Integrating Custom Resources

A Microsoft Commerce Server 2002 resource is a software package that provides functionality to the applications in a Commerce Server site, and that needs to expose one or more configuration options to a system administrator. Given the latter requirement, the most obvious choice for how to expose the configuration options is through Commerce Server Manager. This section describes how to integrate a custom resource that you develop into Commerce Server Manager so that it can be administered in the same way that other Commerce Server resources are administered.

Another important aspect of the integration process is the enabling of easy deployment of the particular configuration settings using Commerce Server Site Packager. Depending on the complexity of the configuration data, and on decisions regarding where this configuration data is maintained, the deployment aspects of integration range from effortless to the implementation of a particular Component Object Model (COM) interface.

This section contains:

• Adding a Custom Resource. Describes the steps required to configure the Administration database so that the configuration data associated with a custom resource can be maintained within it.
• Levels of Integration for a Custom Resource. Describes the different levels of integration that are available to developers of custom resources.
• Other Sources of Information About Microsoft Management Console. Provides information about where to learn more about the Microsoft Management Console (MMC), including more information about how to build MMC snap-in extensions.

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