1. Overview 1.1. Introduction Windows Server 2012 provides Windows PowerShell cmdlets and WMI objects to manage SMB File Servers and SMB File Shares. These new tools are aimed at both System Administrator and Developers. 1.2. Benefits SMB PowerShell cmdlets allow an IT Administrator...

One of the preferred methods for creating VMs in a shared environment is to have one or more base VHDs that you use as a template for new VMs. While having a base VHD is a constant, there are a few different methods to choose when you implement your provisioning process for new VMs. This post looks at...

1. Introduction 1.1. Overview In this document, I am sharing all the steps I used to create a Windows Server 2012 Beta demo, so you can experiment with some of the new technologies yourself. You only need a single computer (the specs are provided below) and the ISO file with the Windows Server...

This blog posts lists a few of the common test cases for the new "Hyper-V over SMB" scenario in Windows Server 2012 Beta. If you are not familiar with this new scenario in Windows Server 2012 Beta, please read the following TechNet articles before proceeding: High-Performance, Continuously Available...

Introduction For a while now, I have let go of the old CMD.EXE command line and moved over to POWERSHELL.EXE for good. As you probably know, you can run any old command from the new Windows PowerShell. However, there are times when the name or the syntax of old tools might create issues. But it can...

1. Overview Some time ago, I was automating a few tasks with PowerShell and needed to set NTFS permissions on a folder. I was tempted to use the good old ICACLS.EXE command line, but I wanted to keep it all within PowerShell. While there are a number of different permissions you could want to set...

I recently blogged about the PowerShell cmdlets included with the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 . That included the details on all the 10 cmdlets available, including the one used to create VHD files, which is New-IscsiVirtualDisk. If you’re paying close attention to the list of new features...

1. Overview One of the new features in the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 (included in Windows Storage Server 2008 R2) is the inclusion of PowerShell cmdlets for management. In this blog post, we will examine the details of the cmdlets available to manage targets and their associated virtual...

While many of the Windows Server Failover Cluster (WSFC) administrators have moved from the old CLUSTER.EXE command-line to the new PowerShell interface, I know at least a few holdouts out there. It’s probably the fact that they have used the old CLI since the early days of Microsoft Cluster Services...

One of the interesting things about PowerShell is how easy it is to discover its cmdlets and parameter. In PowerShell itself or in the ISE, you can just start typing a command and then press the <TAB> key complete it. One other interesting bit is how you can use the Get-Command cmdlet to discover...

I was trying to figure out why people use the more complicated [System.DateTime]::Now instead of the simple Get-Date. They do the same thing and they both return an object of type "System.DateTime". PS C:\> Get-Date Thursday, April 08, 2010 10:46:48 PM PS C:\> [System.DateTime]::Now...

Overview In a previous blog post, I have examined some of PowerShell’s control structures and included an example gathered some information from web. If you haven’t seen it, you can check it at http://blogs.technet.com/josebda/archive/2010/04/04/experimenting-with-powershell-v2-scripting-variables...

Last week I was testing Visual Studio 2010 to write a C# application to export all my blog posts to a file. I described that in some detail at http://blogs.technet.com/josebda/archive/2010/03/21/experimenting-with-visual-studio-2010-and-backing-up-the-entries-on-my-blog.aspx I am performing the exact...

1. Overview In a recent blog post, I was looking at PowerShell V2 r emoting in Windows Server 2008 R2. If you haven’t seen it, take a look at http://blogs.technet.com/josebda/archive/2010/03/31/experimenting-with-powershell-v2-remoting.aspx . In that post, I mentioned three different ways to gather...

As I continue to experiment with PowerShell v2 in Windows Server 2008 R2, I will share some of what I learn here on the blog. This time I am focusing on PowerShell Remoting. If you never played with PowerShell before, please start by reading http://blogs.technet.com/josebda/archive/2009/07/25/experimenting...

Windows Server 2008 R2 introduced a new File Classification Infrastructure (FCI) and the team has been sharing different ways to put it to good use. The latest one comes as a blog post that describes how to use the FCI SharePoint Upload PowerShell script in conjunction with the FCI File Management...

A while back, Microsoft announced the release of PowerShell v2 for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008 (see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=151321 ). However, it is not clear to everyone that Powershell v2 is already part of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008...

As I continue to experiment with PowerShell v2 in Windows Server 2008 R2, I will share some of what I learn here on the blog. This time I am focusing on Cmdlets, Snap-ins and Modules. Cmdlets Windows PowerShell introduced the notion of a “cmdlet” (you pronounce it “commandlet”). These are like...

I spent some more time experimenting with PowerShell v2 and here goes my second post about it. This time around I am focusing on how to define variables, use expressions and create functions. The "problem" we're solving :-) To make it fun, I decided to create a little script that creates...

Powershell is a command line interface for Windows that offers a very powerful and flexible model. It is now a feature included with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, not an optional download as before. In this post, I show some sample commands that can help you understand some of the basic features...