Windows PowerShell Unleashed (Unleashed Series)

A new edition of this title is available, ISBN-10: 0672329883 ISBN-13: 9780672329883

PowerShell is one of the most exciting new products to come out of Microsoft in a long time. It is both a new scripting language and a command-line shell. People who have seen the demos have been extremely impressed by the power it brings to admins to automate and customize their regular tasks. PowerShell will be used as the basis for all Windows administrative scripting in the future, starting with Exchange 2007 and Vista. IT Pros have been hungering for whatever PowerShell information they can get their hands on.

This book first focuses on PowerShell basics, how it relates to existing Windows scripting practices, and how your existing knowledge can be translated into PowerShell knowledge. After gaining insight into PowerShell, you are presented with transferable PowerShell scripting examples. The goal of presenting these examples is to outline methods of using PowerShell to manage Windows Server, Active Directory, and Exchange Server 2007 that have not been explained or touched upon by other sources.

DETAILED INFORMATION ON HOW TO…

• Understand PowerShell's basics and background
• Script using PowerShell
• Transfer existing Windows scripting skills to PowerShell
• Analyze how PowerShell can be used to solve real-world problems
• Manage the Windows File System, the Windows registry, Active Directory, and Exchange using PowerShell
• Manage Systems using WMI and PowerShell
• Customize PowerShell to meet your needs
• Script using best practices.
• Digitally sign your PowerShell scripts

Introduction

Part I Introduction to PowerShell

1 Introduction to Shells and PowerShell

2 PowerShell Basics

3 PowerShell: A More In-Depth Look

4 Code Signing

5 PowerShell Scripting Best Practices

Part II Translating Your Existing Knowledge into PowerShell

6 PowerShell and the File System

7 PowerShell and the Registry

8 PowerShell and WMI

9 PowerShell and Active Directory

Part III Using PowerShell to Meet Your Automation Needs

10 Using PowerShell in the Real-World

Index

PowerShell gives Windows administrators immense power to automate and customize virtually any administrative task–saving time, increasing productivity, and giving you unprecedented flexibility. PowerShell 2.0 adds important new features that offer even greater control over Windows environments. Windows PowerShell Unleashed will not only give you deep mastery over PowerShell but also a greater understanding of the features being introduced in PowerShell 2.0–and show you how to use it to solve your challenges in your production environment.

The authors begin by systematically illuminating PowerShell’s core concepts and techniques, helping you leverage whatever Windows scripting experience you may already have. Next, using complete, easy-to-adapt examples, they show how to use PowerShell to manage file systems, permissions, the Registry, WMI objects, Active Directory, Exchange Server, and many other elements of the Windows environment.

More than half of this edition’s material and examples have been completely rewritten for PowerShell 2.0, and the authors have added seven entirely new chapters–covering security, PowerShell application development, Systems Center Operations Manager 2007, and much more. Whatever Windows systems you manage, Windows PowerShell Unleashed contains the scripts and techniques you need to manage them far more effectively.

• Install, configure, and customize PowerShell 2.0 and master its command line interface
• Discover proven best practices for PowerShell scripting
• Make the most of PowerShell cmdlets–especially the new cmdlets included in PowerShell 2.0
• Leverage PowerShell’s deep .NET Framework integration
• Secure your scripts using code signing, execution policies, and PowerShell’s built-in security
• Use custom script functions to manage permissions more efficiently
• Control the registry locally and remotely and use PowerShell’s powerful new registry transactions
• Use PowerShell as a management interface
• Automate Exchange Server 2007 administrative tasks
• Automate the management of Microsoft’s new System Center Operations Manager 2007
• Preview the forthcoming Graphical PowerShell scripting environment
• Understand how to manage Active Directory using PowerShell
• Master using PowerShell with WMI
• Learn PowerShell 2.0 remoting

Download all examples and source code presented in this book from informit.com/title/9780672329883.

With more than nine years of experience in the information technology sector, Tyson Kopczynski has become a specialist in Active Directory, Group Policy, Windows scripting, Windows Rights Management Services, PKI, and information technology security practices. Tyson has been a contributing author for such books as Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2004 Unleashed and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Unleashed (R2 Edition). In addition, he has written detailed technical papers and guides covering various in-the-field technologies he works with extensively. As a consultant at Convergent Computing (CCO), Tyson has been able to work with the next generation of Microsoft technologies since their inception and played a key role in expanding scripting and development practices at CCO. Tyson also holds the SANS Security Essentials Certification (GSEC), Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) Security certification, CompTIA Security+ certification, and SANS Certified Incident Handler (GCIH) certification.

Pete Handley has more than 15 years of experience in IT, including extensive knowledge of Active Directory, Microsoft Exchange, Novell GroupWise messaging, and Novell Directory Services. He has been a contributing author for Microsoft Exchange 2003 Unleashed, and Windows PowerShell Unleashed. Pete specializes in Visual Basic and PowerShell scripting and is a subject matter expert on the integration and migration of Novell technologies to Microsoft technologies. Pete holds the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer 2003 (MCSE) certification, the Microsoft Certified Information Technology Professional (MCITP) certification, the Novell Certified Directory Engineer (CDE) certification, and the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification.

Marco Shaw is an IT system analyst for a Canadian telecommunications company. He has been working in the IT industry for more than ten years, and he recently received a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award for his involvement in the Windows PowerShell community. He is the assistant community director of the new PowerShell Community Web site at http://www.powershellcommunity.org. His primary blog site is http://marcoshaw.blogspot.com. Marco holds a RedHat Certified Engineer (RHCE) certification, Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) certification, and a bachelor of science degree from the Université de Moncton in New Brunswick, Canada.