Microsoft Lync Server 2010 PowerShell Reference

Okay, so you know something about Windows PowerShell. (If you don’t, take a look at our  Windows PowerShell Owner’s Manual.) Maybe you’re even an expert. And maybe, just maybe, you know a little something about Microsoft Lync Server 2010. (We certainly hope so.) In that case, it’s time to learn about how Lync Server uses PowerShell to help you manage your  deployments.

Here are a series of articles that explain the ins and outs of the Lync Server implementation of PowerShell. Read through these articles to learn all about identities, scopes, filters, and numerous other features that you’ll become very familiar with as you begin to work with Lync Server PowerShell. We’ve listed the artices, with descriptions, in what we think is a logical order if you’re starting from scratch and want to read through each one. But feel free to go in any order you'd like.

Getting Help for the Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Cmdlets

Not sure what a particular cmdlet does, or what values need to go in a particular parameter? This articles tells you how to find help – without even leaving the command window.

Listing the Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Cmdlets

There are over 500 cmdlets for managing Lync Server. (Yes, you read that right, over 500!). That may seem like a lot, but for a product as powerful as this one you pretty much need 500 cmdlets. But with all those cmdlets, how in the world do you find the ones you need for a particular task? Read this article and you’ll find out.

All About Identities

Lync Server enables you to manage instant messaging, web conferencing, Enterprise Voice, and many other communications features. With so many things to manage, how do you identify the particular instance of a particular feature you want to work with? By its Identity.

Scopes and Filters

These are two things you absolutely must know about to get anywhere with managing Lync Server with PowerShell. Because of that we thought it would be a good idea to write a few pages on it. It’s entirely up to you, of course, but you might want to read those few pages.

Setting Property Values

Part of managing a system is simply retrieving information and finding out what’s there. Another part is changing that information. This article tells you all about modifying Lync Server settings with PowerShell. Oh, and if you think you know everything because you already know how to do this in Windows PowerShell, think again.

Listing All the Values in a Multi-Valued Property

In the Setting Property Values article we explained how to modify settings by changing property values. What we didn’t explain was how to do that with properties that can contain multiple values. We’ve remedied that little omission here.

Retrieving Active Directory and Microsoft Lync Server 2010 User Accounts

You can’t manage Lync Server without managing the users who are using it. (Yes, you can manage parts of it, but definitely not all of it.) This article explains how to retrieve user information from Activie Directory.

Filter vs. Where-Object

In the article Retrieving Active Directory and Microsoft Lync Server 2010 User Accounts we explained how to, well, retrieve Active Directory and Lync Server user accounts. In that article we talked about filtering, both with the LdapFilter parameter and the Filter parameter. But if you’ve worked with Windows PowerShell much, you know that you can do a significant amount of filtering with the Where-Object cmdlet. So why all the filtering with LdapFilter and Filter? This article explains why.

Assigning Policies

This may come as a shock to you (or maybe just a relief), but Microsoft Lync Server 2010 doesn’t use Group Policy to manage user policies. Instead Lync Server defines its own policies, which can be applied to specific users. This article explains how to do that.

Creating Objects

When we start talking about “objects” you might get a little worried that we’re moving too far out of IT pro land and into developer land. But don’t worry, creating objects is just a technical way of saying “making new stuff.” What kinds of stuff? Well, stuff like voice policies and address book configurations and trusted applications – you know, stuff.

Changing the Management Shell’s Default Folder

This is a short little article that tells you how to customize the folder that the Lync Server Management Shell opens to, mainly so half the command line isn’t taken up by the prompt.

Working with Timespans and DateTimes

Einstein wasn’t kidding when he said time is a tricky thing (or something like that). This article explains how to work with two types of time: TimeSpans (amount of time that elapses before something happens), and DateTimes (time of day, day of month, month of year, etc.).

Removing Policies and Other Objects

We discussed policies in the Assigning Policies article, but what we didn’t discuss was how to get rid of policies we don’t want any more. That’s what this article is for.

PSListModifiers

Yes, that’s an odd title for an article. But a PSListModifier is something you just might stumble across in your adventures with PowerShell, so we thought we’d bring them to your attention before you actually trip over them.

A Brief Introduction to Role-Based Access Control – Part 1

You may never have imagined just how easy it could be to manage administrator privelages. Or maybe you did. The Microsoft Lync Server team certainly did, and RBAC is the result. Take a look at this introduction to see.