Overview

This course provides students with the fundamental knowledge and skills to use PowerShell for administering and automating administration of Windows servers. This course provides students the skills to identify and build the command they require to perform a specific task. In addition, students learn how to build scripts to accomplish advanced tasks such as automating repetitive tasks and generating reports. This course provides prerequisite skills supporting a broad range of Microsoft products, including Windows Server, Windows Client, Microsoft Azure, and Microsoft 365. In keeping with that goal, this course will not focus on any one of those products, although Windows Server, which is the common platform for all of those products, will serve as the example for the techniques this course teaches.

Audience Profile

This course is intended for IT Professionals who are already experienced in general Windows Server, Windows client, Azure, and Microsoft 365 administration, and who want to learn more about using Windows PowerShell for administration. No prior experience with any version of PowerShell or any scripting language is assumed. This course is also suitable for IT Professionals already experienced in server administration, including Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SharePoint Server, and Microsoft SQL Server.

Syllabus

This module introduces you to Windows PowerShell and its versions. It discusses commonly used host applications. It explains how to use Microsoft Visual Studio Code (VS Code) to develop PowerShell scripts.

Learning Objectives
  • Describe Windows PowerShell and its major versions.
  • Identify the common Windows PowerShell hosting applications.
  • Describe points to consider when using PowerShell.
  • Explain how to configure the Windows PowerShell console host.
  • Explain how to configure the Windows PowerShell ISE host.
  • Describe how to use VS Code for PowerShell scripting.

This module covers the cmdlet structure and parameters for using Windows PowerShell cmdlets. It also explains how to use tab completion and how to display About files content.

Learning Objectives
  • Describe cmdlet structure.
  • Identify how to use Windows PowerShell parameters.
  • Explain how to use tab completion.
  • Explain how to display the About files content.
  • Use About files.

This module explains how to find Windows PowerShell cmdlets that you can use to perform specific tasks. It also covers how to use Get-Help to retrieve detailed information about a cmdlet and its parameters.

Learning Objectives
  • Describe the relationship between modules and cmdlets.
  • Identify options for finding cmdlets.
  • Describe aliases.
  • Use aliases.
  • Explain how to use Show-Command.
  • Explain how to use Get-Help.
  • Review help.
  • Explain how to interpret the help file contents.
  • Explain how to update the local help content.

This module covers the cmdlets that are used to administer Active Directory Domain Services.

Learning Objectives
  • Identify user management cmdlets.
  • List group management cmdlets.
  • Manage users and groups.
  • Describe the cmdlets for managing computer objects.
  • Describe the cmdlets for managing organizational units (OUs).
  • Describe the cmdlets for managing Active Directory objects.
  • Manage Active Directory objects.

This module covers the PowerShell modules and cmdlets that are used to configure network settings for Windows devices.

Learning Objectives
  • Identify cmdlets for managing TCP/IP settings.
  • Describe how to manage local routing table settings.
  • Describe how to modify DNS client configuration.
  • List cmdlets for managing Windows Firewall.
  • Configure network settings.

This module covers cmdlets that are used to configure settings related to Group Policy, Server Manager, Hyper-V, and Internet Information Services (IIS).

Learning Objectives
  • Describe the cmdlets for managing Group Policy Objects (GPOs).
  • Describe the cmdlets for managing server features, roles, and services.
  • Describe the cmdlets for managing Hyper-V and virtual machines (VMs).
  • Describe the cmdlets for managing and administering Internet Information Services (IIS).

This module covers common PowerShell cmdlets that can be used to perform tasks on a local Windows 10 computer.

Learning Objectives
  • Describe the cmdlets for managing Windows 10 devices.
  • Describe the cmdlets for managing local permissions with Windows PowerShell.

This module explains about the Windows PowerShell pipeline and some basic techniques for running multiple commands in it.

Learning Objectives
  • Describe the features and functionalities of the pipeline.
  • Use the appropriate terminology to describe the pipeline output and pipeline objects.
  • Explain how to discover and display object members.
  • Review object members.
  • Describe the cmdlets used to format the pipeline output for display.
  • Format pipeline output.

This module explains how to manipulate objects in the pipeline by using commands that sort, select, and measure objects.

Learning Objectives
  • Explain how to sort objects by a specified property.
  • Sort objects by using the Sort-Object command.
  • Explain how to measure objects’ numeric properties.
  • Measure objects by using the Measure-Object command.
  • Explain how to display a subset of objects in a collection.
  • Explain how to display a customized list of objects’ properties.
  • Select objects by using the Select-Object command.
  • Explain how to create calculated properties.
  • Create custom calculated properties for display.

This module explains how to filter objects out of the pipeline by using the Where-Object cmdlet to specify various criteria.

Learning Objectives
  • List the major PowerShell comparison operators.
  • Explain how to filter objects by using basic syntax.
  • Explain how to filter objects by using advanced syntax.
  • Filter objects.
  • Explain how to optimize filtering performance in the pipeline.

This module explains how to enumerate objects in the pipeline so that you can work with one object at a time during automation.

Learning Objectives
  • Explain the purpose of enumeration.
  • Explain how to enumerate objects by using basic syntax.
  • Perform basic enumerations.
  • Explain how to enumerate objects by using advanced syntax.
  • Perform advanced enumeration.

This module explains how to send pipeline data to files and in various output formats.

Learning Objectives
  • Explain how to write pipeline data to a file.
  • Explain how to convert pipeline data to the comma-separated values (CSV) format.
  • Explain how to convert pipeline data to the XML format.
  • Explain how to convert pipeline data to the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format.
  • Explain how to convert pipeline data to the HTML format.
  • Export data.
  • Explain how to send pipeline data to other locations.
  • Describe how PowerShell matches incoming pipeline data to the parameters of a cmdlet.

This module explains how the Windows PowerShell command-line interface passes objects from one command to another in the pipeline.

Learning Objectives
  • Describe pipeline parameter binding.
  • Identify ByValue parameters.
  • Pass data by using ByValue.
  • Identify ByPropertyName parameters.
  • Pass data ByPropertyName.
  • Pass pipeline data ByPropertyName.
  • Use manual parameters to override the pipeline.
  • Use parenthetical commands.
  • Expand property values.

This module covers PowerShell providers that connect Windows PowerShell to data stores. They offer an easier-to-understand and consistent interface for working with data stores.

Learning Objectives
  • Explain the purpose of PowerShell providers.
  • Compare different PowerShell provider capabilities.
  • Explain how to access PowerShell provider help files.
  • Explain how to review a list of providers and the help options for a specific provider.

This module explains how to work with PowerShell drives.

Learning Objectives
  • Explain the purpose and use of PowerShell drives.
  • Identify the cmdlets for using PowerShell drives.
  • Explain how to find, delete, and create files and directories.
  • Explain how to use Windows PowerShell to manage the file system.
  • Explain how to work with the registry.
  • Explain how to use Windows PowerShell to manage the registry.
  • Explain how to work with certificates.
  • Explain how to work with other PowerShell drives.

This module covers CIM and WMI technologies to connect to a common information repository that contains management information that you can query and manipulate.

Learning Objectives
  • Describe the architecture of CIM and WMI.
  • Explain the purpose of the repository.
  • Explain how to locate online documentation for repository classes.
  • Locate online class documentation.

This module explains the structure of the namespaces that contain classes and also how to query instances of a class. It covers how to query remote computers by using ad-hoc connections and CIM sessions.

Learning Objectives
  • List the available namespaces.
  • List local repository namespaces.
  • Retrieve a list of classes from a namespace.
  • Retrieve a list of classes from the root\CIMv2 namespace and sort them.
  • Query instances of a specified class.
  • Query instances of a specified class by using WMI, CIM, and WMI Query Language (WQL).
  • Connect to remote computers by using CIM or WMI.
  • Create and manage CIM sessions.
  • Query repository classes from remote computers by using CIM sessions objects.

This module explains how to use CIM and WMI to make changes by using methods. Discovering and understanding these methods is an important step in querying and manipulating the repository information.

Learning Objectives
  • Discover the methods of repository objects.
  • Locate online documentation for methods.
  • Locate the methods of the Win32_Service class and their documentation.
  • Explain how to invoke methods of repository objects.
  • Use methods for the Win32_OperatingSystem and Win32_Process classes.