Microsoft Provisioning System comprises several integrated components, including the following:
Microsoft Provisioning Framework (MPF) is the underlying framework of Microsoft Provisioning System. MPF provides the core provisioning engine that supports the execution of the tasks required to process client requests and manage resources. MPF namespaces consist of one or more procedures that contain the actions and data to invoke both the business logic of an action and the functionality of the underlying providers. MPF is the only required component of Microsoft Provisioning System. All other Microsoft Provisioning System components build on the functionality of MPF.
For more information on MPF and the functionality it provides, see Microsoft Provisioning Framework.
With the browser-based user interface (UI) available in Microsoft Provisioning System, Web-hosting administrators and other authorized users can submit provisioning requests to MPF. The UI uses the underlying framework of MPF, as well as several additional providers and MPF namespaces that support the functionality provided in the UI. You can customize the UI to provide additional functionality. If you choose not to use Delegated Administration Console, you can still use it as a model and also use the additional providers and namespaces as a foundation for developing your own custom UI.
For more information on Delegated Administration Console and its functionality, see Delegated Administration Console.
The Microsoft Provisioning Framework Software Development Kit (SDK) includes tools you can use to develop custom providers and procedures, such as header files and add-ins for Microsoft Visual Studio. The Microsoft Provisioning Framework SDK is installed separately from MPF and has additional system requirements. For more information on the SDK and how to use it, see Microsoft Provisioning Framework SDK and documentation.
Microsoft Provisioning System includes additional components that implement extended provisioning support. You can use several of these components, such as Active Directory Provider, Exchange Provider, IIS Provider, and FrontPage Provider, to make full use of the functionality of Delegated Administration Console. With these components, you can build custom solutions with MPF as a foundation.. In addition, you can use other tools, such as those included in the resource kits, to further extend the capabilities of Microsoft Provisioning System. For more information on components of Microsoft Provisioning System components, see Understanding Microsoft Provisioning System.