Microsoft India - Windows Power Shell in Windows Server 2008 R2 Whitepaper

Windows PowerShell in Windows Server
2008 R2
White Paper
Published: August 2009
For the latest information, please see http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/.

© 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This document is developed prior to the product’s release to
manufacturing, and as such, we cannot guarantee that all details included herein will be exactly as what is found in
the shipping product. The information contained in this document represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation
on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market
conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee
the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. The information represents the product at the
time this document was printed and should be used for planning purposes only. Information subject to change at any
time without prior notice. This whitepaper is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO
WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Microsoft, Active Directory, Windows PowerShell, Windows, the Windows logo, Windows Vista, and Windows Server
are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................1

Today’s IT Administrative Challenges ........................................................................................2

Introduction to Windows PowerShell ..........................................................................................3

Windows PowerShell Benefits ....................................................................................................5
Helps to Maximize your IT Investment ...................................................................................5
Lower the Barriers to Entry .....................................................................................................5
Reduce Time-to-Results .........................................................................................................6

Where to Begin ...........................................................................................................................9

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 10

Resources ................................................................................................................................ 11

Introduction
Organizations today are under increasing pressure to be more productive with fewer
resources. However, analysts report that most organizations use over most of their IT budget
in maintaining and operating their existing IT infrastructure rather than investing in new
systems or new capabilities.
® ®
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 includes many new and enhanced capabilities to help
enterprises optimize resources and trim costs. The latest version of Microsoft Windows
PowerShell™ included in Windows Server 2008 R2 is a command-line and GUI-based
scripting tool that helps IT professionals achieve greater productivity and perform system
administration more efficiently. Windows PowerShell provides powerful scripting capabilities
that can help automate server deployment and configuration and simplify system
administration.

Windows PowerShell in Windows Server 2008 R2 1

Today’s IT Administrative Challenges
In today’s environment, organizations are increasingly reliant on information technology (IT)
for mission-critical operations. More users have increasingly diverse roles and demand high
information availability. Furthermore, this basic demand for availability is coupled with an
expectation that critical information is available anywhere as well as anytime. And increasing
numbers of organizations understand that meeting these information demands is essential to
overall efficiency, helping to identify problems and opportunities, and responding quickly to
those challenges. These requirements entail increasing technological complexity, which in
turn increases the IT managerial burden.
Currently, most IT costs are related to managing existing systems. Current industrial trends
such as a return to large scale data centers, an increase in the use of virtualization, the use of
remote management, and an increase in outsourcing are helping to further increase the
challenges that IT management faces.
Organizations want efficient IT resource administration. With smaller budgets and fewer IT
staff, today’s IT departments are expected to manage a diverse set of resources and ensure
information availability without compromise. To achieve this, IT staff need tools that reduce
complexity, increase manageability, and extend the reach of administration from the physical
data center to the virtual data center, and to the desktop. These tools need to work for a
diverse set of organizations—small and large organizations, online services, and individuals.
In addition, these tools need to work on many layers, including hardware, operating systems,
applications, and services. Management solutions are needed at every layer, with each layer
relying on the stability and the management of the prior layer.
To address the need for streamlined management, Windows Server 2008 R2 delivers a
powerful yet easy-to-use management experience that encompasses both tools and best
practices. It provides a rich and consistent management experience that enables
administrators to complete tasks both locally and remotely with minimal differentiation and
effort. At the heart of management improvements is the rising importance of the enhancement
and growth of Windows PowerShell.


Introduction to Windows PowerShell
Windows PowerShell is a command-line shell and a scripting language designed to help
system administrators achieve greater productivity and manage systems easily. Windows
PowerShell accelerates automation of system administration tasks and can help improve your
organization’s ability to address the system-management problems of the server or client
environment. This automation capability means that tasks that might have previously taken
the IT professional hours to perform can now be completed in seconds. Likewise, it also helps
to reduce the possibility of human error during the administrative process. Windows Server
2008 R2 introduces Windows PowerShell, which significantly enhances the previous version
with the inclusion of more than 240 pre-built cmdlets as well as a new graphical user interface
(GUI) that adds professional-level development features for writing scripts.
The new interface includes colored syntax, which helps make writing and understanding
scripts easier, and helps catch errors during script creation. Also included are new production
script debugging capabilities.
Server roles and many other features of Windows Server 2008 R2 are strongly integrated with
Windows PowerShell. Many of the new management interfaces, such as the new Active
Directory Administrative Center (ADAC), are built on Windows PowerShell. Windows
PowerShell is more powerful and versatile than its predecessor and is available on both
®
Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.
Because it does not require a strong background in programming, Windows PowerShell helps
to maximize your IT investment, lowers the barrier to entry for automation management, and
reduces the time required to experience results. Windows Power Shell works with your
existing IT infrastructure, existing scripts, and existing command-line tools. Unlike most shells
that accept and return text, Windows PowerShell is built on top of the .NET common language
runtime (CLR) and the Microsoft .NET Framework, accepting and returning .NET framework
objects. This fundamental change in the environment brings entirely new tools and methods
to the management and configuration of Windows.
Windows PowerShell enhancements available in Windows Server 2008 R2 include:
 New Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE). The new ISE simplifies the scripting
process by providing a full featured scripting development environment which
includes an interactive shell with Unicode support and colored syntax, a multi-tabbed
scripting pane, multiple sessions, and more.
 Script remoting. Remoting eases the burden of centralized management.
Administrators no longer have to log into a machine directly to run scripts. They can
now send commands to another computer remotely across the network and send
commands to multiple computers at the same time. For example, using Windows
PowerShell, IT professionals can access reliability data from many PCs at one time.
This task previously could have taken many hours to accomplish.
 Advanced functions. In Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows PowerShell enables
you to write functions that provide the same rich user experience as cmdlets.
Previously, you had to write C# or VB.NET code to get a rich command-line
experience. This change means that IT pros can now get the same rich experience by
writing advanced functions using the Windows PowerShell scripting language instead
of relying on developers. It also means that advanced functions no longer need to be
compiled. In addition, administrators using advanced functions can rely on consistent
syntax and semantics between functions and cmdlets.
 Asynchronous execution. Asynchronous execution enhances your ability to
multitask. Background jobs enable you to run a command or expression in the
background without requiring it to interact with the current session. When you start a


background job, the command prompt returns immediately, even if the job takes an
extended time to complete. You can continue to work in the session without
interruption while the job runs and query for the job results at your convenience.
 Eventing. Eventing enables you to quickly identify issues in order to respond to
changing needs. With eventing, you can asynchronously respond to events that are
generated by various objects in Windows, which can help automate certain kinds of
tasks. You can use eventing to be notified or to take some predefined action when
management or system events are raised, file or registry keys are altered, or other
managed entities are changed. Additionally, you can use eventing to link together a
sequence of actions in order to automate a workflow.
 Delegated management. Administrators can delegate management of day-to-day
functions that are better handled by the departments or groups that need them.
Restricted sessions enable an administrator to create a constrained environment for
users that grants limited access to a subset of Windows PowerShell commands,
scripts, and language elements.
 Consistent management. Windows PowerShell enables consistent management no
matter where the system is installed. The Mobile Object Model makes it possible to
have management objects travel around the network. This means that you can work
with objects across the network rather than just being able to see a read-only copy of
those objects.
 Improved server role coverage. Windows PowerShell also enables administrators
to manage specific Windows Server 2008 R2 roles and features with cmdlets and
providers that are designed exclusively for those roles and features.
 Cmdlet-based debugger. Windows PowerShell includes a cmdlet-based debugger
for scripts and functions. The debugger is supported by a fully documented public API
that you can use to build your own debugger or to customize or extend the debugger.
 Designed to utilize the .NET Framework. Windows PowerShell is built on the .NET
framework and enables you to use the .NET framework classes and types. That
means that the more you learn about the .NET framework, the more you will be able
to accomplish with Windows PowerShell.
 Support for Transactions. Windows PowerShell extends your ability to control
execution commitment using transactions. With a PowerShell transaction you are
able to carry out a number of grouped operations without committing the changes
until you are ready.


Windows PowerShell Benefits
The new and enhanced features in Windows PowerShell mean that even administrators
without a background in programming can easily adopt, learn, and use the tools to maximize
your current IT investments and increase your productivity. Windows PowerShell does this by
providing a common approach to administering both applications and Windows operating
®
systems, ranging from individual registries to Active Directory to Microsoft Exchange Server.
In addition, Windows PowerShell brings the power of the .NET Framework to command-line
users and script writers.

Helps to Maximize your IT Investment
One of the most important benefits of Windows PowerShell is its ease of adoption and
deployment. Because it works within your IT infrastructure and existing scripting tools,
Windows PowerShell is easy to adopt and helps maximize your current IT investments.
Windows PowerShell is also easy to deploy because it runs on Windows XP, Windows Server
2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2. This
means that deployment is done in production in your current infrastructure.
Although Windows PowerShell is a new command line shell and task-based scripting
technology, it supports your organization’s current scripts (e.g., .vbs, .bat, .perl, etc.), so there
is no need to migrate scripts in order to adopt Windows PowerShell. All existing Windows-
based command line tools will run from the Windows PowerShell command line, and many
Cmd.exe commands work in Windows PowerShell. There are currently over 240 cmdlets
installed by default and Exchange Server 2010 has over 600 cmdlets. However, due to Role
Based Access Control (RBAC) not all of the 600 cmdlets in Exchange Server will generally be
visible at one time.
This easy-to-use command line shell and scripting language was designed specifically for IT
administrators. In fact, the comprehensive and uniform tools, utilities, and scripting language
enable organizations to standardize on a single scripting language for all Windows system
administration tasks.
Windows PowerShell requires the .NET Framework, which is available on both the
Microsoft Download Center as a redistributable package and through the Windows Update
and Microsoft Update services. It requires .NET Framework 2.0 for most features, including
the console host and built-in cmdlets. For the Integrated Scripting Environment host and Out-
GridView cmdlet, you need .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 or later. For the very first time, this
.NET-based functionality exposes the power of .NET technology and Web services via easy-
to-understand command line tools, scripting language and utilities so that administrators can
more easily control and automate system administration.

Lower the Barriers to Entry
Windows PowerShell is also designed to be easy to learn—its functionality is easily
discoverable. In Windows PowerShell, it is a simple matter to find a cmdlet and learn more
about it. After discovering which cmdlet accomplishes a task, you can view its built-in help
content to learn more about how it can be used. Windows PowerShell also stresses
consistency, and consistent functionality greatly reduces management complexity. This
emphasis on consistency also increases script reusability—no more writing point solutions
that you stick in a bin folder rarely to be used again. With purpose-built tools finally in the box,
scripting is no longer an exercise in workarounds.
After you learn the basic functionality, the intuitive design of the Windows PowerShell
interface and scripting language help you quickly automate a broad set of bulk administration
tasks. Simply put, Windows PowerShell does not require extensive training in order to use


commands or start writing scripts. Powerful aliasing, history, and profile features enable you
to customize the Windows PowerShell environment based on your specific shell preferences.
In fact, the interactive command line shell with rich help utilities enables you to learn the
scripting language.
Learning to use the Windows PowerShell scripting language does not require a background in
programming. This is because Windows PowerShell commands and language follow an easy
to understand verb-noun syntax (e.g., Get-EventLog; Stop-Process). All commands follow
standard naming conventions and work with a small set of intuitive utilities in order to provide
consistency and make you more efficient.
Tab completion eases discoverability and arguments are positional. Help is built-in, and well-
known legacy commands are supported through aliasing and support for traditional binaries
(e.g. dir, cls, cd, md , ping.exe, fsutil.exe).
As intuitive and easy-to-learn as Windows PowerShell is, extensive learning content and
script examples are available online to help make it even easier for you to learn to use
Windows PowerShell. In addition, an active and robust community exists for support via
blogs, discussion groups, and script sharing. See the Resources section below for reference
links.

Reduce Time-to-Results
As noted above, Windows PowerShell does not require a strong background in programming,
does not require you to migrate your existing scripts, and works with existing command line
tools. The intuitive, task-based scripting language reduces time to write scripts via consistent
syntax, powerful scripting utilities (Sort, Compare, Where, Group, Select), and uniform naming
guidelines.
This reduced learning curve also drastically reduces time-to-results. Consistent vocabulary
and syntax (with verbs such as Add, New, Get, Set, Remove, and Clear, and nouns such as
Computer, Connection, EventLog, Member, Printer, Service, Transaction, and WmiObject)
make scripting easier to master. It is also easy to compose a script because the interactive
environment lends itself to piecemeal (step-by-step / progressive) solutions. In addition,
multiple cmdlets can be pipelined end-to-end to solve complex management problems. All of
this results in a flexible output where objects can be easily formatted and easily consumed by
other cmdlets.
Windows PowerShell features that make it easy to use include automated administrative
utilities, accelerated automation, pipeline flexibility, integrated scripting environment,
increased extensibility, easy command access, powerful debugging features, and fast script
testing.
Windows PowerShell enables the use and easy creation of automated administration utilities.
The simple admin utilities in Windows PowerShell help automate bulk system administration
tasks through improved data and object manipulation. These utilities provide improved
abilities to filter, sort, group, and compare multiple types of system data including the registry,
WMI, and services. Since Windows PowerShell can use WMI, IT professionals can write
scripts that perform almost any management task that they want to automate. Windows
PowerShell can even leverage the full .NET Framework, providing access to thousands of
powerful objects.
Windows PowerShell uses a new admin-focused command-line shell, scripting language,
consistent syntax, and powerful utilities to help accelerate automation and improve control of
system management. Unlike traditional program languages that were designed for the
developer, Windows PowerShell is a scripting language that was designed for use by system
administrators. It does not require the IT professional to understand complex programming
languages like Visual Basic or Visual C++ yet enables IT professionals to create scripts that
can perform almost any management task.


Using a new admin-focused scripting language, hundreds of standard command line tools,
and consistent syntax and utilities, Windows PowerShell enables IT professionals to easily
control system administration and accelerate automation. And of course, the net result of this
automation is increased productivity and a reduction in human error.
Windows PowerShell commands return .NET objects that can be manipulated in a pipeline.
The pipeline works much like UNIX; however piping objects gives you the added flexibility of
getting all the properties and methods of those objects.
Windows PowerShell also includes a new full featured Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE).
The Windows PowerShell ISE is a host application for Windows PowerShell. In Windows
PowerShell ISE, you can run commands and write, test, and debug scripts in a single
Windows-based graphic user interface with multiline editing, tab completion, syntax coloring,
selective execution, context-sensitive help, and support for right-to-left languages. You can
use menu items and keyboard shortcuts to perform many of the same tasks that you would
perform in the Windows PowerShell console. The Windows PowerShell ISE also lets you
customize some aspects of its appearance. The ISE has its own Windows PowerShell profile,
where you can store functions, aliases, variables, and commands you use in the Windows
PowerShell ISE.
Some of the many features of the Windows PowerShell ISE include:
 An interactive shell with syntax coloring and Unicode support.
 A multi-tabbed scripting pane for loading / composing multiple files.
 The ability to run a script by pressing F5 or clicking Run Script on the toolbar.
 The ability to run parts of a script by selecting the desired parts and pressing F8 or
clicking Run Selection on the toolbar.
 Support for multiple sessions, including remote sessions, inside Windows PowerShell
ISE by using the New PowerShell Tab menu item or clicking the New Remote
PowerShell button.
Windows PowerShell takes extensibility to new level with modules. Modules enable you to
extend Windows PowerShell by giving you a comprehensive set of cmdlets that you can use
as building blocks. Windows PowerShell modules have hundreds of cmdlets that are available
out-of-the-box for everything from managing servers to debugging scripts. This enables you to
easily build complex and proprietary solutions.
The new Out-GridView cmdlet displays the results of other commands in an interactive table,
where you can search, sort, and group the results. For example, you can send the results of a
Get-Process, Get-WmiObject, or Get-EventLog command to Out-GridView and use the table
features to examine the data. This feature requires Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 or
later.
Windows PowerShell ISE has new debugging features that enable you to set breakpoints on
lines, variables, and commands. You can also specify actions to run when the breakpoint is
hit. Easily stepping into, over, or out of functions is also supported. It is also simple to get the
call stack. That being said, debugging tools are built into Windows PowerShell itself. This
enables you to use the new debugging cmdlets in Windows PowerShell to debug any script
from the console window as well as the ISE.
Windows PowerShell also reduces the script testing phase by providing utilities that enable
you to quickly test and control system changes such as –WhatIf, -Confirm, and -Verbose. In
addition, unique logging and error-handling capabilities enable you to track script execution
and handle errors gracefully.
Windows PowerShell extends your ability to control execution commitment using transactions.
With a transaction you are able to carry out a number of grouped operations without actually
committing your changes. This enables you to roll back your changes if an error or


unexpected event occurs during your script execution process. For example, say your script is
going to make a number of registry changes, however, in the middle of your script an error
occurs. Without transactions you would need to determine which changes occurred and undo
those changes. With transactions, you can simply rollback the transaction – preventing any of
the changes to get written to the registry.


Where to Begin
If you have already been using Windows PowerShell you are well on your way to streamlining
your administrative process through scripting. However, if you are new to Windows
PowerShell, you might wonder where to begin. One of the best sources of content is available
right on the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN).
The Windows PowerShell Getting Started Guide provides an introduction to Windows
PowerShell: the language, the cmdlets, the providers, and the use of objects.
The Windows PowerShell Programmers Guide is targeted at developers who are interested in
providing a command-line management environment for system administrators. This guide
shows you how to create cmdlets; how to create Windows PowerShell providers; how to write
your own hosting applications that access the Windows PowerShell runtime to process
commands and interact with Windows PowerShell providers; how to extend object types and
formats for your cmdlets, providers, and applications; how to build a cmdlet, Windows
PowerShell provider, or hosting application and add it to Windows PowerShell; how Windows
PowerShell works; and provides guidelines for developing cmdlets.
The Windows PowerShell SDK provides reference content used to develop cmdlets,
providers, and hosting applications.
Finally, the Windows PowerShell Managed Reference provides detailed class information.


Conclusion
By enabling applications built on Windows PowerShell to manage anything and everything, be
it a server, client, distributed system, application, service, hardware, or other operating
system, Windows PowerShell was designed to reduce the cost and effort required to manage
your IT infrastructure. The intuitive interface, rich built-in help, and extensive online resources
make Windows PowerShell helps to maximize your IT investment, lower the barriers to entry
into management automation, and reduce the time required to see results. In addition,
Windows PowerShell can help standardize and automate all your management processes,
improving administrator efficiency and minimizing human error.


Resources
Windows PowerShell on MSDN
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb905330.aspx
Windows PowerShell team blog
http://blogs.msdn.com/PowerShell/
Channel 9 on Windows PowerShell
http://channel9.msdn.com/tags/PowerShell
Windows PowerShell Wiki
http://channel9.msdn.com/wiki/windowspowershellwiki/
Windows PowerShell on CodePlex
http://www.codeplex.com/site/search?TagName=powershell
Scripting Guy’s Script Center
http://microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter


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