Windows Server 2008 Inside Out- P5

4. When you are fi nished adding snap-ins to folders, click OK to close the Add Or Remove Snap-Ins dialog box and return to the console you are creating. Some snap-ins prompt you to select a computer to manage, as shown in the following screen: If you want the snap-in to work with whichever computer the console is running on, select Local Computer. Otherwise, select Another Computer, and then type the computer name or IP address of the computer you want to use. If you don’t know the computer name or IP address, click Browse to search for the computer you want to work with. Specify Which Computer to Manage To ensure you can specify which computer to manage when running the console from the command line, you must select the Allow The Selected Computer To Be Changed When Launching From The Command Line check box. When you select this option and save the console, you can set the computer to manage using the /Computer=RemoteComputer parameter. Some snap-ins are added by using wizards with several confi guration pages, so when you select these snap-ins you start the associated wizard and the wizard helps you confi gure how the snap-in is used. One snap-in in particular that uses a wizard is Link To Web Address. When you add this snap-in, you start the Link To Web Address Wizard, as shown in the following screen, and the wizard prompts you to create an Internet shortcut. Here, you type the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) you want to use, click Next, enter a descriptive name for the URL, then click Finish. Then, when you select the related snap-in in the console tree, the designated Web page appears in the details pane. Specify Which Computer to Manage To ensure you can specify which computer to manage when running the console from the command line, you must select the Allow The Selected Computer To Be Changed When Launching From The Command Line check box. When you select this option and save the console, you can set the computer to manage using the /Computer=RemoteComputer parameter.r Building Custom MMCs 167 Chapter 6 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. While you are adding snap-ins, you can also examine the available extensions for snap- ins. In the Add Or Remove Snap-Ins dialog box, choose a previously selected snap-in and then click Edit Extensions. In the Extensions For … dialog box, all available exten- sions are enabled by default, as shown in the following screen. So, if you want to change this behavior, you can select the Enable Only Selected Extensions option and then clear the individual check boxes for extensions you want to exclude. Figure 6-6 shows the example console with snap-ins organized using the previously discussed folders:  General Containing Active Directory Users And Computers, Active Directory Sites And Services, and Active Directory Domains Aand Trusts  Policy Containing Group Policy Management and Resultant Set of Policy Chapter 6 168 Chapter 6 Windows Server 2008 MMC Administration Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark.  Security Containing Security Templates and Security Confi guration And Analysis  Support Containing links to Microsoft Knowledge Base, Microsoft Tech Support, and Windows Server Home Page Figure 6-6 A custom console with snap-ins organized into four folders. Step 3: Saving the Finished Console When you are fi nished with the design, you are ready to save your custom console tool. Before you do this, however, there are a couple of fi nal design issues you should consider:  What you want the initial console view to be  Which user mode you want to use  Which icon you want to use  What you want to name the console tool and where you want it to be located Setting the Initial Console View Before Saving By default, the MMC remembers the last selected node or snap-in and saves this as the initial view for the console. In the example tool created, if you expand the General folder, select Active Directory Users And Computers, and then save the console, this selection is saved when the console is next opened. Keep in mind that subsequent views depend on user selections. Note Only the folder with the selected snap-in is expanded in the saved view. If you use fold- ers and select a snap-in within a folder, the expanded view of the folder is saved with the snap-in selected. If you expand other folders, the console is not saved with these folders expanded. Note Only the folder with the selected snap-in is expanded in the saved view. If you use fold- ers and select a snap-in within a folder, the expanded view of the folder is saved with the snap-in selected. If you expand other folders, the console is not saved with these folders expanded. Building Custom MMCs 169 Chapter 6 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. Setting the Console Mode Before Saving When you are fi nished authoring the console tool, select Options on the File menu. In the Options dialog box, as shown in the screen on the following page, you can change the console mode so that it is ready for use. In most cases, you’ll want to use User Mode—Full Access. Full access has the following characteristics:  Users have a Window menu that allows them to open new windows, and they can also right-click a node or snap-in and choose New Window From Here to open a new window.  Users can right-click and choose New Taskpad View to create a new taskpad view. With user mode set to Limited Access, Multiple Window, the console has the following characteristics:  Users have a Window menu that allows them to arrange windows, and they can also right-click a node or snap-in and choose New Window From Here to open a new window.  Users cannot right-click and choose New Taskpad View to create a new taskpad view. User mode set to Limited Access, Single Window has the following characteristics:  Users do not have a Window menu and cannot right-click a node or snap-in and choose New Window From Here to open a new window.  Users cannot right-click and choose New Taskpad View to create a new taskpad view. To prevent user selections from changing the view, you’ll fi nd two handy options when you select Options from the File menu:  Do Not Save Changes To This Console Select this check box to prevent the user from saving changes to the console. Clear this check box to change the view auto- matically based on the user’s last selection in the console before exiting.  Allow The User To Customize Views Select this check box to allow users to add windows focused on a selected item in the console. Clear this check box to pre- vent users from adding customized views. Chapter 6 170 Chapter 6 Windows Server 2008 MMC Administration Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. Setting the Console Icon Before Saving While you are working in the Options dialog box, you might consider setting custom icons for your console tools. All the console tools developed by Microsoft have their own icons. You can use these icons for your console tools as well, or you could use icons from other Microsoft programs quite easily. In the Options dialog box (which is displayed when you select Options on the File menu), click Change Icon. This displays the Change Icon dialog box, as shown in the following screen: Building Custom MMCs 171 Chapter 6 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. In the Change Icon dialog box, click Browse. By default, the Open dialog box should open with the directory set to %SystemRoot%\System32. In this case, type shell32.dll as the File Name, and click Open. You should now see the Change Icon dialog box with the Shell32.dll selected, which will allow you to choose one of several hundred icons registered for use with the operating system shell (see the following screen). Choose an icon, click OK, and then click OK to close the Options dialog box. From then on, the icon will be associated with your custom console tool. Saving the Console Tool to the Desktop, the Start Menu, or a Folder After you set the user mode, you can save the console tool. The console tool can appear as one of the following:  A desktop icon Select Save As on the File menu, and then navigate the folder structure to %SystemRoot%\Users\%UserName%\Desktop. Here, %UserName% is the name of the user who will work with the tool. After you type a name for the console, click Save.  A menu option on the Start menu for all users Select Save As on the File menu, and then navigate the folder structure to %SystemRoot%\ProgramData\Micro- soft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Administrative Tools. After you type a name for the console, click Save.  A menu option on the Start menu for a specifi c user Select Save As on the File menu, and then navigate the folder structure to %SystemRoot%\Users\ %UserName%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\ Administrative Tools. Here, %UserName% is the name of the user who will work with the tool. After you type a name for the console, click Save.  A folder icon Select Save As on the File menu, and then navigate to the folder where you want the console tool to reside. After you type a name for the console, click Save. Chapter 6 172 Chapter 6 Windows Server 2008 MMC Administration Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. Change Tool Names Using the Options Dialog Box By default, the name shown on the console tool’s title bar is set to the fi le name you des- ignate when saving it. As long as you are in author mode, you can change the console tool name using the Options dialog box. Select Options on the File menu, and then type the name in the box provided at the top of the Console tab. Designing Custom Taskpads for the MMC When you want to simplify administration or limit the available tasks for junior admin- istrators or Power Users, you might want to consider adding a taskpad to a console tool. By using taskpads, you can create custom views of your console tools that contain shortcuts to menu commands, shell commands, and navigation components. Getting Started with Taskpads Basically, taskpads let you create a page of tasks that you can perform quickly by click- ing the associated shortcut links rather than using the existing menu or interface provided by snap-ins. You can create multiple taskpads in a console, each of which is accessed as a taskpad view. If you’ve worked with Windows XP or Windows Vista, you’ve probably seen the revised Control Panel, which is a taskpad view of Control Panel. As with most taskpads, Control Panel has two purposes: It provides direct access to the commands or tasks so that you don’t have to navigate menus, and it limits your options to a set of predefi ned tasks that you can perform. You create taskpads when you are working with a console tool in author mode. Task- pads can contain the following items:  Menu commands Menu commands are used to run the standard menu options of included snap-ins.  Shell commands Shell commands are used to run scripts or programs or to open Web pages.  Navigation components Navigation components are used to navigate to a saved view on the Favorites menu. Taskpad commands are also called tasks. You run tasks simply by clicking their links. In the case of menu commands, clicking the links runs the menu commands. For shell commands, clicking the links runs the associated scripts or programs. For navigation components, clicking the links displays the designated navigation views. If you have multiple levels of taskpads, you must include navigation components to allow users to get back to the top-level taskpad. The concept is similar to having to create a home link on Web pages. Change Tool Names Using the Options Dialog Box By default, the name shown on the console tool’s title bar is set to the fi le name you des- ignate when saving it. As long as you are in author mode, you can change the console tool name using the Options dialog box. Select Options on the File menu, and then type the name in the box provided at the top of the Console tab. Designing Custom Taskpads for the MMC 173 Chapter 6 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. Figure 6-7 shows a taskpad created for the Active Directory Users And Computers snap- in that has been added to the custom tool created earlier in the chapter. Figure 6-7 A custom console with a taskpad that uses a vertical list. As you can see, the task page view is labeled AD Management, and it provides the fol- lowing commands:  Create Computer Used to start the New Object—Computer Wizard  Find Objects Used to open the Find Users, Contacts, And Groups dialog box  Create Group Used to start the New Object—Group Wizard  Create User Used to start the New Object—User Wizard  Connect To Domain Used to select the domain to work with  Create Advanced Query Used to defi ne an Active Directory query and save it so that it can be reused Note You could also add a Connect To Domain Forest option that would be used to select the domain forest to work with. We haven’t used the taskpad to limit the options; rather, we’ve simply provided quick access shortcuts to commonly run tasks. In the next section, you’ll learn how to limit user options. Understanding Taskpad View Styles Taskpads can be organized in several different ways. By default, they will have two views: an extended taskpad view and a standard view. The extended view contains the list of tasks that you’ve defi ned and can also contain the console items being managed. The standard view contains only the console items being managed. When you create the taskpad, you have the option of hiding the standard view simply by selecting the Hide Standard Tab check box. Note You could also add a Connect To Domain Forest option that would be used to select the domain forest to work with. We haven’t used the taskpad to limit the options; rather, we’ve simply provided quick access shortcuts to commonly run tasks. In the next section, you’ll learn how to limit user options. Chapter 6 174 Chapter 6 Windows Server 2008 MMC Administration Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. The extended view of the taskpad can be organized using a vertical list, a horizontal list, or no list. In a vertical list as shown previously in Figure 6-7, taskpad commands are listed to the left of the console items they are used to manage. This organization approach works well when you have a long list of tasks and you still want users to be able to work with the related snap-ins. With a horizontal list, as shown in Figure 6-8, the console items managed by the task- pad are listed above the taskpad commands. This organization style is best when you want to display multiple columns of taskpad commands and still be able to work with the related snap-ins. Figure 6-8 A custom console with a taskpad that uses a horizontal list. In some cases, you might not want to show the console items being managed by the taskpad in the same view as the tasks. In this case, you can specify that no list should be used. When you choose the No List option, the taskpad commands are shown by themselves on the taskpad tab (AD Management in the example), and users can click the Standard tab to access the related console items. As discussed, you can limit the options users have in console tools by selecting both the No List option and the Hide Standard Tab check box. Keep in mind that if the console tool doesn’t include a taskpad for a snap-in, users will still be able to manage the snap-in in the usual way. For example, the taskpad shown in Figure 6-8 doesn’t defi ne any tasks that manage policy or security, so the snap-ins in these folders will be fully accessible. To make it so users can’t work with these snap-ins directly, you must defi ne taskpads for those snap-ins or add tasks that use menu commands from those snap-ins to the current taskpad or another taskpad. SIDE OUT Limiting user options in taskpads As discussed, you can limit the options users have in console tools by selecting both the No List option and the Hide Standard Tab check box. Keep in mind that if the console tool doesn’t include a taskpad for a snap-in, users will still be able to manage the snap-in in the usual way. For example, the taskpad shown in Figure 6-8 doesn’t defi ne any tasks that manage policy or security, so the snap-ins in these folders will be fully accessible. To make it so users can’t work with these snap-ins directly, you must defi ne taskpads for those snap-ins or add tasks that use menu commands from those snap-ins to the current taskpad or another taskpad. Designing Custom Taskpads for the MMC 175 Chapter 6 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. When you select the No List option, you can limit users’ options to the tasks you’ve defi ned and not allow users to access the console items being managed. To do this, you specify that the Standard tab should be hidden. From then on, when working with the console items being managed, users can perform only the tasks defi ned on the taskpad, such as those shown in Figure 6-9. Figure 6-9. By using the No List style and hiding the Standard tab, you can limit user options. Creating and Managing Taskpads Any console tool that has at least one snap-in can have an associated taskpad. To create a taskpad, you must open the console in author mode, then follow these steps: 1. In your custom MMC, right-click the folder or console item that you want to work with, choose Action, and then choose New Taskpad View to start the New Taskpad View Wizard. Keep in mind that a single taskpad can be used to manage multiple console items. 2. In the New Taskpad View Wizard, click Next, and then confi gure the taskpad display (see Figure 6-10 for an example). Select the style for the details page as Vertical List, Horizontal List, or No List, and set the task description style as Text or InfoTip. You can also choose to hide the Standard tab (which only limits the tasks that can be performed if you also select the No List style). As you make selections, the wizard provides a depiction of what the results will look like as a fi nished taskpad. Click Next to continue. 3. On the Taskpad Reuse page (shown in Figure 6-11), you must decide whether to apply the taskpad view to the selected tree item only (the item you right-clicked) or to any other tree item of the same type. If you choose the latter option, you also have the option to change the default display for any items used in the taskpad to the taskpad view. Typically, you’ll want to do this to standardize the view, especially if you’ve hidden the Standard tab and don’t want users to have other options. Click Next. Chapter 6 176 Chapter 6 Windows Server 2008 MMC Administration Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. [...]... that you can deploy on a server running Windows Server 2008 In addition to roles and features that are included with Windows Server 2008 by default, Server Manager enables integration of additional roles and features that are available on the Microsoft Download Center as optional updates to Windows Server 2008 Table 7-1 Primary Roles and Related Role Services for Windows Server 2008 Role Description Active... overview of the primary features that you can deploy on a server running Windows Server 2008 Unlike earlier releases of Windows, some important server features are not installed automatically For example, you must add Windows Server Backup to use the built-in backup and restore features of the operating system Table 7-2 Primary Features for Windows Server 2008 Feature Description NET Framework 3.0 Provides... network Keep in mind also that the MMC version shipped with Windows Server 2003 and previous versions of the Windows operating system will not run tools created using the MMC version that ships with Windows Server 2008 (MMC 3.0) Unless a computer has been updated specifically to use MMC 3.0, this version runs on only Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista Chapter 6 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com... from the Microsoft Web site Windows Internal Database Installs SQL Server 2005 Embedded Edition This allows the server to use relational databases with Windows roles and features that require an internal database, such as AD RMS, UDDI Services, Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), Windows SharePoint Services, and Windows System Resource Manager Windows PowerShell Installs Windows PowerShell, which... Administrator’s Pocket Consultant Windows Deployment WDS provides services for deploying Windows computers in the Services (WDS) enterprise Includes these role services: Deployment Server and Transport Server Windows SharePoint Services Windows SharePoint Services enable team collaboration by connecting people and information A SharePoint server is essentially a Web server running a full installation... additional Windows Vista desktop functionality on the server Windows Vista features added include Windows Media Player, desktop themes, and Windows Photo Gallery Although these features allow a server to be used like a desktop computer, they can reduce the server s overall performance Failover Clustering Provides clustering functionality that allows multiple servers to work together to provide high availability... command-line environment for managing Windows systems Windows Process Activation Service Provides support for distributed Web-based applications that use HTTP and non-HTTP protocols Windows Recovery Environment You can use the recovery environment to restore a server using recovery options if you cannot access recovery options provided by the server manufacturer Windows Server Backup Allows you to back... Components Available Microsoft designed Server Manager and the underlying framework for managing components to be extensible This makes it easier to provide supplemental roles, role services, and features for the operating system Some additional components are available as downloads from the Microsoft Web site, including Windows Media Server 2008 and Windows SharePoint Server 2008 You can make these components... need to restart the server before installation or removal of a role, role service, or feature can be completed In this case, you’ll be prompted to restart the server when the Add Roles Wizard finishes When you restart the server and log on, Server Manager will complete the installation or removal process Removing a Server Role You can remove a server role by following these steps: 1 In Server Manager, select... click Remove Figure 7-7 Clear selected role services to remove them Managing Windows Features In earlier versions of Windows, you used the Add/Remove Windows Components option of the Add Or Remove Programs utility to add or remove operating system components In Windows Server 2008, you configure operating system components as Windows features that you can turn on or off rather than add or remove Please . deploy on a server running Windows Server 2008. In addition to roles and fea- tures that are included with Windows Server 2008 by default, Server Manager. Center as optional updates to Windows Server 2008. Table 7-1 Primary Roles and Related Role Services for Windows Server 2008 Role Description Active Directory