PowerShell Version 2.0 Update

A third Customer Technology Preview (CTP) of PowerShell 2.0, Microsoft’s command-line interface (CLI) shell and scripting engine for Windows, was released to customers in Dec. 2008. PowerShell is becoming an important tool for managing Windows desktop and server applications, such as Exchange Server and VMware’s Infrastructure Toolkit for Windows. So although PowerShell 2.0 may not be available until the release of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, and features could be added or dropped, even customers and partners who have not yet adopted PowerShell should evaluate the updated version.

A Key Management Tool

PowerShell is a CLI shell and scripting environment that makes it easier and more efficient to manage Windows desktop and server applications. Scripts automate repetitive administrator tasks.

Although wizards and graphical tools such as Microsoft Management Console (MMC) are useful when learning how to perform a task, they can be less efficient when frequently performing complex or highly repetitive tasks, such as provisioning a large number of new users in Active Directory. Consequently, many administrators have supplemented graphical management tools with scripting technologies for Windows, including the following: