Managing Windows® with VBScript and WMI [Paperback]

Don Jones (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0321213343 | ISBN-13: 978-0321213341 | Publication Date: April 3, 2004

"Finally, a step-by-step VBScripting book to make you look like a programmer without the time and sweat! Don't waste your time searching the Internet for examples--this book does it for you!"

--Greg A. Marino, Senior Systems Engineer/Consultant, Westtown Consulting Group, Inc.

Visual Basic Scripting (VBScript) and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) are vital tools for systems administrators grappling with the increasing complexity of Windows technologies. However, busy admins have been without a straightforward guide to scripting...until now.

Managing Windows® with VBScript and WMI explains how Windows administrators can effectively use VBScript to automate common administrative tasks and simplify complex ones. Detailed coverage of security concerns provides admins with the means for safely using VBScript in Windows environments. The book is organized around the problems you face daily, with reusable examples and coverage of Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows 2003.

This user-friendly reference demystifies scripting and then shows you how to produce new scripts from scratch. You will be producing useful scripts right away as you study the VBScript language and learn how to control nearly every aspect of the Windows operating system with WMI and the Active Directory Services Interface (ASDI). You will be able to build your own administrative Web pages and use advanced scripting technologies such as script encryption, scripting components, and script security. The book closes with still more ready-made example scripts accompanied by complete line-by-line explanations. The CD includes all the code from the book and trial versions of PrimalScript 3.0 and VbsEdit. A companion Web site provides updates and errata.

Inside you will find answers to such questions as:

• How do you write effective logon scripts? Chapter 11
• How do you write scripts that query and modify user and group information? Chapter 16
• How can you query the IP addresses from multiple network adapters in multiple remote computers? Chapter 19
• How can you design, write, run, test, and debug your own administrative Web pages? Chapter 24
• How can you reuse code between various scripts? Chapter 25

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"Finally, a step-by-step VBScripting book to make you look like a programmer without the time and sweat! Don't waste your time searching the Internet for examples--this book does it for you!"

--Greg A. Marino, Senior Systems Engineer/Consultant, Westtown Consulting Group, Inc.

Visual Basic Scripting (VBScript) and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) are vital tools for systems administrators grappling with the increasing complexity of Windows technologies. However, busy admins have been without a straightforward guide to scripting...until now.

Managing Windows® with VBScript and WMI explains how Windows administrators can effectively use VBScript to automate common administrative tasks and simplify complex ones. Detailed coverage of security concerns provides admins with the means for safely using VBScript in Windows environments. The book is organized around the problems you face daily, with reusable examples and coverage of Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows 2003.

This user-friendly reference demystifies scripting and then shows you how to produce new scripts from scratch. You will be producing useful scripts right away as you study the VBScript language and learn how to control nearly every aspect of the Windows operating system with WMI and the Active Directory Services Interface (ASDI). You will be able to build your own administrative Web pages and use advanced scripting technologies such as script encryption, scripting components, and script security. The book closes with still more ready-made example scripts accompanied by complete line-by-line explanations. The CD includes all the code from the book and trial versions of PrimalScript 3.0 and VbsEdit. A companion Web site provides updates and errata.

Inside you will find answers to such questions as:

• How do you write effective logon scripts? Chapter 11
• How do you write scripts that query and modify user and group information? Chapter 16
• How can you query the IP addresses from multiple network adapters in multiple remote computers? Chapter 19
• How can you design, write, run, test, and debug your own administrative Web pages? Chapter 24
• How can you reuse code between various scripts? Chapter 25

About the Author

Don Jones, MCSE, CTT+, is an independent consultant and founding partner of BrainCore.Net, the world leader in exam development and delivery technologies for the information technology industry. Don is the author of more than a dozen books and the creator and series editor of Sams Publishing's Delta Guide series, helping experienced administrators quickly get up to speed on Microsoft server technologies. Don is also a contributing editor and columnist for Microsoft® Certified Professional Magazine, the Microsoft technology columnist for CertCities.com, and a speaker at technology conferences.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 640 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (April 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321213343
• ISBN-13: 978-0321213341
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #687,514 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Don Jones is the founder of ScriptingAnswers.com and the lead scripting guru at SAPIEN Technologies. He's the author or more than twenty books on information technology, including Managing Windows with VBScript and WMI, Advanced VBScript for Windows Administrators, and Windows PowerShell: TFM. Don has written and spoken extensively about scripting and automation for years, including columns in REDMOND Magazine, MCPMag.com, Microsoft TechNet Magazine, and more, as well as a series of scripting-related Webinars for Microsoft TechNet. Don is a multiple recipient of Microsoft's MVP Award, and one of the industry's strongest advocates for Windows administrative automation.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 5 Stars? Who actually wrote the first 3 reviews....., May 16, 2004

By 

JOHN D STATT (Rochester, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Managing Windows® with VBScript and WMI (Paperback)

I was looking for a book like this. One that focuses on the scripting needs of a network architect, engineer or administrator. The overall framework of the book was well conceived, and thoughtfully written. The author nailed the format for his intended audience. As an engineer, I don't need to know how to redesign an application, or create pretty guis. I need to elliminate administrative steps. Especially if it means I can sit in my chair to accomplish a task in 2 minutes instead of visiting 100+ workstations on foot. Needless to say, I was very excited to see a powerful, Netware style, login script as early as chapter 3. Many of the scrips are so usefull that I have already implemented several in my managed networks.

The problem I have with this book is that the sample/lab scripts contain blatant mistakes. For example, in one early script the writer creates a variable called "oFS" and then refers to it as "objFS" later in the script. The author would have done well to run the final variation of his scripts through the debugger before delivering it to the publisher. By the way, the scripts were wrong on the CD as well, so don't bother trying to find good code there either. I ended up doing a lot of web scrounging to find out how to make the corrections needed to yeald a functional script.

NOTE: I performed my scripting on an XP Pro workstation with the latest wscript.exe (version 5.6). I used PrimalScript 3.1 as an editor.

I am sure I learned more because of all the unexpected debugging I had to do. It is simply irritating as all #*(@ to not be able to trust his scripting as you walk into each chapter.

I WANT A FIXED VERSION OF THIS BOOK WITH ACCOMPANING CD. IT SHOULD BE AN EVEN SWAP.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Primer, April 27, 2004

By 

Jase T. Wolfe - See all my reviews

This review is from: Managing Windows® with VBScript and WMI (Paperback)

This is one of the best VBScript (utilizing ADSI and WMI) primers for Network Administration I have seen. This title is for any administrator who is not a programmer/scripter but wants to leverage the intrinsic Windows management features to reduce administrative time and automate routine tasks. Written in an easy to follow and understand way, this title can take you from never having scripted anything to implementing solutions to networking and user management tasks.

The book starts of with 4 chapters of scripting introduction (what you can expect to gain from scripting) followed by a 9 chapter VBScript primer. Once the basics have been learned, or these chapters skipped if you don't need them, the author presents scripting using ADSI and WMI well presented for non-developers and geared towards network administration. Following this, the author spends time showing how to leverage the new found information in other mediums such as ASP, and to augment your toolbox with additional standard utilities and components.

Along with the numerous cut, paste and tweak examples generously supplied through the book to assist you in hands-on practical learning, the last 4 chapters are dedicated to providing you with ready to run scriptlets - all of which are also included on the CD-ROM.

Any network administrator interested in harnessing the free, intrinsic capabilities of Windows to simplify tasks will find value in this title. Used alone, or in conjunction with the Microsoft Windows 2000 Scripting Guide will result in a solid basis for network scripting and more free time.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not to basic for this administrator, June 18, 2004

By 

Tim O'Connel (Dayton, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Managing Windows® with VBScript and WMI (Paperback)

Was Joseph DeMarco (previous review) reading the same book? The book has several chapters on AD scripting, and they showed me how to create users, delete them, create OUs, and more. The book has THIRTEEN chapters on learning VBScript, which I didn't know and now I finally do. They're clearly written and they're not super-deep, so I got through them quickly. If you're a professional developer, this book isn't for you. If you're a systems administrator, I can't see how this book wouldn't be helpful.

The book has several "Putting it All Together" chapters which sum up everything that came before and show you how to design, write, and debug a complete script. I took a previous review's advice and checked out the authors Web site and there are GOBS of additional script samples, tutorials, and more. The book doesn't, for example, go into remote scripting - which I think would have blown my mind when I started - but the Web site has a good tutorial on it and several user discussions on it.

I bought the Micosoft Windows 2000 Scripting Guide and thought it was WAY too deep. Every time I started to learn something it would go off on a tangent. That book is starting to be useful to me as a reference, now, because it contains SO MUCH information, but Don Jones's book showed me how to make sense of everything.