Administration Pack Released for Windows XP -- Redmondmag.com

Administration Pack Released for Windows XP

By Stephen Swoyer
11/28/2001

Microsoft Corp. this week released a beta version of an administration pack for Windows XP Professional that lets IT administrators manage Windows 2000 Server and Windows .NET Server systems from XP consoles.

Microsoft provided an administration pack – ADMINPAK.EXE – for Windows 2000 Professional, which it included on a bonus CD that shipped with Windows 2000 Server. Windows .NET Server will likely include a similar administration pack, but the server isn’t slated to ship until the first half of 2002.

Because the Windows 2000 Professional tools won’t work properly on Windows XP, administrators who are deploying XP in Windows 2000 environments needed a quick fix. Consequently, the new Windows XP Administration Tools Pack –-a Beta 3 release –- is probably based upon code developed for Windows .NET Server, also in its third beta. The software giant has promised that the final version of the pack will be available by the end of 2001.

By default, the Windows XP Administration Tools Pack installs all of the utilities that are grouped in the “Administrative Tools” program folder on Windows 2000 Server and Windows .NET Server systems. IT managers who install the pack will be able to monitor server event logs; start and stop server services; manage licensing and connections for integrated terminal services; administer Active Directory domains and trusts; administer clustering and load-balancing services on Windows 2000 Advanced Server and Windows .NET Advanced Server; create and manage DNS settings; and configure Routing and Remote Access (RRAS) services, among other administrative tasks.

The Windows XP Administration Tools Pack is available for download here. Microsoft stresses that the pack will properly install on Windows XP Professional (Build 2600) systems only; it cannot be installed on Windows XP Home Edition, beta versions of Windows XP, Windows 2000, or beta versions of Windows .NET Server.

About the Author

Stephen Swoyer is a Nashville, TN-based freelance journalist who writes about technology.

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