Windows

Problem

You want to modify properties of a specific OU.

Solution

To modify the properties of an OU, use the [adsi] type shortcut to bind to the OU in Active Directory, and then call the Put() method. Finally, call the SetInfo() method to apply the changes.

$organizationalUnit = [adsi] "LDAP://localhost:389/ou=West,ou=Sales,dc=Fabrikam,dc=COM"

$organizationalUnit.Put("Description", "Sales West Organization") $organizationalUnit.SetInfo()

Discussion

Problem

You want to get and list the properties of a specific OU.

Solution

To list the properties of an OU, use the [adsi] type shortcut to bind to the OU in Active Directory, and then pass the OU to the FormatList cmdlet: $organizationalUnit = [adsi] "LDAP://localhost:389/ou=West,ou=Sales,dc=Fabrikam,dc=COM"

$organizationalUnit | FormatList *

Discussion

The solution retrieves the Sales West OU. By default, the FormatList cmdlet shows only the distinguished name of the group, so we type FormatList * to display all properties.

Problem

You want to create an organizational unit (OU) in Active Directory.

Solution

To create an organizational unit in a container, use the [adsi] type shortcut to bind to a part of the Active Directory, and then call the Create() method.

$domain = [adsi] "LDAP://localhost:389/dc=Fabrikam,dc=COM" $salesOrg = $domain.Create("OrganizationalUnit", "OU=Sales") $salesOrg.Put("Description", "Sales Headquarters, SF") $salesOrg.Put("wwwHomePage", "http://fabrikam.com/sales") $salesOrg.SetInfo()

Discussion

Problem

You want to test your Active Directory scripts against a local installation.

Solution

To test your scripts against a local system, install Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM) and its sample configuration.

Discussion

To test your scripts against a local installation, you’ll need to install ADAM, and then create a test instance.

Install ADAM

By far, the one thing that makes system administration on the Windows platform most unique is its interaction with Active Directory. As the centralized authorization, authentication, and information store for Windows networks, Active Directory automation forms the core of many enterprise administration tasks.

While PowerShell doesn’t include either Active Directory cmdlets or an Active Directory provider, its access through the .NET Framework provides support for the broad range of Active Directory administration.

Problem

You want to list or manage services on a remote machine.

Solution

To retrieve the services from a remote machine, use the [System.ServiceProcess. ServiceController]::GetServices() method from the .NET Framework.

PS >[void] ([Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("System.ServiceProcess"))

PS >[System.ServiceProcess.ServiceController]::GetServices("LEEDESK")

Status
Name
DisplayName

Running
ADAM_Test
Test

Stopped
Alerter
Alerter

Problem

You want to manage a running service.

Solution

To stop a service, use the StopService cmdlet:

PS >StopService AudioSrv WhatIf What if: Performing operation "StopService" on Target "Windows Audio (Audi oSrv)".

Likewise, use the SuspendService, RestartService, and ResumeService cmdlets to suspend, restart, and resume services, respectively.

For other tasks (such as setting the startup mode), use the GetWmiObject cmdlet:

$service = GetWmiObject Win32_Service |

Problem

You want to see which services are running on the system.

Solution

To list all running services, use the GetService cmdlet: PS >GetService

Status
Name
DisplayName

Running
ADAM_Test
Test

Stopped
Alerter
Alerter

Running
ALG
Application Layer Gateway Service

Stopped
AppMgmt
Application Management

Stopped
aspnet_state
ASP.NET State Service

Running
AudioSrv
Windows Audio

As the support mechanism for many administrative tasks on Windows, managing and working with system services naturally fits into the administrator’s toolbox.

PowerShell offers a handful of cmdlets to help make working with system services easier: from listing services, to life cycle management, and even to service installation.

Example 214 lets you start processes and invoke PowerShell expressions on remote machines. It uses PsExec (from http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/ psexec.mspx) to support the actual remote command execution.