Windows

Problem

You want to get and modify information about mailboxes from the Exchange Management Shell.

Solution

To retrieve information about a mailbox (or multiple mailboxes), use the GetMailbox cmdlet:

$user = GetMailbox *preeda*

$user | FormatList * To modify information about a mailbox, use the SetMailbox cmdlet. This example prevents Preeda from sending mail when her mailbox goes over 2 GB, and then verifies it:

$user | SetMailbox –ProhibitSendQuota 2GB $user | GetMailbox

Discussion

Problem

You want to get and modify information about user domain accounts from the Exchange Management Shell.

Solution

To get and set information about Active Directory users, use the GetUser and SetUser cmdlets, respectively:

$user = GetUser *preeda*

$user | FormatList *

To update Preeda’s title to Senior Vice President:

$user | SetUser –Title "Senior Vice President" $user.Title

Discussion

Problem

You want to automate tasks you normally complete through one of the wizards in the Exchange Management Console.

Solution

To automate a wizardguided task, complete the wizard in the Exchange Management Shell, and then save the script it displays for future reference.

Discussion

Since the Exchange Management Console user interface uses PowerShell cmdlets to accomplish all its actions, every wizard displays the PowerShell script that you could run to accomplish the same task.

Problem

You want to experiment with the features and functionality of the Exchange Management Shell without working on a production system.

Solution

To explore the Exchange Management Shell, use the shellfocused Exchange 2007 Microsoft Virtual Lab.

Discussion

Pointandclick management has long been the stereotype of Windows administration. While it has always been possible to manage portions of Windows (or other applications) through the command line, support usually comes as an afterthought. Once all the administration support has been added to the user interface, the developers of an application might quickly cobble together a COM API or commandline tool if you are lucky. If you aren’t lucky, they might decide only to publish some registry key settings, or perhaps nothing at all.

Problem

You want to retrieve information about network adapters on a computer.

Solution

To retrieve information about network adapters on a computer, use the Win32_ NetworkAdapterConfiguration WMI class:

GetWmiObject Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration –Computer <ComputerName> To list only those with IP addresses assigned to them, use the WhereObject cmdlet to filter on the IpEnabled property:

PS >GetWmiObject Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration –Computer LEEDESK |

>> WhereObject { $_.IpEnabled }

>>

Problem

You want to list all IP addresses for a computer.

Solution

To list IP addresses assigned to a computer, use the ipconfig application: PS >ipconfig

Discussion

The standard ipconfig application works well to manage network configuration options on a local machine. To view IP addresses on a remote computer, you have two options.

Use the Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration WMI class

Problem

You want to assign a static IP address to a computer.

Solution

Use the Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration WMI class to manage network settings for a computer:

$description = "Linksys WirelessG USB" $staticIp = "192.168.1.100" $subnetMask = "255.255.255.0" $gateway = "192.168.1.1"

$adapter = GetWmiObject Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration –Computer LEEDESK |

WhereObject { $_.Description –match $description}

$adapter.EnableStatic($staticIp, $subnetMask)

$adapter.SetGateways($gateway, [UInt16] 1)

Discussion

Problem

You want to renew the DHCP lease for a connection on a computer.

Solution

To renew DHCP leases, use the ipconfig application. To renew the lease on all connections:

PS >ipconfig /renew

To renew the lease on a specific connection:

PS >ipconfig /renew "Wireless Network Connection 4"

Discussion

The standard ipconfig application works well to manage network configuration options on a local machine. To renew the lease on a remote computer, you have two options.

Use the Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration WMI class

WMI provides an immense amount of information about the current system or remote systems. In fact, the msinfo32.exe application traditionally used to gather system information is based largely on WMI.

The script shown in Example 246 summarizes the most common information, but WMI provides a great deal more than that.

Example 246. GetDetailedSystemInformation.ps1