General Information
One of the new server administration tools based on the Windows operating system is the Windows Admin Center. It implements a modern approach to management, when from any device through a web browser you can connect to the infrastructure control panel and get information about the state of the server or change its configuration.
When a user connects to the administration center, the HTTP/HTTPS protocols are used. The administration center itself uses WinRM/PowerShell to connect to controlled servers, receive information from them, and make changes to the configuration. Accordingly, when implementing the Windows Admin Center, you need to take into account how the components will connect to each other, and use secure versions of the protocols (HTTPS and WinRM over HTTPS) when connections occur over public networks (Internet).
Windows Admin Center is installed separately. It is not included in the operating system, so the distribution must be downloaded from the Microsoft website. You can also find additional information about this product there.
Download and install Windows Admin Center
Let’s go through all the steps necessary for a successful installation of the management console:
Having opened the Microsoft website in the browser, we find and click on the link to download Windows Admin Center:
On the page that opens, click Continue :
Fill out the form to get your copy of the distribution and click Continue , after which the download will begin:
After waiting for the download to complete, run the installation file, accept the license agreement and click Next :
Choose whether or not to use the Microsoft Update Service (recommended), click Next :
The next page contains general information about how to use the installable component, as well as a link to an article with possible installation scenarios. Click Next :
The gateway configuration page contains two options – Allow Windows Admin Center to modify this machine`s trusted hosts settings – check the box if the servers that will connect to the administration center are not included in the Active Directory domain; Use WinRM over HTTPS only – check the box if connections from the administration center to other servers will go through public networks (Internet). If we plan to manage only the local server on which Windows Admin Center is installed, we can leave the default settings and click Next:
We select the port on which connections to the web console will be accepted (an allow rule will be created for the specified port in the operating system firewall), and also indicate whether to generate a self-signed certificate or use another certificate installed on the server. To avoid receiving messages about untrusted connections, you can use a pre-purchased and pre-installed digital certificate . Do not forget to check the box Redirect HTTP port 80 traffic to HTTPS so that only encrypted connections are used:
After clicking the Install button , we expect the installation process to complete:
The process is completed, click Finish :
Connecting to Windows Admin Center
You must use a supported browser to connect to Windows Admin Center. Internet Explorer is not suitable for these purposes. You can use Microsoft Edge, but it might not be installed on the server operating system by default. The best option is to use Google Chrome. When connecting from a local server, enter the address https://localhost in the address bar of the browser (if a non-standard port for connection was specified during installation, add the port number separated by a colon, for example https://localhost:10443). If we are connecting from a remote computer, we need to specify either the external IP address of the server or a domain name mapped to the external IP address. When using our service, the external IP address of the server can be seen in the server control panel.
If during configuration we chose to use an untrusted certificate and we receive a corresponding warning, to continue the connection, click the button Additional :
In the new form, click on the link Go to the site … :
We enter the credentials for the connection and get to the main page of the administrative web console. If you need to change the display language of the console, click on the gear in the upper right corner of the page:
In the settings, go to the Language / Region section and select the desired values in the drop-down lists. Then click the Save and Reload button at the very bottom of the page:
To return to the main page, left-click on the inscription Windows Admin Center in the upper left corner. From the main page, you can connect to an existing server (click on a server in the list), or add additional servers (click on the Add button ):
When adding a server, you will need to specify its name or IP address. If the server is available, the system will request connection details. If successful, the server will appear in the list of connected:
By clicking on the server in the list, we will get to the administration section. The main page will display general information about the server and resource usage statistics (processor capacity, RAM, network bandwidth) in real time in the form of graphs:
On the left side there is a navigation panel with which you can switch between different sections of the administrative console and gain access to management:
1. Firewall settings and rules:
2. Operating system processes:
3. Local directories and files:
4. User accounts and user groups:
5. Interactive PowerShell console:
and many, many others.
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