Definition: Microsoft Management Console

A Windows feature that provides a common environment for running management software from Microsoft and third parties. Any type of administration service such as network management, antivirus management, disk management and authentication can be created as a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) component called a "snap-in" module. A snap-in, which uses the .MSC file extension, provides one management function, and multiple snap-ins are used to create a management application. The snap-ins themselves may host other snap-ins called "extension snap-ins."