What is the Microsoft Management Console (MMC)?

A. Microsoft Management Console (MMC) - previously known by the codename "Slate" is Microsoft's new interface for machine and applicationmanagement and allows the user to create a custom console with"snap-ins" loaded. MMC provides a shell with no functionality, a'snap-in' provides the functionality, such as DNS management, and while a numberof default console configurations will be supplied with certain snap-in's preloaded you will be able to create your own console with one or more snap-insloaded.

Click here to view image
A custom console with the Group Policy Editor, Services and Disk ManagementSnap-in loaded.

The main MMC window has the 'Console' menu which is used to add and removesnap-ins to the console and to also save the configuration to enable you toreload any useful snap-in combinations.

Future Microsoft applications, such as Exchange 6.0 (Platinum) will use MMCsnap-ins instead of normal applications and other software providers will followsuit with snap-ins for most application management interfaces.

The MMC is core in Windows 2000 and was first seen in NT 4.0 with Option Pack4, Internet Information Server 4.0 and Service Pack 4's Security ConfigurationEditor.

The latest version of the MMC for Windows NT 4.0 can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/MANAGEMENT/MMC/download.htm.