2. Govindaraj Rangan
Technology Strategist
Microsoft India

3. Agenda
Introduction to Windows Powershell
Scripting with Windows Powershell
Working with Objects (WMI, COM, .NET)
Scripting Best Practices

4. Agenda
Introduction to Windows Powershell
Scripting with Windows Powershell
Working with Objects (WMI, COM, .NET)
Scripting Best Practices

5. Windows Powershell - Overview
Interactive Shell
Rich Scripting Environment
Object Oriented
Extensible
Secure
More than everything, EASY! 

6. Architecture
MMC Snap-In Interactive Shell Scripts
Windows PowerShell Cmdlets
Platform and Application
Interfaces such as
Functionality
WMI, ADSI
as COM and .NET Objects

7. CmdLet Syntax
Argument
Name String
Verb Noun
PS> get-service –name “*net*”
Command Parameter
Property Names
Status Name DisplayName
------ ---- -----------
Stopped NetLogon NetLogon
Running Netman Network Connections
Property Values

8. Powershell Security
Powershell not associated with .PS1
Doesn’t run script by Default
Does not run scripts without a path
You need to autograph your script
Execution Policy
Restricted, Allsigned, Remote-signed, Unrestricted
Standard parameters like “-whatif”, “-confirm”
to save you from making accidental changes
Read-Host -assecurestring

9. Common CmdLets
PS C:> Get-Command
CommandType Name Definition
----------- ---- ---------
Function A: Set-Location A:
Cmdlet Add-Computer Add-Computer [[-ComputerName] <String[]>] [-Do...
Cmdlet Add-Content Add-Content [-Path] <String[]> [-Value] <Objec...
PS C:> Get-Help Get-Command
PS C:> Get-Process
PS C:> Get-Process | Where-Object {$_.CPU –gt 100}
PS C:> Get-Service
PS C:> Get-EventLog
PS C:> $var = Read-Host
PS C:> Write-Host $var
PS C:> Restart-Computer –ComputerName “MYBOSSPC”

10. Introducing Windows Powershell
Few Commonly Used CmdLets

11. Agenda
Introduction to Windows Powershell
Scripting with Windows Powershell
Working with Objects (WMI, COM, .NET)
Scripting Best Practices

12. Variables
$ represents variable
$txt = get-content “C:test.txt”
Type determined based on usage
Strong typing: [int] $n
Constants: Set-Variable pi 3.14 –option Constant
Arrays
$arr = @(1,2,3). $arr[0] returns 1
Associative Arrays (Hashtables)
$marks = @,ram=“100”;ravan=“0”-
$marks.ram returns “100”
$marks*“ram”+ returns “100”

13. Operators
Arithmetic
+, -, *, /, %
Assignment
=, +=, -=, *=, /=, %=
Conditional
-gt, -lt, -ge, -le, -ne, -eq, -contains
Append i or c for case insensitive or sensitive
operations
String
+, *, -replace, -match, -like

14. Constructs
If (condition) {
# do something
} ElseIf {
# do something
} Else {
# do something
}

15. Constructs
For ($i = 0; $i –lt 10; $i++) {
# do something
if ($i –eq 5) {
break
}
}

16. Constructs
Foreach ($item in collection) {
# Do something to the item
if ($item –eq “a value”) ,
break
}
}

17. Constructs
Switch (variable) {
“value1” , #do something-
“value2” , #do something-
“value3” , #do something-
}
Switch –regex|-wildcard (variable) {
“.*?” , #do something-
}

18. Functions
function take_all_args {
write-host $Args[0]
}
function take_sp_args (*string+$label = “t”)
{
# do something
}

19. Build a script to identify IP addresses
that are currently in use in a given
subnet, using a simple ping test

20. Agenda
Introduction to Windows Powershell
Scripting with Windows Powershell
Working with Objects (WMI, COM, .NET)
Scripting Best Practices

21. WMI Objects
 Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)
◦ WMI is a core technology for Windows system administration
◦ It exposes a wide range of information in a uniform manner.
 Get-WmiObject cmdlet
 Listing WMI classes
◦ Get-WmiObject -List
◦ Get-WmiObject -list -ComputerName cflabsql01
 Getting WMI objects
◦ Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_OperatingSystem
◦ Get-WmiObject -class Win32_LogicalDisk
◦ Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Service | Select-Object -Property
Status,Name,DisplayName

22. Working with WMI
Get free hard disk space available
Get the amount of RAM installed

23. COM Objects
 Create a COM object using New-Object
◦ > $xl= New-Object -ComObject Excel.Application
 Reflect against properties/methods
◦ > $xl |get-member
 Access properties/methods
◦ > $xl.Visible = “True”
 Drill down into Excel object model
◦ > $wb = $xl.Workbooks.Add()
◦ > $ws = $xl.Worksheets.Item(1)
◦ > $ws.Cells.Item(1,1) = quot;TEST“
◦ > $ws.Cells.Item(1,1).Font.Bold = quot;True“
◦ > $ws.Cells.Item(1,1).Font.Size = 24
◦ $xl.Workbooks.Add().Worksheets.Item(1).Cells.Item(1,1) =
quot;HELLOquot;

24. Working with Excel – Make an Excel
report of Software Installed on a given
machine

25. .NET Objects
 Creating .Net objects
 $f = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Form
 Inspecting properties-methods
 $f|Get-Member
 Accessing properties-methods
 $f.Text = quot;Give me the username and password“
 Adding Controls to the Parent Object (Form)
 Create control object:
 $OKButton = New-object System.Windows.Forms.Button
 Add control to Parent:
 $f.Controls.Add($OKButton)
 Load any assembly and use its objects
◦ [Reflection.Assembly]::LoadFrom(“…abc.dll”);

26. Getting user credentials using a dialog box
.NET Namespace: System.Windows.Forms

27. Agenda
Introduction to Windows Powershell
Scripting with Windows Powershell
Working with Objects (WMI, COM, .NET)
Scripting Best Practices

28. Scripting Best Practices
Use sensible variable names
Indent within constructs
Use Source Control
Avoid aliases within Scripts
Use as descriptive comments as possible
Use Functions and Script blocks to reduce the
number of lines of code
Test thoroughly for boundary conditions before
running in production
Capture and report all logical errors

29. Powershell Resources
Powershell Download link:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=c913aeab-d7b4-4bb1-
a958-ee6d7fe307bc&displaylang=en
Powershell Blog:
http://blogs.msdn.com/powershell/

32. © 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.
The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. 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 provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS,
IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.