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If you worked with Windows NT as a network administrator, you probably became resigned after a while to working with the conglomeration of different administrative tools, each with its own unique interface, each with its own quirks and peculiarities.
Oh, sure, there was a limited amount of standardization. You could count on the usual Windows menu bar across the top, although its contents varied from one tool to the next. Some tools, such as Server Manager and Disk Administrator, include a View menu. Others, such as User Manager, don’t. User Manager presents its information in a double paned window, stacked vertically. The DHCP Manager uses a double pane window, stacked horizontally. Server Manager uses a single paned window (see Figure A below).
Knowing how to navigate the interface of one of these tools in no way ensures you will be able to find what you’re looking for in any other.
This was worse than trying to reconcile all the myriad flavors of Linux. At least in that case, you could just pick one and use it exclusively.
So it’s no wonder that there was a lot of rejoicing when Microsoft promised that Windows 2000 administration would be simplified by the use of a common interface – the Microsoft Management Console (MMC). Many NT admins were already familiar with the MMC, having used it to manage Internet Information Server (IIS) 4.0.
Benefits of the Microsoft Management Console (MMC)
There are a number of predefined MMCs that are built into Windows 2000, most of which can be accessed via the Programs | Administrative Tools menu. Depending upon the services you have installed on your W2K Server, you will find some or all of the following selections in your Admin Tools menu:
Each selection accesses a preconfigured MMC for that particular tool.
All MMCs are laid out identically. Every MMC has an Action and a View menu in the top menu bar, and a set of icons that provide the following functionality:
· Back
· Forward
· Up One Level
· Show/Hide Console Tree/Favorites
· Export List
· Help
The contents of the Action and View menus will vary, depending on the specific tool, but the buttons represented by the icons will always perform the same function.
Each tool displays a double-paned (horizontally stacked) window. The left pane contains the console root and tree, a hierarchical arrangement of components. The right pane is the details pane, which displays the contents of the container selected in the left pane. See Figure B for an example of a typical preconfigured MMC. This is the Routing and Remote Access (RRAS) console.
Figure B: The RRAS console is a typical preconfigured MMC accessed via the Administrative Tools menu
The MMC provides an overview of available options for each tool. Properties sheets are generally accessed and configured by right-clicking (in the left console pane) or double-clicking (in the right details pane) on the object whose properties you want to modify. For example, in the figure above, to configure the properties of the remote access policy that is shown in the right pane (named “Allow access if dial-in permission is enabled”), you double-click it and its properties sheet will be displayed, as shown in Figure C below.
Figure C: Use the properties sheet to configure the settings for the object
You can use the properties sheet to change the settings for the policy.
To perform a task related to routing interfaces, such as creating a new demand-dial interface, you right-click Routing Interfaces in the left console pane (or in the right pane if the server name is selected and its options are displayed on the right, as shown in Figure D below).
Figure D: Right-click the appropriate selection to perform related tasks
As nice as it is to not have to learn a dozen different interfaces, this is not the only benefit of the W2K MMC. The management console concepts offers more than just a standardized “look” and “feel” for admin tools. The console itself is actually only a shell, into which an administrator can add modular components called snap-ins, to create customized consoles that hold exactly those management tools he/she needs.
Custom consoles can be created for assistant administrators, to delegate specific duties to them without giving them control over all administrative tasks.
Let’s look at how you can create and customize your own MMCs.
Creating and Customizing MMCs
To create a custom MMC, to which you can add whichever administrative tools you desire as snap-in modules, you first create an empty console by typing mmc at the Run prompt. The new empty console root window will be encapsulated in a larger window for which the menu bar includes the Console, Window and Help menus. See Figure E below.
Figure E: An empty MMC is created by typing “mmc” at the Run prompt.
You can add a specific management tool by selecting Add/Remove Snap-in from the Console menu. The available snap-ins will be displayed as shown in Figure F. To add one, double-click on it (or highlight it and click Add. Don’t do both, or you’ll find yourself with two copies of that snap-in in your console.
Figure F: Choose the snap-in(s) that you want to add to your management console
The available snap-ins listed in the Add Standalone Snap-in box will depend on the services and integrated applications installed on the Windows 2000 Server. Note that in the figure, the ISA Management snap-in is available; this is because Microsoft’s Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server has been installed on this W2K machine.
You can add multiple snap-ins, to allow for administrative of selected services. For example, the custom MMC shown in Figure G includes the management modules for RAS, Certification Authority, DNS, WINS and DHCP. Management modules will be displayed in the order in which you add them to the console.
Figure G: A custom MMC can include the management tools you specify.
After you have customized your MMC, you can hide the main console menu and main toolbar (this will keep users from trying to access the Add/Remove Snap-ins function). This is done by choosing Customize on the View menu, and selecting which elements should be displayed. Uncheck the checkboxes for the standard menus and standard toolbar to hide these elements (see Figure H).
Figure H: You can hide specific elements of the MMC with the Customize View box.
Note: The View menu also gives you the option to modify which columns are displayed in the right details pane. You can reorder the columns either using the Modify Columns dialog box, or by dragging a column heading to the left or right of its original position.
The custom console can now be saved with a unique name (by default it will saved in the Administrative Tools folder in the Programs menu, in the profile of the currently logged on administrator, and can subsequently be started from the Start | Programs | Administrative Tools menu.
Note: In addition to snap-ins, other components that can be added to an MMC include: Active-X controls, links to web pages, folders and tasks.
Console Mode Options
Your custom console can be saved in one of two modes: Author or User. Further, User Mode can be implemented in three different ways.
· Author mode: allows you to create new consoles or modify existing consoles.
· User mode – full access: provides full window management commands and full access to the console tree, but prevents adding or removing snap-ins or changing console properties.
· User mode – limited access, multiple window: allows use of multiple windows.
· User mode – limited access, single window: limits access to a single window.
The console mode is specified by selecting Options from the Console menu. The Options dialog box is shown in Figure I.
Figure I: The Options dialog box is used to select the default mode for the new MMC.
Regardless of the default mode in which the console is saved, it can be opened in author mode by typing the full mmc pathname with the /a switch at the Run prompt.
When a console is opened in user mode, it can be used to administer the services whose snap-ins make up the console. Author mode allows for modifying the console (or creating a new one).
Note: Group Policy can be used to restrict or allow access to specific management modules, or to prevent a particular user or group from being able to use Author mode to create or modify MMCs.
Exporting Information from an MMC
You can export the contents of MMC columns to a text file. For example, if you wish to export the list of content groups shown in the right pane of the ISA Management console in Figure J, you need only select Export List from the Action menu, and choose the format in which you which to export the text file.
Figure J: You can export the contents of the details pane to a text file.
You will be given the choice to save the contents to one of the following formats:
· Tab delimited text (.txt extension)
· Comma delimited text (.csv extension)
· Unicode text (tab delimited - .txt)
· Unicode text (comma delimited - .csv)
You can then import the tab or comma delimited text file into a spreadsheet program such as Excel, or a database program such as Access.
Note: You may be able to save/export only selected rows in the details pane, depending upon which snap-in you are using. If this option is available, you can check the Save Only Selected Rows box in the Save As dialog box.
Summary
Microsoft’s practice of presenting all Windows 2000 administrative tools as snap-ins for the MMC provides administrators with a common interface that makes it easier to navigate through the tools’ components, and flexibility for creating their own customized management consoles that give an administrator exactly the tools that he/she needs to perform designated tasks. This is a big improvement over the old way of making each tool a separate utility with a unique interface.
If you are a developer, there is a wealth of information available on the MSDN website about how to further customize management consoles for your applications. See www.msdn.microsoft.com/library.