Microsoft® Windows PowerShell(TM) Step By Step (Step By Step (Microsoft)) [Paperback]

Ed Wilson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 16, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0735623953 | ISBN-13: 978-0735623958

Teach yourself the fundamentals of Windows PowerShell command line interface and scripting language. Written by a leading scripting expert, this tutorial delivers self-paced labs, timesaving tips, and hands-on sample scripts for automating Windows administration—one step at a time.

Discover how to:

• Use built-in cmdlets to execute commands
• Write scripts to handle recurring tasks and configure scheduled jobs
• Use providers to access information external to the shell environment
• Configure network components using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)
• Manage users, groups, and computers with Active Directory Services
• Execute scripts for administering and troubleshooting Microsoft Exchange Server 2007
• PLUS—Get a complete list of cmdlet commands and a guide for moving from VBScript to Windows Powershell

CD features:

• All practice exercises
• 100+ sample scripts to adapt for your own work
• Scriptomatic 2.0 scripting tool
• WMI scripting tools and utilities
• Fully searchable eBook

A Note Regarding the CD or DVD

The print version of this book ships with a CD or DVD. For those customers purchasing one of the digital formats in which this book is available, we are pleased to offer the CD/DVD content as a free download via O'Reilly Media's Digital Distribution services. To download this content, please visit O'Reilly's web site, search for the title of this book to find its catalog page, and click on the link below the cover image (Examples, Companion Content, or Practice Files). Note that while we provide as much of the media content as we are able via free download, we are sometimes limited by licensing restrictions. Please direct any questions or concerns to [e-mail].

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Key Book Benefits:

-Book based on Microsoft Enterprise Services' Windows PowerShell course for Microsoft customers and partners

-Hands-on, self-paced learning in a proven step-by-step format

-Sample scripts and eBook on the companion CD

About the Author

Ed Wilson is a well-known scripting expert who delivers popular scripting workshops to Microsoft customers and employees worldwide. He's written several books on Windows scripting, including Windows PowerShell 2.0 Best Practices, Microsoft® Windows PowerShell Step By Step, and Microsoft VBScript Step by Step. Ed is a senior consultant at Microsoft Corporation and writes Hey, Scripting Guy!, one of the most popular TechNet blogs.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press (May 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735623953
• ISBN-13: 978-0735623958
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 0.9 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #668,889 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ed Wilson, MCSE, MSCBA, MCT is the Microsoft Scripting Guy. As such, he writes the popular Hey Scripting Guy blog for Microsoft, speaks at conferences such as TechEd and TechReady. He is very active in the community and has spoken to numerous user groups around the world via Live Meeting and in person. Ed has written numerous books about VBScript, WMI, and Windows PowerShell scripting and his latest release is Windows PowerShell 2.0 Best Practices. In addition he wrote all the scripts for the Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7 Resource kits. Ed lives in York, South Carolina and Ed has been with Microsoft since 2001. Prior to becoming the writer of the Hey Scripting Guy blog Ed taught scripting workshops worldwide to Microsoft Premier customers.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Full of promise, but unable to deliver October 15, 2007

By G. Boulton

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book, a svelte 296 pages, plus CD-ROM, should be viewed in the same vein as the O'Reilly "... In A Nutshell" series: It's full of good information, but it doesn't quite take the one extra step to answer the question that's at the back of your mind: "But how do I use it to do XYZ?".

Case in point: it will tell you how to get information back from the system, but not necessarily how to pull out the one specific piece of data you're after, so that it can be processed in a script. (A couple of minutes of trial-and-error resolved that quandary.) Disclaimer: I skimmed through a few pages, concentrating on an area that's of immediate interest, so a note advising how to extra the single point of data might or might not have been buried in some text elsewhere.

This is the type of book where you look up the basics of the information you want, then go to another book to get the rest of the information (background, caveats, usage, etc) that will be required to implement the command successfully.

One major problem with this book, though, is that it is riddled with typos ("CDROMg", "Alapha computer") which may be off-putting to some users. (For the most part, scripts appeared not to have many typos, but the accompanying text is full of them.)

I gave it the benefit of the doubt, in awarding it 4 stars. 3.5 would have been more appropriate. I'm shopping for another PowerShell book now...

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars a mile wide and an inch deep November 9, 2007

By BBWI

Format:Paperback

The book is less than 300 pages. You can't learn Powershell in under 300 pages so expect to buy another book. The author covers a number of examples but doesn't go into real depth which is why I titled this review what I did. There are chapters on ADO, WMI, Exchange, and Active Directory. It's nice to know I can use Powershell to script against those technologies but am I really going to learn Powershell by spending so little time on each? I think this author and all other Powershell authors would be better off writing an entire book on each of those rather than a chapter. Until I get familiar with the syntax of Powershell I think the best approach is to find a book on Powershell for managing servers or Powershell for managing Exchange. I think concentrating on a single technology will greatly simplify the learning curve. Once I learn Powershell for Exchange (for example) I can then spread my wings to learn Powershell for Active Directory, ADO, etc...

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Too basic, then too advanced February 9, 2008

By Clifford Nelson

Format:Paperback

This book misses on many points. It is a good introduction, but that could have been covered in one chapter. It does not cover something as basic as creating functions (and the issue of variable scope). It also does not go into using the framework within powershell, one of the greatest powers of powershell, or extending powershell with your own addins. After a while some of the excises get repetative. There are chapters on Active Directory & Exchange, which requires special programs to go through, and most people will not even have access to them, or know the first thing about installing them so then can go through the book. Certainly a chapter on ADO would be great, but it is all depends on Active Directory; should have used northwind. There is some good information on Errors, but it is buried in Active Directory, which most people will never even look at since it is something that they would not have any reason to investigate. Definately go with another book such as "Windows Powershell Cookbook."