Server Manager 2012 Handles Multiple Servers

With the introduction of Windows Server 2012, Microsoft has made major changes to Server Manager, the management console of Windows Server. In addition to a new user interface, Server Manager has the ability to manage multiple servers (including server core installations) from a single console, making administrative tasks simpler and more consistent. The new interface streamlines common tasks and provides a dashboard so that administrators can see at a glance if there are issues. The previous Server Manager remains available and could continue to be important for managing servers running older OS versions.

Multiserver Management

Server Manager is a new built-in console for adding roles and features to servers and monitoring roles, server performance, and status, including errors and other events. It is a graphical user interface (GUI) front-end to PowerShell scripts similar to other management consoles such as those used for Exchange or Active Directory (AD) management. Server Manager runs on a server used for management and uses Windows Remote Management as the communication protocol. It therefore requires that remote management and remote PowerShell be enabled on all managed servers. This new version of Server Manager is intended to replace the older Microsoft Management Console and the previous Server Manager introduced with Windows Server 2008, although both remain available. It helps IT staff and advanced users manage Windows servers without requiring either physical access to servers or the need to enable Remote Desktop Protocol connections to each server.