In just 24 lessons of one hour or less, Sams Teach Yourself Windows PowerShell in 24 Hours helps you streamline all facets of Windows administration, supercharging your effectiveness as an IT professional or power user. This book’s straightforward, step-by-step approach shows you how to build and run scripts, extend Windows PowerShell reach, manage computers remotely, and automate a wide variety of tasks on any modern Windows server or client. Every lesson builds on what you’ve already learned, giving you a rock-solid foundation for real-world success! Step-by-step instructions carefully walk you through the most common PowerShell scripting tasks. Practical, hands-on examples show you how to apply what you learn. Quizzes and exercises help you test your knowledge and stretch your skills. Notes, tips, and cautions point out shortcuts, pitfalls, and solutions. Learn how to... Install, configure, and explore Windows PowerShell (including updates for PowerShell 5) Leverage .NET’s remarkable power and scope with easy-to-use cmdlets Build new scripts with the console, ISE visual tools, and other popular hosts Apply best practices for writing more reliable, flexible, team-friendly scripts Work effectively with the pipeline, objects, and data Extend Windows PowerShell reach via providers, drives, and output Run external tools like ping, ipconfig, and tracert from within PowerShell Remotely manage computers with basic and advanced remoting (WinRM), WMI, and Regex Configure Windows devices across the web with PSWA Sort, filter, measure, format, export, and convert script output Run Windows PowerShell flexibly, using background and scheduled jobs Customize your environment with profile scripts, alternate credentials, thirdparty tools, and packages Strengthen your control over Windows systems and services with Desired State Configuration Administer key tasks on SQL Server, SharePoint, and other Windows servers Master PowerShell skills needed to earn many Microsoft certifications

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1 Who Should Read This Book 1 How This Book Is Organized 2 Conventions Used in This Book 4 System Requirements 5 Part I: Introducing Windows PowerShell HOUR 1: Getting to Know Windows PowerShell 7 Why You Should Learn Windows PowerShell 8 Brief History of Windows PowerShell 10 Understanding the Windows PowerShell Components 13 Investigating the Power and Simplicity of Windows PowerShell 18 Summary 21 Q&A 22 Workshop 23 HOUR 2: Installing and Configuring Windows PowerShell 25 Determining Your Windows PowerShell Environment 26 Installing the Latest Version of Windows PowerShell 29 Customizing the Windows PowerShell Console 32 Customizing the Windows PowerShell ISE 39 Summary 42 Q&A 42 Workshop 44 HOUR 3: Mastering the Windows PowerShell Help System 47 Anatomy of a Windows PowerShell Cmdlet 47 Updating the Windows PowerShell Help Library 50 Understanding Windows PowerShell Help Syntax 54 Accessing Additional Command Help 60 Summary 66 Q&A 66 Workshop 67 HOUR 4: Finding and Discovering Windows PowerShell Commands 69 How Windows PowerShell Commands Are Packaged 69 Installing RSAT Tools on Windows 8.1 73 Locating Windows PowerShell Commands 75 Running External Commands 83 Summary 86 Q&A 87 Workshop 88 Part II: Understanding Objects and the Pipeline HOUR 5: Thinking in Terms of Objects 91 The Problem with UNIX/Linux 91 What Is an Object? 93 Discovering Object Members 96 Putting Objects into Action 102 Summary 105 Q&A 105 Workshop 106 HOUR 6: Mastering the Windows PowerShell Pipeline 109 Understanding How the Pipeline Works from a High Level 109 Understanding in Depth How the Pipeline Works 113 Passing Data Through the Pipeline 118 “Forcing” Objects Through the Pipeline 125 Summary 129 Q&A 130 Workshop 131 HOUR 7: Sorting, Filtering, and Measuring Windows PowerShell Output 133 Sorting Output 134 Filtering Output 137 Measuring Objects 144 Summary 148 Q&A 148 Workshop 150 Part III: Extending the Reach of Windows PowerShell HOUR 8: Managing Windows PowerShell Providers 153 What Are Providers? 153 Introduction to Default PSDrives 155 Using the FileSystem Provider 159 Using the Alias Provider 166 Using the Registry Provider 167 Using Extended Providers 169 Summary 171 Q&A 171 Workshop 172 HOUR 9: Formatting, Exporting, and Converting Windows PowerShell Output 175 How the PowerShell Formatting Subsystem Works 176 Formatting PowerShell Output 180 Exporting PowerShell Output 187 Converting PowerShell Output 193 Summary 197 Q&A 198 Workshop 198 Part IV: Managing Computers Remotely with Windows PowerShell HOUR 10: Implementing One-to-One Windows PowerShell Remoting 201 Understanding Classic Windows PowerShell Remote Access 201 Introducing “True” PowerShell Remoting 203 Enabling Windows PowerShell Remoting 205 Creating a Windows PowerShell Remote Session 209 Sending Scripts over the Network 214 Summary 217 Q&A 218 Workshop 218 HOUR 11: Implementing One-to-Many Windows PowerShell Remoting 221 One-to-Many Remote Access in the Classic Scenario 221 One-to-Many Remoting with Persistent Sessions 224 Managing Session Configurations 225 One-to-Many Remoting with the Windows PowerShell ISE 228 Passing Input to Remote Commands 231 Summary 233 Q&A 233 Workshop 235 HOUR 12: Deploying Windows PowerShell Web Access 237 Introducing Windows PowerShell Web Access 237 Setting Up the Windows PSWA Gateway 239 Testing the Windows PSWA User Experience 244 Managing the Gateway 249 Summary 251 Q&A 252 Workshop 252 Part V: Putting Windows Powershell to Work HOUR 13: Multitasking Windows PowerShell 255 Investigating the PowerShell Job Architecture 255 Controlling Job Behavior 259 Understanding Parent and Child Jobs 261 Introducing the –AsJob Parameter 263 Scheduling Jobs 266 Reviewing What We’ve Learned 270 Summary 272 Q&A 273 Workshop 273 HOUR 14: Harnessing Windows PowerShell Workflow 275 Understanding How Windows PowerShell Workflow Works 276 Writing Your First Windows PowerShell Workflow 279 Running a Workflow as a Job 282 Understanding Workflow Activities 283 Tying Everything Together 288 Summary 289 Q&A 290 Workshop 291 HOUR 15: Introducing WMI and CIM 293 Defining WMI and CIM 293 Getting Comfortable with WMI 296 Using Windows PowerShell WMI Commands 300 Using Windows PowerShell CIM Commands 305 Summary 308 Q&A 308 Workshop 310 HOUR 16: Searching and Filtering with Regular Expressions 313 Revisiting the Wildcard Operators 313 Understanding Regular Expressions 315 Using the –Match Parameter 317 Using Select-String 324 Using the RegEx Type Accelerator 327 Summary 327 Q&A 328 Workshop 329 Part VI: Enterprise-Class Windows PowerShell HOUR 17: Managing Software with Windows PowerShell OneGet 331 Understanding IT-Related Terminology 332 Preparing Your Environment 334 Browsing Package Repositories 336 Installing Software from the Command Line 340 Managing Providers and Packages 346 Hosting a Private OneGet Repository 349 Summary 350 Q&A 351 Workshop 352 HOUR 18: Desired State Configuration Basics 355 Historical Background of DSC 355 Basic Tenets of DSC 357 DSC Authoring Environment 358 Configuring the DSC Environment 359 Writing Your First Configuration Script 364 A Word on DSC Push Configuration 372 Summary 373 Q&A 373 Workshop 375 Part VII: Scripting with Windows PowerShell HOUR 19: Introduction to Windows PowerShell Scripting 377 Managing Execution Policy 377 Writing Our First Script: The User Profile 379 Writing a PowerShell Function 383 Adding Programming Logic 385 Running Scripts 388 Pointers to Master PowerShell Scripting 395 Summary 395 Q&A 396 Workshop 397 HOUR 20: Making PowerShell Code Portable with Modules 399 Understanding Snap-Ins 399 Introducing PowerShell Modules 401 Creating Your First PowerShell Script Module 403 Using Module Manifests 407 Adding Comment-Based Help 410 Finding Modules Easily 413 Summary 414 Q&A 414 Workshop 415 Part VIII: Administering Microsoft Enterprise Servers with Windows PowerShell HOUR 21: Managing Active Directory with Windows PowerShell 417 Installing Active Directory 417 Creating Common Active Directory Objects 423 Understanding Various AD Administrative Tasks 430 Summary 433 Q&A 433 Workshop 434 HOUR 22: Managing SQL Server with Windows PowerShell 437 Running PowerShell Using SQL Server Tools 438 Interacting with SQL Server Using PowerShell 442 Automating Common SQL Server DBA Tasks 443 Summary 449 Q&A 450 Workshop 451 HOUR 23: Managing SharePoint Server with Windows PowerShell 453 Understanding the Environment 453 Deploying a Service Application 457 Deploying a Web Application 459 Deploying a Site Collection 460 Setting Permissions on a Site Collection 462 Reporting on a SharePoint Farm 463 Summary 468 Q&A 468 Workshop 468 HOUR 24: Managing Microsoft Azure with Windows PowerShell 471 Defining Microsoft Azure 472 Preparing Your Azure-PowerShell Environment 474 Working with Azure Virtual Machines 477 Managing Office 365 and SharePoint Online with Azure 485 Summary 488 Q&A 489 Workshop 490 INDEX 493