7.1.6 Windows Management Consoles

• Management consoles in Windows manage various aspects of the operating system.

Microsoft Management Console (MMC)

• MMC is a tool that provides a consistent interface to manage the Windows OS.
• You can load the MMC by searching for "mmc" in the taskbar search field.
• The MMC is a customizable experience and initially has no management consoles available.
• Snap-ins are used to customize the MMC with the management tools needed.
• You can add snap-ins by going to the File menu and clicking "Add/Remove Snap-in".
• The Event Viewer snap-in manages Windows logs, and you can select whether to view logs on the local computer or another one on the network.
• The Device Manager snap-in manages the hardware devices installed on the system.
• The Disk Management snap-in manages hard disks and their partitions.
• The Local Users and Groups snap-in manages User and Group accounts on the local system.
• The tree view is the left pane that displays the snap-ins.
• When you expand options in the tree view, it shows the options for that snap-in.
• The contents of the middle pane change depending on what is selected in the left pane.
• Selecting "Users" in Local Users and Groups shows all configured user accounts.
• The right pane, "More Actions," allows actions like setting passwords, deleting, renaming, viewing properties, or getting help for a selected object.
• You can create a new account by selecting More Actions under Users, then New User, entering details, and clicking Create, which creates a new user account.
• Disk Management displays a list of all volumes defined on the system and shows installed storage devices in the lower panes.
• Example volumes are the C:\ volume, EFI system partition, and recovery partition.
• MMC is highly customizable.
• You can save a configured MMC console for later use by selecting File > Save, which is helpful for frequent use as a system administrator.
• Saved configurations can be accessed from the desktop or by opening MMC and using the File option.
• You can run a single snap-in, like Services, by searching for it in the taskbar and selecting it from the results.

Predefined Management Consoles

• Windows comes with predefined management consoles like Computer Management.
• You can launch Computer Management by right-clicking on Start or searching for it.
• Computer Management is a predefined MMC console with various snap-ins.
• Event Viewer is loaded in the middle pane, showing an overview and summary.
• Disk Management displays disk information.

Summary of Facts

• Microsoft Windows contains management consoles, giving users and administrators the ability to configure and modify different tasks.
• Microsoft Management Console and Computer Manager are two utilities included with Windows.
• MMC is a framework with a common user interface for system administration tasks that manages a set of related features by adding snap-ins to the console.
• MMC provides the shell for running snap-ins, and the snap-ins provide the details for specific management tasks.
• The tree pane (left) organizes objects in a hierarchy.
• The results pane (middle) shows objects and configuration options.
• The actions pane (right) lists actions on objects.
• Computer Management is a saved MMC console that includes common snap-ins to manage your computer, launched by right-clicking Start or searching.
• Computer Management contains snap-ins like Task Scheduler, Event Viewer, Shared Folders, Local Users and Groups, Performance, Device Manager, and Disk Management.