# Overview

You use the controls in the administration console to communicate with one or more Message Queue brokers and object stores..

The administration console is divided into five panes, as shown below.

- 1 - menu bar
- 2 - tool bar
- 3 - navigational pane
- 4 - results pane
- 5 - status pane

You use menus in the menu bar or icons in the tool bar to act upon elements selected in the navigational pane and the results pane. The status pane displays information about the most recently completed action.

The navigational pane displays a tree view of the object stores and brokers to which you are connected. Object stores contain administered objects, which may be destinations (queue or topic) or connection factories. Brokers contain an array of services and physical destinations.

- To view destinations in an object store, click the Destinations folder. Its contents are displayed in the results pane.
- To view information about connection factories in an object store, click on the Connection Factories folder. The lookup name and type of each connection factory is displayed in the results pane.
- To view information about services available on a broker, click the Services folder. A list of services, each service's port number, and state is displayed in the results pane.
- To view/change information about a particular service, select the service in the results pane and choose Actions > Properties.
- To view information about physical destinations on a broker, click the Destinations folder. A list of the destinations that have been created on that broker are displayed, along with the destination's type and, for a queue, its delivery policy.
- To view/change information about a particular destination, select the destination in the results pane and choose Actions > Properties.

In order to change the properties of an object store or of a broker, you must first disconnect.

The administrative console gives you access to the basic functions of Message Queue administration via a graphical interface. However, there are many more functions that are available to you by using the appropriate Message Queue command utility. For more information, see the Message Queue Administrator's Guide.