Chapter 10: Microsoft Management Consoles

Overview

This chapter introduces the MMC (Microsoft Management Console) as a framework for running administration tools that assist administrators in managing computers. Using an MMC, administrators can manage both local and remote network computers from their own desktops.

In earlier Microsoft operating systems, administrators had to learn how to use a number of very different management tools in order to perform their duties. Microsoft has reworked and migrated many of these management tools so that they now operate within the context of the MMC framework. In doing so, Microsoft has provided administrators with a consistent user interface that makes the learning curve for working with the tools a lot shorter.

Administrators can also use the MMC framework to create their own custom management tools, allowing them to add and remove components as best suits the manner in which they work. The ability to create custom management consoles allows administrators to create consoles that focus on a single task and then to delegate the use of these consoles to less experienced administrators. This assists administrators in distributing their workload without overwhelming new administrators with tools that contain components for which they have not been trained.