Features and Benefits

Comprehensive Active Directory Administration: With the Management Console, users can manage Quest's AD and Windows products through a common interface, simplifying the daily challenges of comprehensive AD management. By leveraging the experience that administrators and IT support already have with MMC, the Management Console aims to extend the functionality of MMC, while reducing the need for extensive training on new tools.

Alternate Views: While the MMC only shows a static object hierarchy, the Management Console provides the ability to reorganize and display subsets of a snap-in hierarchy in different ways. Within the Management Console, administrators and IT support have the ability to more easily and efficiently navigate through those sections of a product that are most often used. And the console provides further customization by allowing users to view their AD dynamically, based on the type of task being performed.

Nested Snap-Ins: The proxy technique used in the Management Console allows snap-ins to be inserted into the hierarchy of another snap-in, and for it to pick up the context of that snap-in. For example, the Computer Management snap-in can be proxied and inserted under each server in the Active Directory Users and Computers node. This allows the services on a workstation or server to be managed in-place, rather than with a separate tool, simplifying the complexity of AD administration.

Export/Import: Within the Management Console, a wizard-drive approach exports AD objects and their attributes. After exporting the properties of AD objects for bulk manipulation of properties, the exported property values can be manipulated and then re-imported back into AD with the new updated values. This provides administrators and IT support with a simple and efficient way to update certain attribute values in mass.

Auto Populate: The Management Console automatically detects those Quest products in the environment and populates itself accordingly. This allows administrators to use all products that are compatible with the Management Console, requiring no further installation or set-up.

Web Launch: In addition to providing a common console for Quest's AD and Windows products, the Management Console can also launch any Web-based application, streamlining repetitive, daily administrative tasks.