Microsoft Management Console
Encyclopedia
Microsoft Management Console (MMC) is a component of Windows 2000
and its successors that provides system administrators and advanced users an interface for configuring and monitoring the system.
components called snap-ins. Most of Microsoft's administration tools are implemented as MMC snap-ins. Third parties can also implement their own snap-ins using the MMC's application programming interface
s published on the Microsoft Developer Network
's web site.
Snap-ins are registered in the
keys. A snap-in combined with MMC is called a console, which users can launch using this syntax:
. Computer Management is actually a collection of MMC snap-ins, including the Device Manager
, Disk Defragmenter
, Internet Information Services
(if installed), Disk Management
, Event Viewer
, Local Users and Groups (except in the home editions of Windows), 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 snap-ins in common use include:
Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the...
and its successors that provides system administrators and advanced users an interface for configuring and monitoring the system.
Snap-ins and consoles
The management console can host Component Object ModelComponent Object Model
Component 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 are implemented as MMC snap-ins. Third parties can also implement their own snap-ins using the MMC's application programming interface
Application programming interface
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
s published on the Microsoft Developer Network
Microsoft Developer Network
The Microsoft Developer Network is the portion of Microsoft responsible for managing the firm's relationship with developers and testers: hardware developers interested in the operating system , developers standing on the various OS platforms, developers using the API and scripting languages of...
's web site.
Snap-ins are registered in the
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT]\{CLSIDGlobally Unique IdentifierA globally unique identifier is a unique reference number used as an identifier in computer software. The term GUID also is used for Microsoft's implementation of the Universally unique identifier standard....
} and [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\MMC\Snapins] registryWindows registry
The Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that stores configuration settings and options on Microsoft Windows operating systems. It contains settings for low-level operating system components as well as the applications running on the platform: the kernel, device drivers, services, SAM, user...
keys. A snap-in combined with MMC is called a console, which users can launch using this syntax:
mmc path \ filename.msc [/a] [/64] [/32].Common snap-ins
The most prolific MMC component, Computer Management, appears in the Administrative Tools folder in the Control PanelControl Panel (Windows)
The 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 Manager
Device Manager
The 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 Defragmenter
Windows Disk Defragmenter
Disk Defragmenter is a utility in Microsoft Windows designed to increase access speed by rearranging files stored on a disk to occupy contiguous storage locations, a technique called defragmentation. Defragmenting a disk minimizes head travel, which reduces the time it takes to read files from and...
, Internet Information Services
Internet Information Services
Internet Information Services – formerly called Internet Information Server – is a web server application and set of feature extension modules created by Microsoft for use with Microsoft Windows. It is the most used web server after Apache HTTP Server. IIS 7.5 supports HTTP, HTTPS,...
(if installed), Disk Management
Logical Disk Manager
The 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, Windows Vista and Windows 7...
, Event Viewer
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.- Overview :...
, Local Users and Groups (except in the home editions of Windows), 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 snap-ins in common use include:
- Microsoft Exchange ServerMicrosoft Exchange ServerMicrosoft Exchange Server is the server side of a client–server, collaborative application product developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Servers line of server products and is used by enterprises using Microsoft infrastructure products...
- Active DirectoryActive DirectoryActive Directory is a directory service created by Microsoft for Windows domain networks. It is included in most Windows Server operating systems. Server computers on which Active Directory is running are called domain controllers....
Users and Computers, Domains and Trusts, and Sites and Services - Group PolicyGroup PolicyGroup Policy is a feature of the Microsoft Windows NT family of operating systems. Group Policy is a set of rules that 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 snap-in included on all Windows 2000Windows 2000Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the...
and later systems (This snap-in is disabled in the home editions of Windows) - Services snap-in, for managing Windows services
- Performance snap-in, for monitoring system performance and metrics
- Event ViewerEvent 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.- Overview :...
, for monitoring system and application events
Version history
- MMC 1.0, shipped with Windows NT 4.0Windows NT 4.0Windows 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 ServerMicrosoft SQL ServerMicrosoft SQL Server is a relational database server, developed by Microsoft: It is a software product whose primary function is to store and retrieve data as requested by other software applications, be it those on the same computer or those running on another computer across a network...
7.0 and Systems Management ServerMicrosoft 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 9xWindows 9x is a generic term referring to a series of Microsoft Windows computer operating systems produced since 1995, which were based on the original and later modified Windows 95 kernel...
versions and Windows NTWindows NTWindows NT is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released in July 1993. It was a powerful high-level-language-based, processor-independent, multiprocessing, multiuser operating system with features comparable to Unix. It was intended to complement...
. 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 2000Windows 2000Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the...
. New features:- Support for Windows InstallerWindows InstallerThe Windows Installer is a software component used for the installation, maintenance, and removal of software on modern Microsoft Windows systems...
and Group PolicyGroup PolicyGroup Policy is a feature of the Microsoft Windows NT family of operating systems. Group Policy is a set of rules that 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)
- Support for Windows Installer
- MMC 2.0, shipped with Windows XPWindows XPWindows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
and Windows Server 2003Windows Server 2003Windows Server 2003 is a server operating system produced by Microsoft, introduced on 24 April 2003. An updated version, Windows Server 2003 R2, was released to manufacturing on 6 December 2005...
. 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 VistaWindows VistaWindows Vista is an operating system released in several variations 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.NET FrameworkThe .NET Framework is a software framework that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes a large library and supports several programming languages which allows language interoperability...
, including Windows FormsWindows FormsWindows Forms is the name given to the graphical application programming interface included as a part of Microsoft .NET Framework, providing access to native Microsoft Windows interface elements by wrapping the extant 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
- DEPData Execution PreventionData Execution Prevention is a security feature included in modern operating systems.It is known to be available in Linux, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows operating systems and is intended to prevent an application or service from executing code from a non-executable memory region. This helps...
is always enforced. All snap-ins must be DEPData Execution PreventionData Execution Prevention is a security feature included in modern operating systems.It is known to be available in Linux, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows operating systems and is intended to prevent an application or service from executing code from a non-executable memory region. This helps...
-aware.
See also
- List of Microsoft Windows components
- Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
- Windows PowerShellWindows PowerShellWindows PowerShell is Microsoft's task automation framework, consisting of a command-line shell and associated scripting language built on top of, and integrated with the .NET Framework...
External links
- Microsoft Management Console documentation at the Microsoft Developer Network
- MMCSpy Free tool to expose the internal/external data formats supported by MMC Snap-Ins.