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Since the earliest versions of Microsoft Windows, the command shell has existed in some way, shape, or form.
The command shell evolved from direct entry into Windows underlying DOS environment to an emulated DOS Environment in later Windows versions.
All the while the command shell has made strides to maintain backward compatibility with the original DOS environment, however, little has been done to expand upon the capabilities of the command shell.
Utilizing the power of the .NET Framework, Microsoft has released a brand new command shell environment aptly titled Windows PowerShell.
Like its predecessors, Windows PowerShell supports all the previous command shell commands such as “cd” to change directories, and “dir” to list directory contents, and converting your old batch files to PowerShell scripts is virtually effortless.
But don’t be fooled by the fact that PowerShell can execute old commands and batch files. PowerShell is run by a brand new command set consisting of some 120 cmdlets.
Cmdlets make themselves useful within each of the PowerShell providers. Providers are objects that store their data in a structure navigable like the Windows File and directory system.
In fact, the default PowerShell provider is the FileSystem provider, which gives access to the files and folders stored on the system drives.
PowerShell’s automation and time saving capabilities become apparent when you take advantage of three key features.
With all that, PowerShell not only acts as a replacement to the standard Windows Command Prompt, in many ways its usefulness as an administrative scripting engine exceeds that of VB Script. PowerShell scripting can accomplish virtually everything VB Script can and do it with greater efficiency in several areas.
Now that you have heard of this new tool, you are probably wondering how to get your hands on all that power?
Like most of Windows Server 2008’s useful features, Windows PowerShell is not installed as a default Windows Component. This is mostly because Windows PowerShell is dependent on .NET Framework 2.0 or higher being installed.
Assuming your installation of Server 2008 meets these requirements, PowerShell can be installed by following the steps below:
With PowerShell now pleasantly residing on your server, all that is necessary to bring the power to your fingertips is launching it.
Like many Windows features, PowerShell can be accessed more ways than one. Below are the basic methods for accessing PowerShell.
If you prefer, you could also copy the PowerShell shortcut from the start menu to the desktop or quick launch tool bar for easier access.
That’s all for today, but don’t worry, in the next few weeks, you will have the opportunity to get fully acquainted with Windows PowerShell through a series of articles, this one being the first.
The main goal of this series is to show you the capabilities and proper usage of Windows PowerShell. So that after reading all the articles you will be familiar with the following:
Noor Says:
February 1st, 2008 at 7:24 am
Are scripts available to run on PowerShell?
Jason Ensinger Says:
February 1st, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Hello Noor,
Yes, scripts are available to run on Windows PowerShell. Microsoft TechNet has a script center devoted to PowerShell scripting available at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/hubs/msh.mspx.
Also keep checking back. In part three of the PowerShell series I created a comprehensive script example that exhibits the capabilities of PowerShell scripting very well in my opinion. The rest of the PowerShell series should be posted next week.