Windows Admin Center (Project Honolulu) — Setup Guide
Windows Admin Center (WAC)is the new tool in the block. It is highly promoted by Microsoft as a free application for remotely managing and monitoring supported Microsoft OS. According to Microsoft: WAC is “the successor to traditional“in-box” tools like Server Manager” and; “the future of remote server management”! Wow! This article is just about to take us through the future, right to WAC.
Formally WAC is not supposed to substitute other Microsoft remote management tools such as RSAT, RDC, System Center, Intune and Azure Stack. Rather, WAC complements such tools, by supposedly adding value.
For example, WAC is meant to replace Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-ins and the server experience in System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM), but not its monitoring aspects.
Surprisingly enough, WAC does “substitute” the Essentials Experience role in Windows Server 2019 Essentials, as this role is discontinued and no longer available in version 2019. Essentials 2019 is the last of it’s breed, as Microsoft says that 2019 is most likely the the last version of Essentials. RIP.
WAC is heavily dependent on PowerShell, as it achieves its capabilities by leveraging the PowerShell scripts and technology. In older versions of Windows Server, PowerShell is limited. Consequentially, WAC’s capabilities are limited in such systems. To diminish the GAP, on Windows 2012 / 2012 R2 WAC requires installation of Windows Management Framework 5.1. More about prerequisites, installation & deployment coming next.
Among other things, WAC can be seen as collection of customizable PowerShell scripts, which are managed via a web-based GUI and implemented remotely. If you were just asking, yes, those scripts can be used independently just as well.
WAC is sometimes referred-to as a platform, a service, or as a gateway. In the bottom line, WAC is an installable application (63MB .MSI file) which provides web-based remote management & monitoring capabilities. Windows Server 2016 & 2019 can be managed remotely or locally, in an agentless manner, without any installation or configuration on their side. How cool is that!?
Now let’s get going! First let’s download and install WAC. Then we’d add remote servers in order to remotely manage.
Setting Up WAC as a Local Client (aka Desktop Mode)
That's it !! You’ve just succeeded setup WAC and start monitoring your Local Server,
Next article will explain step by step how can manage remotely Servers with Windows Admin Center.