Managing IIS Servers
Remember that if you're running Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) 4.0 on NT 4.0, Internet Service Manager (ISM) 4.0 can remotely manage any IIS server that it can access. If you need to manage Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.0, you have three options for remote Web server management. First, Terminal Services will work just fine and let you run the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Internet Services Manager snap-in to manage all the available services. Alternatively, you can run Internet Services Manager (ISM) 5.0 from a local machine and manage other IIS 5.0 boxes, or you can configure a Web-based version of ISM 5.0 that lets you manage your IIS 5.0 servers through Internet Explorer (IE). You can find detailed instructions about remotely managing IIS 5.0 in the Microsoft article "HOW TO: Remotely Administer Internet Information Services 5.0 in Windows 2000" (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q308169).
Make Your Choice
Many basic Win2K and NT administrative tools are remote-able; that is, you can point them at other computers on your network. Need to monitor the performance of your main Microsoft SQL Server box? Aim Performance Monitor at the system, configure a few counters, and you can have a near-realtime view of that system. Don't be too profligate about hooking counters on your machines, however; if you do, you could pummel your network with extraneous data or affect the overall performance of the system you want to watch. Third-party tools have the advantage in this situation, but be sure to look before you leap: Win2K Server OSs have significant tools that can provide many remote administration benefits that don't require you to resort to third-party add-ons.
Remote-application management is a horse of a different color. Although the Microsoft server products tend to add functionality to the basic OS tools (e.g., custom Performance Monitor configuration files that install when you install Microsoft Exchange Server or SQL Server, instrumented counters), most third-party applications add specific requirements for remote administration. You might find that using Terminal Services is your best option to remotely manage any Win2K or later server because then any application's natively installed administration tools will be available locally.
No matter which remote administration path you choose, make the choice a corporatewide process. Maintaining multiple remote administration technologies adds significant—and unnecessary—complexity to your network environment and increases your network enterprise's vulnerability to attack.