Some useful command and its functionality
MMC - Microsoft Management Console
A comment I frequently hear is users wishing there was one central location where they could go to perform the majority of the administrative tasks that are a part of life with a computer. Just remembering all the locations where these tasks can be accomplished is no small feat in itself. Microsoft must be keeping it a secret or user curiosity isn't what it once was, but such a place does exist; Microsoft Management Console. In Microsoft's own words, "Microsoft Management Console (MMC) hosts administrative tools that you can use to administer networks, computers, services, and other system components." That's all well and good, but what does it mean in real life? Basically, it means that you can create a customized set of tools and group them in a 'console' that is easily accessible without having to search through different locations to find one particular setting or group of settings.
Microsoft Management Console Basics
The first thing to understand is that a Microsoft Management Console is a host for an administrative tool called a snap-in. A snap-in is actually an Active-X module that is used to perform a specific function, but without a snap-in a console is useless. It's sole purpose is as an application to hold the snap-ins you select and provide a mechanism for them to become functional. Each console is created from either a single snap-in or combination of snap-ins. Once a basic console has been created it's up to you to add snap-ins appropriate to the intended use of the console. To illustrate, use the Run command in Start Menu to open the Event Viewer Console (eventvwr.msc) and the Computer Management
Console (compmgmt.msc). The Event Viewer Console will contain only the event viewer snap-in. The Computer Management Console also contains the same event viewer snap-in under the category System Tools. A comparison of Event Viewer in both locations will show they contain identical data. The event viewer snap-in can be used by itself to construct a single purpose console, or as a component part of a multiple purpose console such as Computer Management. Whether one snap-in or multiple snap-ins are used, once they are added to the host and saved with a .msc extension it becomes a functional Microsoft Management Console. I mentioned the Event Viewer and Computer Management consoles. Both are pre-configured consoles that come with Windows XP. In addition there are quite a few others that are standard issue with XP. I've listed them in the table below with their everyday name and the file name that is used to launch them using the [Start] [Run] command.
| Certificates | certmgr.msc |
| Indexing Service | ciadv.msc |
| Computer Management | compmgmt.msc |
| Device Manager | devmgmt.msc |
| Disk Defragmenter | dfrg.msc |
| Disk Management | diskmgmt.msc |
| Event Viewer | eventvwr.msc |
| Shared Folders | fsmgmt.msc |
| Group Policy | gpedit.msc |
| Local Users and Groups | lusrmgr.msc |
| Removable Storage | ntmsmgr.msc |
| Removable Storage Operator Requests | ntmsoprq.msc |
| Performance | perfmon.msc |
| Resultant Set of Policy | rsop.msc |
| Local Security Settings | secpol.msc |
| Services | services.msc |
| Windows Management Infrastructure (WMI) | wmimgmt.msc |
| Component Services | comexp.msc |
As you can see from the table the pre-configured consoles that come with XP cover a wide array of tasks and services. Does it really make sense to create custom consoles when all of these are already available? Actually, it does. It's unlikely that any of the pre-configured consoles will precisely match the tasks you are faced with on a regular basis. Modifying the pre-configured consoles or creating new ones allows precise tailoring of the console to a specific task or group of tasks. This can eliminate having to move between different locations to accomplish tasks while helping to prevent overlooking parts of a specific task. In situations where administrative tasks are performed by multiple users, creating custom consoles related only to the specific task they perform lessens the chance of error or accessing areas that should remain unavailable. Additionally, since some consoles can be configured to administer remote as well as local computers, customizing a console can restrict access when required.
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