Microsoft Management Console

Microsoft Management Console

A component of Microsoft Windows
Windows Management Console running in Windows 7, with Device Manager snap-in loaded
Details
Type	System configuration application
Included with	Windows NT 4.0 and later

Snap-ins listed in the management console

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.

Snap-ins and consoles

The management console can host Component Object Model 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 interfaces published on the Microsoft Developer Network's web site.

Snap-ins are registered in the [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT]\{CLSID} and [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\MMC\Snapins] registry 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 Panel, under "System and Security" in Category View. Computer Management actually consists of 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:

• Microsoft Exchange Server
• Active Directory Users and Computers, Domains and Trusts, and Sites and Services
• Group Policy Management, including the Local Security Policy snap-in included on all Windows 2000 and later systems (Home editions of Microsoft Windows disable this snap-in)
• Services snap-in, for managing Windows services
• Performance snap-in, for monitoring system performance and metrics
• Event Viewer, for monitoring system and application events

Version history

• MMC 1.0, shipped with Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack.
• MMC 1.1, shipped with SQL Server 7.0 and Systems Management Server 2.0, and also made available as a download for Windows 9x versions and Windows NT. New features:^[1]
  • 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. New features:^[2]
  • Support for Windows Installer and Group Policy
  • 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 and 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,^[3] Windows Server 2008 and Windows XP SP3. Also downloadable for Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 SP1. New features:^[4]
  • 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, including Windows Forms
  • 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 is always enforced. All snap-ins must be DEP-aware.^[5]

See also

• List of Microsoft Windows components
• Microsoft Windows
• Windows PowerShell

References

1. ↑ "What's New in MMC Version 1.1". Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. Retrieved February 13, 2006. 
2. ↑
3. ↑ Download details: Windows XP Service Pack 3 Overview
4. ↑ "What's New in MMC 3.0". MSDN. Microsoft. 
5. ↑ "The Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Developer Story: Application Compatibility Cookbook". MSDN. Microsoft. 

External links

• Microsoft Management Console documentation at the Microsoft Developer Network

Microsoft Windows components
Management tools	CMD.EXE Control Panel Applets Device Manager Disk Cleanup Disk Defragmenter Driver Verifier Event Viewer IExpress Management Console Netsh Recovery Console Resource Monitor Settings app Sysprep System Configuration System File Checker System Information System Policy Editor System Restore Task Manager Windows Error Reporting Windows Ink Windows Installer PowerShell Windows Update Windows Insider WinRE WMI
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Shell	Action Center Aero AutoPlay AutoRun ClearType Explorer Search Indexing Service IFilter Saved search Namespace Special folder Start menu Taskbar Task View Windows XP visual styles
Services	Service Control Manager BITS CLFS Multimedia Class Scheduler Shadow Copy Task Scheduler Error Reporting Wireless Zero Configuration
File systems	CDFS DFS exFAT IFS FAT NTFS Hard link Junction point Mount Point Reparse point Symbolic link TxF EFS ReFS UDF WinFS
Server	Domains Active Directory DNS Group Policy Roaming user profiles Folder redirection Distributed Transaction Coordinator MSMQ Windows Media Services Rights Management Services IIS Remote Desktop Services WSUS SharePoint Network Access Protection PWS DFS Replication Remote Differential Compression Print Services for UNIX Remote Installation Services Windows Deployment Services System Resource Manager Hyper-V Server Core
Architecture	Architecture of Windows NT Startup process CSRSS Desktop Window Manager Portable Executable EXE DLL Enhanced Write Filter Graphics Device Interface hal.dll I/O request packet Imaging Format Kernel Transaction Manager Library files Logical Disk Manager LSASS MinWin NTLDR Ntoskrnl.exe Object Manager Open XML Paper Specification Registry Resource Protection Security Account Manager Server Message Block Shadow Copy SMSS System Idle Process USER WHEA Win32 console Winlogon
Security	Security and Maintenance BitLocker Data Execution Prevention Family Safety Kernel Patch Protection Mandatory Integrity Control Protected Media Path User Account Control User Interface Privilege Isolation Windows Defender Windows Firewall
Compatibility	COMMAND.COM Virtual DOS machine Windows on Windows WoW64 Windows Subsystem for Linux
API	Active Scripting WSH VBScript JScript COM ActiveX ActiveX Document COM Structured storage DCOM OLE OLE Automation Transaction Server DirectX .NET Framework Windows Holographic Windows Runtime Universal Windows Platform
Discontinued	Games 3D Pinball Chess Titans FreeCell Hearts Hover! InkBall Hold 'Em Mahjong Titans Minesweeper Purble Place Reversi Solitaire Spider Solitaire Tinker Apps ActiveMovie Anytime Upgrade Address Book Backup and Restore Cardfile CardSpace Contacts Desktop Gadgets Diagnostics DriveSpace DVD Maker Fax File Manager Food & Drink Help and Support Center Health & Fitness HyperTerminal Internet Explorer Journal Internet Mail and News Media Center Meeting Space Messaging Messenger Mobile Device Center NetMeeting NTBackup Outlook Express Travel Photo Gallery Program Manager Windows Easy Transfer WinHelp Write Others ScanDisk File Protection Media Control Interface Next-Generation Secure Computing Base POSIX subsystem Interix Video for Windows Windows SideShow Windows Services for UNIX Windows System Assessment Tool