Microsoft Management Console (MMC)
It’s an executable mmc.exe that hosts various management tools, called snap-ins.
By itself, if you just run mmc.exe it opens a empty console, it doesn’t do anything useful until you add snap-ins.
The tools (snap-ins) themselves are not standalone EXEs, they’re modules that MMC loads:
Microsoft Saved Console .msc
stands for Microsoft Saved Console or Microsoft Snap-in Control (historically).
These are basically configuration files for MMC that tell it which snap-ins to load and how to arrange them.
Here’s a list of the most commonly used MMC snap-ins that you’ll see on most Windows systems:
- Event Viewer (
eventvwr.msc) - Device Manager (
devmgmt.msc) - Disk Management (
diskmgmt.msc) - Services (
services.msc) - Group Policy Editor (
gpedit.msc) - Local Users and Groups (
lusrmgr.msc) - Performance Monitor (
perfmon.msc) - Print Management (
printmanagement.msc) - Shared Folders (
fsmgmt.msc)
When you double-click an .msc file, Windows runs mmc.exe, MMC reads the .msc file and loads the relevant snap-ins, the GUI appears as if you opened a standalone tool, but it’s really MMC hosting it.
MMC is based on COM (Component Object Model) a Microsoft technology that allows software components to communicate with each other.
Snap-ins
Snap-ins are modular tools that plug into the MMC framework.
Snap-ins are COM objects that MMC hosts.
You can combine multiple snap-ins into one MMC console to create a custom administrative dashboard.
MMC Console
MMC console is actual MMC interface you see.
When you open a console, it’s like opening a tool bag that already has the tools you need inside.
You can group all the tools you often use in one place. You don’t have to open each .msc separately, you can make a dashboard with multiple snap-ins. You can also save your console as an .msc file and open it anywhere.