsoft Management Console (MMC) is a host for many of the administrative tools that come with Windows XP. Each tool that works with MMC is called a "Snap-in." Several Snap-ins can be shown in MMC at any given time and appear as entries in the Explorer-style tree in the left pane.

A collection of one or more Snap-ins can be saved into a Console ( .msc ) file, which is a small file that simply lists Snap-ins to display in the Console window. More than a dozen predefined Console files are included with Windows, and you can modify them (or even create your own) by adding or removing Snap-ins or creating custom "Taskpad Views," pages with lists of shortcuts to programs or other Snap-ins.

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To add a Snap-in to the current Console file (select File New to start a new Console), go to File Add/Remove Snap-in, and click Add. Then, choose one of the available Snap-ins (note that not all Snap-ins described here are available in all versions of Windows XP), and click Add to add it to the list in the previous window. MMC allows you to use most of these tools on remote systems; for example, you can run Device Manager on a machine in another office. Most Snap-ins will prompt you for a remote computer name when you first add them to the current console.

Snap-in	.msc file	Description
ActiveX Control	n/a	Use this Snap-in to add an ActiveX control to your console file.
Certificates	certmgr.msc	Browse all the security certificates used by Internet Explorer and IIS (Windows XP Professional only).
Component Services	comexp.msc	Manage installed COM (component object model) components .
Computer Management	compmgmt.msc	A collection of 13 other Snap-ins.
Device Manager	devmgmt.msc	See Device Manager, earlier in this chapter.
Disk Defragmenter	drfg.msc	See Disk Defragmenter, earlier in this chapter.
Disk Management	diskmgmt.msc	The Disk Management Snap-in lists all installed drives, including hard disks, CD drives , and other removable storage devices (except floppies). Here, you can change drive letters , create or delete partitions (see also DiskPart).
Event Viewer	eventvwr.msc	View the three system event logs: Application, Security, and System. The Application log lists every application crash, status report, and warning generated by services. The Security log records events such as valid and invalid logon attempts, as well as events related to the use of shared resources. The system log contains events logged by Windows XP system components, such as driver failures and system startup errors.
Folder		Organize Snap-ins in the tree display.
FrontPage Server Extensions		Manage the various extensions to FrontPage Server and any corresponding settings.
Group Policy (Local Computer Policy)	gpedit.msc	A collection of policy settings, controlling startup and shutdown scripts, security settings for Internet Explorer, and user account policies.
Indexing Service	ciadv.msc	Collects information from the documents on your hard disk, and compiles a database used to enhance searches. The Indexing Service indexes .html files, .txt files, Microsoft Office documents, Internet mail and news, and any other document for which a document filter is available. The Indexing Service Snap-in allows you to manage the directories that are routinely scanned and query the database catalog.
Internet Information Services	iis.msc	Administers the various functions associated with the Web/FTP/SMTP server service. For example, you can configure how CGI scripts are running from web pages posted on the server.
IP Security Monitor		Monitor IP Security status; see IP Security Policy Management.
IP Security Policy Management		Manage IPSec (Internet Protocol Security) policies for secure communication with other computers.
Link to Web Address		Include a link to a software downloads site, an HTTP-based administration web page, or another troubleshooting site, such as http://www.annoyances.org.
Local Users and Groups	lusrmgr.msc	Provides more advanced settings, using a simpler and more direct interface, then Control Panel User Accounts. You can set password expiration, assign users to groups, manage logon scripts, change the location of a user's home folder, and other advanced options.
Performance Logs and Alerts	perfmon.msc	Collect performance data automatically from certain applications, and then create logs that can be exported then analyzed . The applications designed to generate performance logs are typically associated with web servers.
Removable Storage Management	ntmsmgr.msc	View all the devices that support removable media, such as CD and DVD drives, CD and DVD writers, tape drives, Zip drives, flash memory readers, and other such devices. This tool labels, catalogs, and tracks media, and stores this information into libraries. Media Pools, collections of removable media to have the same management policies, are used to organize these libraries.
Resultant Set of Policy	rsop.msc	Allows you to view and change the policy settings for a particular user.
Security Configuration and Analysis		Used to view and manage security databases for computers using Security Templates (see next entry), and is especially helpful for tracking changes to security.
Security Templates	secpol.msc	Used to create security policies.
Services	services.msc	A service is a program that runs invisibly in the background, usually started when Windows starts, but before any user logs in. Windows XP comes with nearly 80 services preinstalled , some of which may be active (started). Double-click any service in the list to view its properties, such as its status (Started or Stopped), whether it's started automatically, under which user accounts it is enabled, what actions to take if the service encounters a problem, and which other components the service depends on (if any).
Shared Folders	fsmmgmt.msc	Lists all the resources shared over the network.
WMI Control	wmimgmt.msc	WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) is set of standards for accessing and sharing management information over an enterprise network.