Windows PowerShell Unleashed (2nd Edition)

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.