Part 1. Getting started with PowerShell

Welcome to PowerShell in Practice. PowerShell is the new command shell and scripting language from Microsoft. This book will enable you to use Windows PowerShell to administer your Windows servers and applications such as SQL Server, IIS 7, Exchange 2007, and Active Directory from the command line. PowerShell provides a more efficient and powerful mechanism for administration that’ll save you time and effort in your daily job. Whether you’re a PowerShell novice or a more experienced user, there’ll be something for you in the many examples used to illustrate PowerShell based administration.

The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 begins with the fundamentals of working with PowerShell, including an explanation of what it is and how it works, as well as the new features of PowerShell v2.

Chapter 2 shows how to learn PowerShell with practical examples to speed the process. Chapter 3 covers the other technologies that are required to work with PowerShell—.NET, COM, ADSI, and WMI. The final chapter in this section, chapter 4, is concerned with the process of automation and best practice around writing scripts.

Part 2 shows how to perform administrative tasks that are concerned with people—managing user accounts in Active Directory and on local systems, managing Exchange mailboxes, and managing the user’s desktop.