Administrative Tools in Mixed Windows Environments, Adminpak.msi

Welcome to the introductory article in our “Administrative Tools in Mixed Windows 2000/XP/.NET 2003 Environments” series.

Adminpak.msi

Jason Zandri kicks off his latest collection of articles, ‘Administrative Tools in Mixed Windows 2000/XP/.NET 2003 Environments,’ with an introductory overview that examines Adminpak.msi.

Installing and using the proper ADMINPAK administrative tools (Adminpak.msi) depends on which operating system is running. Proper installation of supported tools, however, enables a system or network administrator to manage the Windows network environment in a stable and supported manner.

If the incorrect version of the administrative tools is installed for the systems and directory structure you are trying to manage, you run the risk of corrupting your Active Directory database, threatening the availability of the networked environment and potentially destabilizing the entire forest structure.

By default, the correct tools are automatically installed on the server version you are using. That is, on Windows 2000 server versions and .NET Server 2003 the correct tools to administer your environment will be installed by default and properly. If a certain service is not installed on a given server, for example DHCP, the tool is not readily available on the Administration Tools menu of that server; however, it can be added to an MMC console for the purposes of remote administration. If this service were to be added to this system at a later time and the snap-in had not been previously installed, it would be at that time.

To install the tools on a workstation or a server for remote administration, you can get the Adminpak.msi file from the %Systemroot%System32 folder of an installed server or from the I386 folder of the server CD ROM.

To maintain either a Windows 2000 domain or a .NET domain, from a Windows 2000 Professional or an XP Professional workstation when the CD ROM you need is not available, you need to download and install the appropriate Adminpak.exe (Adminpak.msi).

Windows 2000 Administration Tools can be installed only on a Windows 2000 computer, (Server or Professional) and is used to manage only Windows 2000 Active Directory.

Windows .NET Administration Tools may be installed on either a Windows .NET server or a Windows XP Professional workstation. These tools can manage Windows 2000 and Windows .NET Active Directories.

Windows .NET Administration Tools, however, cannot be installed on a Windows-2000-based computer.

And Adminpak.msi tools CANNOT be installed on any earlier operating system.

By default, the remote administration snap-ins are not installed on computers not hosting the applicable services, nor are they available on Windows 2000 Professional and Windows XP Professional systems. As a result, snap-ins are not listed on the Add Snap-in option when you attempt to add them to a custom MMC console.

The tools for Windows 2000 are available in the Adminpak.msi file in the I386 folder on the Windows 2000 Server or Windows 2000 Advanced Server CD-ROM. You can install these tools on servers that are not hosting these services as well as on Windows 2000 Professional systems.

To install all of the available tools, double-click the Adminpak.msi file in the I386 folder on the Windows 2000 Server or Windows 2000 Advanced Server CD-ROM and follow the prompts. The administration tools will appear on the Start menu in the Programs group as Administrative Tools when the process is complete.

(The processes for installing the tools for .NET Server 2003 are more or less the same, but since the process is not yet finalized, it is difficult to detail certain specifics since they have changed from the Beta and RC releases and may change yet again for the Gold version.)

When installing the Administration Pack, all of the available tools in the Administration Pack are installed by default. You can also opt to install individual, specific server administration tools by using Windows Installer command line switches.

msiexec /i adminpak.msi ADDLOCAL= /qb

TOOLNAME is the Server Administration Tool that you want to install singly. (A list of tools is provided in the table below.)

Install a Specific Server Administration Tool Using Adminpak.msi

(For this example we will use DHCP.)

To install a specific individual server administration tool:

1. Insert the Windows 2000 Server or Windows 2000 Advanced Server CD into the CD-ROM drive or enter the path to the network share that holds the I386 folder
2. Copy the Adminpak.msi file to the WindowsSystem32 folder on the local system
3. Type the following command from a command prompt or into the Run box from the Start Menu and then press ENTER:

msiexec /i adminpak.msi ADDLOCAL=FeDHCPConsole /qb

To locate the newly installed DHCP snap-in, click Start, Programs, and then click Go to Administrative Tools to find the newly installed DHCP console.

Active Directory Tools (FeADTools) include a total of three snap-ins:

• Active Directory Domains and Trusts
• Active Directory Sites and Services
• Active Directory Users and Computers

Terminal Services Tools (FeTSMgrConsole) include a total of two snap-ins:

• Terminal Services Licensing
• Terminal Services Manager

Important to note about the Terminal Services Tools snap-in is that it cannot be installed individually.

Best of luck in your studies and please feel free to contact me with any questions on my columns and remember,

“No matter where you go … there you are.” – Buckaroo Banzai