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Adminpak.msi


By Jason Zandri

Welcome to this introductory article on Administrative tools in mixed Windows 2000/XP/.NET 2003 environments.

Installing and utilizing the proper ADMINPAK administrative tools (Adminpak.msi) depends on which operating system you're running. Proper installation of supported tools allows a system or network administrator to manage their Windows network environment in a stable and supported manner.

If you install the incorrect version of the administrative tools 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.

The correct tools are automatically installed on the server version you are using appropriately by default. That is, on Windows 2000 server versions and NET Server 2003 you will have the tools installed by default to administer your environment 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 but 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.

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

Windows 2000 Administration Tools must only be installed on Windows 2000 computer, (Server or Professional) and only used to manage a 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 cannot be installed on a Windows 2000-based computer.

The Adminpak.msi tools can NOT be installed on any earlier operating system.

By default, the remote administration snap-ins are not installed on computers that are not hosting the applicable services, nor are they available on Windows 2000 Professional and Windows XP Professional systems. Because of this, the 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 again for the GOLD version.)

When you install 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=<TOOLNAME> /qb

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

Install a Specific Server Administration Tool Using Adminpak.msi
(This example 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 Windows\System32 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.

List of available Server Administration tools for installation.

TOOLNAME Server Administration tool
FeCERTConsole Certification Authority
FeClusterConsole Cluster Administrator
FeCMAKConsole Connection Manager Administration Kit
FeDHCPConsole DHCP
FeDFSConsole Distributed File System
FeDNSConsole DNS
FeIASConsole Internet Authentication Service
FeIISConsole Internet Services Manager
FeACSConsole QoS Admission Control
FeRSConsole Remote Storage
FeRRASConsole Routing and Remote Access
FeTAPIConsole Telephony
FeTSClientConsole Terminal Services Client
FeTSMgrConsole Terminal Services Tools
FeWINSConsole WINS
FeADTools Active directory Tools

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
An important note regarding 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

Jason Zandri