Originally released on 2017 like Project Honolulu, Windows Admin Center (WAC) or WAC as it became known, has gained many functions and features to make managing your servers, Clusters and Windows PCs 10 be much easier.
WAC is a browser-based application that is downloaded and deployed locally, so no server is needed to use this tool. In many ways, It is a replacement for other tools included, as the Server Manager and MMC. Despite this, not intended to replace System Center, but simply complement that environment.
Windows Admin Center Features
How this tool has been around for a while, What are all the features it offers and what can you do with it to make system administration easier? Even though the list is long, some notable features are:
- Local user and group configuration
- Manage storage
- Manage devices
- Failover Cluster Administrator
- Manage Windows services, scheduled tasks and network settings
Introduction to WAC
In general, WAC installs in one of two locations: on your local desktop to easily manage remote systems, or on a Windows server (with desktop experience).
Descargar
First, you need descargar the Windows Admin Center from the Microsoft Assessment Center (please note that this is not an evaluation itself, it's only called like that). This applies to both a Windows system 10 as to a Windows Server system.
Installation
You may need to take some additional steps during the MSI installation and depending on the operating system.
Windows 10
- Installed in the port 6516 by default, you may need to open it in Windows Firewall.
- If you are using Windows 10 in a workgroup or domain, you may need to modify the
TrustedHosts, used in WinRM.
windows server
- WAC installs as a network service, which needs you to specify the port and a certificate for HTTPS. The service can use a self-signed certificate or it can provide a thumbprint of a certificate that is already on the computer.
- In the same way as Windows 10, assuming your server is in a workgroup or domain, you may need to modify the
TrustedHosts, used in WinRM.
Common Scenarios
Then, What are some of the tasks you might want to do as an administrator? Let's take a look at some of those scenarios and the alternatives you have available.. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but some of the more common tasks an administrator might want to tackle.
Configure local users and groups
Often, you need to configure your users and groups. In this circumstance, is the local administrator, which may or may not be managed by a group policy. As you can see in the following example, we have the ability to manage the membership of an individual account (how to add LogonAsBatchRight, which often arises as an obstacle), remove a user or change a user's password. All this is of great help to fix access problems to a system and to audit which local users have access to their systems..
Manage storage
During daily operations, disk usage increases and can run out quickly if you don't pay close attention. Fortunately, the storage panel enables you to see more than just what your options are, but also change the size of a disk if necessary. Even more useful is the ability to remotely modify file shares, either to remove or edit a share membership.
Manage devices
Disabling remote devices or updating drivers on remote servers can be very important. If you don't have the correct or updated drivers, you may experience stability and performance related issues. What is very useful is the ability to update a driver remotely.
Windows scheduled tasks
Easily managing scheduled tasks remotely is extremely helpful. Often, you may need to make a change, how to disable a task or modify its schedule, and you won't have time to log into the server remotely. Even though you can do this with PowerShell, WAC makes it very easy to manage remotely.
Windows Services
To end, managing Windows services is useful since many applications install a service that runs with different user rights. If this is the case, it is very useful to be able to remotely change the login type, recovery and boot mode settings. Especially if you change the password of the service user!, being able to quickly change it across multiple servers from one interface can save a lot of time!
PowerShell y WAC
You may have noticed a small console icon in the upper right corner. A unique capability of WAC is that it gives you all the PowerShell code that you use to remotely retrieve and make changes to servers. By clicking on that little icon, you can explore and use all the scripts that the WAC uses.
How to extend WAC
Microsoft was thinking ahead when designing the WAC. By incorporating a software development kit (SDK), enables anyone to develop additional extensions and functionality to truly develop how much the WAC can do. Some examples of extensions that have been written for the WAC are linked here.
If you want to start writing yours, you can visit Microsoft’s documentation and dive into what might be necessary to make WAC work for you.
How WAC works for you
Remote management of a large number of servers is difficult. Having a single dashboard that can connect and manage all those servers remotely can be a huge time saver.. With the added extensions and the ability to see PowerShell in use when managing those servers, you can quickly add the WAC to your administration workflow.
With the release of the Windows Admin Center, an extensible and forward-thinking framework was available for any IT administrator to manage their systems. Microsoft has invested a lot of time and resources in this product, and it certainly is the future of systems management for quick and easy management of multiple systems.
