The
Microsoft Management Console (MMC) is a component of
Windows 2000Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on business desktops, notebook computers, and servers. Released on February 17, 2000, it was the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the final release of Microsoft Windows to display the "Windows NT" designation...
and later Windows NT-based
operating systemAn operating system is an interface between hardware and user which is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of the computer that acts as a host for computing applications run on the machine. As a host, one of the purposes of an operating...
s that provides system administrators and advanced users with a flexible interface through which they may configure and monitor the system.
The management console can host one or more modules which are
COMComponent Object Model is a binary-interface standard for software componentry introduced by Microsoft in 1993. It is used to enable interprocess communication and dynamic object creation in a large range of programming languages...
components called snap-ins. Most of Microsoft's administration tools included with both Windows itself, and
Windows Server SystemMicrosoft Servers is a brand that encompasses a line of Microsoft server products. This includes the server editions of Microsoft Windows operating system itself, as well as products targeted at the wider business market...
products are implemented as MMC "snap-ins".
The
Microsoft Management Console (MMC) is a component of
Windows 2000Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on business desktops, notebook computers, and servers. Released on February 17, 2000, it was the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the final release of Microsoft Windows to display the "Windows NT" designation...
and later Windows NT-based
operating systemAn operating system is an interface between hardware and user which is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of the computer that acts as a host for computing applications run on the machine. As a host, one of the purposes of an operating...
s that provides system administrators and advanced users with a flexible interface through which they may configure and monitor the system.
MMC snap-ins and consoles
The management console can host one or more modules which are
COMComponent Object Model is a binary-interface standard for software componentry introduced by Microsoft in 1993. It is used to enable interprocess communication and dynamic object creation in a large range of programming languages...
components called snap-ins. Most of Microsoft's administration tools included with both Windows itself, and
Windows Server SystemMicrosoft Servers is a brand that encompasses a line of Microsoft server products. This includes the server editions of Microsoft Windows operating system itself, as well as products targeted at the wider business market...
products are implemented as MMC "snap-ins". Third parties can also implement their own snap-ins using the MMC
application programming interfaceAn application programming interface is an interface in computer science that defines the ways by which an application program may request services from libraries and/or operating systems. An API determines the vocabulary and calling conventions the programmer should employ to use the services...
s published at MSDN. Snap-ins are registered in the
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT]\{CLSIDA globally unique identifier or GUID is a special type of identifier used in software applications to provide a reference number which is unique in any context , for example, in defining the internal reference for a type of access point in a software application, or for creating unique keys in a...
} and
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\MMC\Snapins] registryThe Windows Registry is a database that stores settings and options for Microsoft Windows operating systems. It contains information and settings for hardware, operating system software, most non-operating system software, and per-user settings...
keys. A snap-in combined with MMC is called a console.
Common snap-ins
The most prolific MMC is
Computer Management, which appears in the Administrative Tools folder in the
Control PanelThe Control Panel is a part of the Microsoft Windows graphical user interface which allows users to view and manipulate basic system settings and controls via applets, such as adding hardware, adding and removing software, controlling user accounts, and changing accessibility options...
. Computer Management is actually a collection of MMC snap-ins, including the
Device ManagerThe Device Manager is a Control Panel applet in Microsoft Windows operating systems. It allows users to view and control the hardware attached to the computer. When a piece of hardware is not working, the offending hardware is highlighted for the user to deal with...
,
Disk DefragmenterDisk Defragmenter is a computer program included in Microsoft Windows designed to increase access speed by rearranging files stored on a disk to occupy contiguous storage locations, a technique commonly known as defragmenting. The purpose is to optimize the time it takes to read and write files...
,
Internet Information ServicesInternet Information Services - formerly called Internet Information Server - is a set of Internet-based services for servers created by Microsoft for use with Microsoft Windows. It is the world's second most popular web server in terms of overall websites behind the industry leader Apache HTTP...
,
Disk ManagementThe Logical Disk Manager is an implementation of a logical volume manager for Microsoft Windows NT, developed by Microsoft and Veritas Software. It was introduced with the Windows 2000 operating system, and is supported in Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista...
,
Event ViewerEvent Viewer, a component of Microsoft's Windows NT line of operating systems, lets administrators and users view the event logs on a local or remote machine. In Windows Vista, Microsoft overhauled the event system and renamed it to Windows Event Log....
, Local Users and Groups, Shared Folders, and other tools. Computer Management can also be pointed at another Windows machine altogether, allowing for monitoring and configuration of other computers on the local network that the user has access to.
Other MMC consoles in common use include:
- Microsoft Exchange Server
Microsoft Exchange Server is a messaging and collaborative software product developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Servers line of server products and is widely used by enterprises using Microsoft infrastructure solutions...
administration console
- Active Directory
Active Directory is a technology created by Microsoft that provides a variety of network services, including:* LDAP-like directory services* Kerberos-based authentication* DNS-based naming and other network information...
user and group, domain trust, and site consoles
- Group Policy
Group Policy is a feature of the Microsoft Windows NT family of operating systems. Group Policy is a set of rules which control the working environment of user accounts and computer accounts. Group policy provides the centralized management and configuration of operating systems, applications and...
management, including the Local Security Policy console included on all Windows 2000Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on business desktops, notebook computers, and servers. Released on February 17, 2000, it was the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the final release of Microsoft Windows to display the "Windows NT" designation...
and later systems
- Services console, for managing Windows services
- Performance console, for monitoring system performance and metrics
- Event Viewer
Event Viewer, a component of Microsoft's Windows NT line of operating systems, lets administrators and users view the event logs on a local or remote machine. In Windows Vista, Microsoft overhauled the event system and renamed it to Windows Event Log....
, for monitoring system and application events
Version history
- MMC 1.0, shipped with Windows NT 4.0
Windows NT 4.0 is a preemptive, graphical and business-oriented operating system designed to work with either uniprocessor or symmetric multi-processor computers. It was the next release of Microsoft's Windows NT line of operating systems and was released to manufacturing on 31 July 1996...
Option Pack.
- MMC 1.1, shipped with SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server is a relational model database server produced by Microsoft. Its primary query languages are T-SQL and ANSI SQL.-Genesis:...
7.0 and Systems Management ServerSystem Center Configuration Manager , formerly Systems Management Server , is a systems management software product by Microsoft for managing large groups of Windows-based computer systems...
2.0, and also made available as a download for Windows 9xWindows 9x is the family of Microsoft Windows operating systems that comprises the hybrid 16/32-bit Windows versions: Windows 95, Windows 98, which were produced in the 1990s, and often also Windows Me, which was produced in 2000...
versions and Windows NTWindows NT is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released in July 1993. It was originally designed to be a powerful high-level-language-based, processor-independent, multiprocessing, multiuser operating system with features comparable to Unix. It was...
. New features:
- Snap-in taskpads
- Wizard-style property sheets
- Ability to load extensions to a snap-in at run-time
- HTML Help support
- MMC 1.2, shipped with Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on business desktops, notebook computers, and servers. Released on February 17, 2000, it was the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the final release of Microsoft Windows to display the "Windows NT" designation...
. New features:
- Support for Windows Installer
The Windows Installer is an engine for the installation, maintenance, and removal of software on modern Microsoft Windows systems...
and Group PolicyGroup Policy is a feature of the Microsoft Windows NT family of operating systems. Group Policy is a set of rules which control the working environment of user accounts and computer accounts. Group policy provides the centralized management and configuration of operating systems, applications and...
- Filtered views
- Exporting list views to a text file
- Persistence of user-set column layouts (i.e. widths, ordering, visibility and sorting of lists)
- MMC 2.0, shipped with Windows XP
Windows XP is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, and media centers. The name "XP" is short for "eXPerience"...
and Windows Server 2003Windows Server 2003 is a server operating system produced by Microsoft. Introduced on 24 April 2003 as the successor to Windows 2000 Server, it is considered by Microsoft to be the cornerstone of its Windows Server System line of business server products. An updated version, Windows Server 2003...
. New features:
- Operating system-defined visual styles
- Automation object model, allowing the capabilities of an MMC snap-in to be used programmatically from outside MMC itself (e.g. from a script)
- 64-bit snap-ins
- Console Taskpads
- View Extensions
- Multilanguage User Interface help files
- MMC 3.0, shipped with Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista
Windows Vista is a line of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
, Windows Server 2008 and Windows XP SP3. Also downloadable for Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 SP1. New features:
- A new "Actions pane", displayed on the right-hand side of the MMC user interface that displays available actions for currently-selected node
- Support for developing snap-ins with the .NET framework
The Microsoft .NET Framework is a software framework that can be installed on computers running Microsoft Windows operating systems. It includes a large library of coded solutions to common programming problems and a virtual machine that manages the execution of programs written specifically for...
, including Windows FormsWindows Forms is the name given to the graphical application programming interface included as a part of Microsoft's .NET Framework, providing access to the native Microsoft Windows interface elements by wrapping the existing Windows API in managed code...
- Reduced amount of code required to create a snap-in
- Improved debugging capabilities
- Asynchronous user interface model (MMC 3.0 snap-ins only)
- True Color Icon Support (Windows Vista Only)
- New Add/Remove Snap-in UI
- DEP
Data Execution Prevention is a security feature included in modern Microsoft Windows operating systems that is intended to prevent an application or service from executing code from a non-executable memory region. This helps prevent certain exploits that store code via a buffer overflow, for example...
is always enforced. All snap-ins must be DEPData Execution Prevention is a security feature included in modern Microsoft Windows operating systems that is intended to prevent an application or service from executing code from a non-executable memory region. This helps prevent certain exploits that store code via a buffer overflow, for example...
-aware.
See also
- List of Microsoft Windows components
- Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces...
- Windows PowerShell
Windows PowerShell is an extensible automation engine, consisting of a command-line shell and associated scripting language from Microsoft...
- Emergency Management Services
Emergency Management Services provides an RS-232 accessible serial console interface to the bootloader menu on modern versions of Microsoft Windows....
(EMS)
External links