Get started with Windows Admin Center (2023)

Applies to: Windows Admin Center, Vista before Windows Admin Center

This article describes how to get started with Windows Admin Center after it has been downloaded and installed on a Windows PC.Download Windows Administrative Center. For installation information, seeInstall Windows Admin Center on a PC or server. For more information about Windows Admin Center, seeOverview of Windows Admin Center.

Open Windows Admin Center on a Windows PC

With Windows Admin Center, you can manage servers, clusters, Windows PCs, and Azure virtual machines (VMs) right from your Windows 10 computer using a web browser.

Follow these steps to open Windows Admin Center on a Windows PC:

1. Of theBeginningSelect Windows Admin Center from the menu. the writerWindows Admin Centerin the search bar, and then select it from the search results. Windows Admin Center will open in your default browser with the URL:https://localhost:6516/. Alternatively, you can also launch it from your preferred browser by typinghttps://localhost:6516/.

   A message is displayed to select a certificate for authentication.

2. Select the labeled certificateWindows Admin Center-Client, then selectOK. You can also choose theCertified InformationLink to view more details about the certificate.

   

   Important

   Be sure to select thoseWindows Admin Center-ClientCertificate if prompted and no other certificate. If you select a different certificate, the following error message is displayed:

   You do not have permission to view this page. If you recently updated Windows Admin Center, you may need to restart your browser and then refresh the page.

   (Video) How to get started with Windows Admin Center

   If you still get the same error even after restarting your browser and refreshing the page, try clearing your browser's cache or switching to a different browser. If none of these troubleshooting steps resolve the issue, you may need to uninstall and reinstall Windows Admin Center, and then restart.

3. (First time only) A pop-up window will appear confirming that your version of Windows Admin Center was installed successfully. It also contains information about what's new in this version. Close the window to continue.

   

   Isall connectionsThe page will appear with the name of your Windows 10 computer below the connection list. You can now add connections to Windows Admin Center.

Add connections to Windows Admin Center

You can add connections as managed nodes to Windows Admin Center viaall connectionsPage. This is the default page that appears when you start Windows Admin Center. On this page you can add existing resources as connections or create new resources. Resources you add appear below the list of connections on theall connectionsPage.

The type of resources you can add fromall connectionsThe side is Servers, Windows PCs, Azure Clusters and VMs and the resources you can create are Azure Clusters and VMs.

To add connections to Windows Admin Center:

1. click+ Addunderall connections.

   

2. The resource type that you can add is displayed. ChooseAdd tofor the resource type you want to add.

   

3. Windows Admin Center supports several methods of adding resources, depending on the resource type:

   • Add one resource at a time
   • Add multiple resources in bulk
   • Add resources by searching Active Directory

   Choose the tab based on how you want to add resources. The label for each tab may vary depending on the type of resource you are adding.

   • add one
   • import list
   • Suche im Active Directory

   This is the default method. The label for this tab is displayed asAdd clusterswhen adding a cluster.

   1. Chooseadd oneÖAdd clustersEyelash. This tab is selected by default.

   2. Enter the name of the resource in the Resource Name field.

      When you start typing text, Windows Admin Center starts searching for a resource based on the text string you typed. If a match is found, you can add the name exactly as you entered it or use the default resource name. If no match is found, you can still add this resource so that it appears in your connection list.

   (Video) Introduction of Windows Admin Center Full Step by Step

4. (Optional) Selectadd tagsto add connection tags. You can use tags to identify and filter related resources in your connection list. For more information on using tags, seeUse tags to organize your connections.

5. When you're done adding resources, selectAdd to.

   The selected resources are displayed in the connection list on theall connectionsPage.

Authenticate with managed nodes

After you add connections as managed nodes, you must authenticate with them to connect. Windows Admin Center supports multiple mechanisms for authenticating with a managed node. Single sign-on is the default.

Authenticate yourself with single sign-on

You can use your current Windows credentials to authenticate to the managed node. This is the default, and Windows Admin Center attempts single sign-on when you add a resource.

Single sign-on authentication when implemented as a service on Windows Server

If you have Windows Admin Center installed on Windows Server, additional single sign-on configuration is required. For more information, seeSet up your environment for delegation.

Authenticate by providing credentials

Underall connections, select a resource from the list, and choosemanage asTo specify the credentials to use to authenticate with the managed node:

If Windows Admin Center is running in service mode on Windows Server, but you have not configured Kerberos delegation, you must re-enter your Windows credentials:

You can apply the credentials to all connections, which causes them to be cached for that particular browsing session. If you reload your browser, you will need to re-enter yourmanage asReferences.

Authentication through local admin password solution

If your environment usesPassword Solution for Local Administrators (LAPS)and you have Windows Admin Center installed on your Windows 10 PC, you can use LAPS credentials to authenticate to the managed node. If you use this scenario,give feedback here.

You can use tags to identify and filter related resources in your connection list. This allows you to see a subset of your resources in the connection list. This is especially useful when you have a lot of connections.

Edit labels

You can add tags to a connection while adding a new connection. Or you can add or edit them later for one or more connections from theall connectionsPage.

To add or edit a tag:

1. Select one or more connections from the connection list.

2. ChooseEdit labels.

   

   Isavailable labelsthe panel opens to the right.

3. Add, edit or remove tags for selected connections.

   • To add a new tag to your selected connections, selectAdd Labeland enter a desired label name.

   • To tag selected connections with an existing tag name, check the box next to the tag name you want to apply.

   • To remove a tag from all selected connections, clear the check box next to the tag you want to remove.

   • If a tag is applied to a subset of the selected connections, the check box appears in an intermediate state. You can check the box to select it and apply the tag to all selected connections, or check it again to clear it and remove the tag from all selected connections.

     

4. When you're done, selectSave on computerto save your changes.

   (Video) Introduction to Windows Admin Center

Filter connections by tag

After you add tags to one or more connections, you can view the tags in the connections list and filter the connections list by tags.

• To filter by a tag, select the filter icon next to the search box.

• You can select "Or", "And" or "No" to change the filtering behavior of the selected tags.

  

Use PowerShell to import or export your labeled connections

# Load the ModulImport-Module "$env:ProgramFiles\windows admin center\PowerShell\Modules\ConnectionTools"# Available cmdlets: Export-Connection, Import-Connection# Export connections (including tags) to a .csv fileExport-Connection "https : //wac.contoso.com" -fileName "WAC-connections.csv"# Import connections (including tags) from a .csv fileImport-Connection "https://wac.contoso.com" -fileName "WAC -connections .csv "# Import connections (including tags) from CSV files and remove any connections not explicitly included in the imported file by using switch parameter WAC-Connections -prune Import-Connection "https:// wac.contoso.com" -fileName " use .csv" -crop

CSV file format for importing connections

The CSV file format starts with the four headers"Name", "Type", "Tags", "Group ID", followed by each connection on a new line.

Nameis the FQDN of the connection

writesis the connection type. The default connections included in Windows Admin Center use one of the following:

hang tagsThey are separated by pipes.

group identificationused for common connections. use the valueglobalin this column to make this a shared connection.

Sample CSV file to import connections

"nombre","tipo","etiquetas","groupId""myServer.contoso.com","msft.sme.connection-type.server","hyperv""myDesktop.contoso.com","msft.sme .tipo de conexión.windows-client","hyperv""teamcluster.contoso.com","msft.sme.tipo de conexión.cluster","legacyCluster|WS2016","global""myHCIcluster.contoso.com", msft.sme.connection-type.hyper-converged-cluster","myHCIcluster|hyperv|JIT|WS2019""teamclusterNode.contoso.com","msft.sme.connection-type.server","legacyCluster|WS2016", "global""myHCIclusterNode.contoso.com","msft.sme.connection-type.server","myHCIcluster|hyperv|JIT|WS2019"

Import RDCman connections

Use the following script to export saved connectionsRDCmanto a file. You can then import the file into Windows Admin Center and use tags to manage RDCMan's grouping hierarchy. Try it!

1. Copy and paste the following code into your PowerShell session:

   #Helper function for RdgToWacCsvfunction AddServers { param ( [Parameter(Required = $true)] [Xml.XmlLinkedNode] $node, [Parameter()] [String[]] $tags, [Parameter(Required = $true)] [String ] $csvPath ) if ($node.LocalName -eq 'server') { $serverName = $node.properties.name $tagString = $tags -join "|" Add-Content -Path $csvPath -Value ('"'+ $serverName + '","msft.sme.connection-type.server","'+ $tagString +'"') } elseif ($node.LocalName - eq 'group' -o $node.LocalName -eq 'file') { $groupName = $node.properties.name $tags+=$groupName $currNode = $node.properties.NextSibling while ($currNode) { AddServers -node $ currNode -tags $tags -csvPath $csvPath $currNode = $currNode.NextSibling } } else { # Node type is not relevant for tagging or adding connections in WAC } return}<#.SYNOPSIS Converts a .rdg file from the remote Desktop Connection Manager in a CSV file that can be imported into Windows Admin Center, with groups managed via server tags. This will not modify the existing .rdg file and will create a new .csv file. DESCRIPTION Converts an RDG file to a CSV file that can be imported into Windows Admin Center. .PARAMETER RDGfilepath The path of the .rdg file to convert. This file is not changed, only read. .PARAMETER CSV directory Optional. The directory to which you want to export the new CSV file. If not specified, the new file will be created in the same directory as the .rdg file. .EXAMPLE C:\PS> RdgToWacCsv -RDGfilepath "rdcmangroup.rdg" #>function RdgToWacCsv { param( [Parameter(Required = $true)] [String] $RDGfilepath, [Parameter(Required = $false)] [String] $ CSVdirectory ) [xml]$RDGfile = Get-Content -Path $RDGfilepath $node = $RDGfile.RDCMan.file if (!$CSVdirectory){ $csvPath = [System.IO.Path]::GetDirectoryName($RDGfilepath) + [ System.IO.Path]::GetFileNameWithoutExtension($RDGfilepath) + "_WAC.csv" } else { $csvPath = $CSVdirectory + [System.IO.Path]::GetFileNameWithoutExtension($RDGfilepath) + "_WAC.csv" } New -item -Path $csvPath Add-Content -Path $csvPath -Value '"name","type","tags"' AddServers -node $node -csvPath $csvPath Write-Host "Converted $RDGfilepath `nOutput: $csvPath" }

2. Run the following command to create a CSV file:

   RdgToWacCsv -RDGfilepath "ruta\a\miRDCManfile.rdg"

3. Import the resulting CSV file into Windows Admin Center and the entire RDCMan pooling hierarchy will be represented by labels in the connection list. For more details seeUse PowerShell to import or export your connections (with labels).

   (Video) Installing and using Windows Admin Center

View PowerShell scripts used in Windows Admin Center

Once you've connected to a server, cluster, or PC, you can reference the PowerShell scripts that trigger the UI actions available in Windows Admin Center. In a tool, click the PowerShell icon in the top app bar. Select a desired command from the drop-down menu to navigate to the corresponding PowerShell script.