More than 1,100 4sysops readers took part in this poll. I asked whether a graphical user interface (GUI) or a command line interface (CLI) was preferred when it comes to Windows administration. The results are quite clear: 66% prefer a GUI tool, 17% prefer the command line, and for another 17%, it doesn’t make a difference.

(more…)

The introduction of PowerShell was a major improvement for all administrators who are not afraid of the CLI. However, it also has some drawbacks. For instance, it is not included in the OS and it lacks many features. Microsoft wanted to correct those shortcomings. PowerShell Version 2 is now a part of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 RC2 and offers many new Cmdlets. One area that was improved is the management of the Active Directory (AD).

If you want to use these new features, you have to add the Cmdlets first. PowerShell v2 is now modularized. This only works under Windows Server, because you need to install the role “Active Directory Services” and the feature “Remote Server Administration Tools.” You can use the Server Manager for the installation, or if you prefer typing the following commands, you will have the same results:

import-module servermanager
Add-WindowsFeature -Name “RSAT-AD-PowerShell” -IncludeAllSubFeature
import-module ActiveDirectory

(more…)

Coincidentally, shortly after I wrote the article for the GUI vs. CLI poll I came across a related topic. PowerShell did not only make the renaissance of the command line possible, the marketing buzz around it also tempts Windows administrators who never wrote a line of code before to program scripts to “automate” administration tasks. I would like to cite a paragraph from Robert B. Laughlin’s (winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics) book “A different Universe” (p. 68) that I am currently reading. (I highly recommend this book to everyone who is interested in Physics and the Philosophy of Physics).

One of the more interesting trends of the computer age is that physical science students are increasingly unwilling or unable to write computer code. I was very upset when I first observed this and took stern measures in my department to counteract it, much to the students’ chagrin, for I myself am very good at coding and consider it something any self-respecting technologist should know how to do. Eventually, however, I realized that the students were right and I was wrong, and stopped the crusade. Computer programming is one of those things in life, like fixing one’s own car, that is fascinating, fun, useful–and unacceptably time-consuming. The truth is that it is no longer cost-effective for most well-educated people to program their own computers, or even to learn how to do so. The wise use of a time is to spend a few bucks to buy a program that does what one wants, or in extreme cases, search the internet for free software.

(more…)

Recently, I stumbled upon a sentence in a Microsoft blog that made me wonder if there is a paradigmatic change happening in Redmond. Ned Pyle discussed the Windows Server 2003 adminpak tool RepImon (Active Directory Replication Monitor utility) as a replacement for the Windows Server 2008, Repadmin (Replication Diagnostics Tool). Both tools allow you to view the Active Directory replication status and to force synchronization between domain controllers. What is interesting here is that RepImon has a graphical user interface, whereas Repadmin is a command line tool.

To some extent, the article reads as if Repadmin is a new tool, yet both tools have already been introduced in Windows 2000. Therefore, Microsoft dropped a GUI tool in favor of the command line version. This is in contradiction to Microsoft’s official policy, i.e., that command line and graphical admin tools are supported in the same manner. It has occurred to me several times, however, that this is really no longer the case. Ned Pyle indicates why:

Windows administrators are much more comfortable with the command-line, and that’s great…

(more…)

PowerShell ISE (Integrated Scripting Environment), formerly known as Graphical PowerShell, is a graphical development environment and Command Prompt alternative. It is part of PowerShell 2.0, which has been integrated into Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, and is available as a Community Technology Preview (CTP) for Windows XP and Windows Vista.

I believe PowerShell’s integration into Windows will bring its breakthrough. As far as I’m concerned, the “DOS Command Prompt” is finally dead. Even if you haven’t found the time to learn PowerShell yet, it makes sense to use PowerShell ISE whenever you need a command line, because a graphical user interface is much more convenient.

(more…)

PowerGUI is a free tool that allows you to create PowerShell scripts with a graphical user interface (GUI). It also comes with a nice PowerShell script editor that supports debugging. Version 1 has been available for some days already.

The main idea behind PowerGUI is to create PowerShell code by selecting objects, and performing actions on them. For instance, you can select Active Directory objects or Exchange objects manually or by using filters. Then you tell PowerGUI that you want to move these objects to a new location and it will create the corresponding PowerShell script which you can enhance with your own code.

(more…)

Rate this tool: (7 votes, average: 3.14 out of 5)

 Loading ...

Submit favorite free admin tool | Free tools ranking list | Descriptions of all tools

Aaron has a nice post about the command line interface of Server Manager in Windows Server 2008. I have been blogging about the graphical interface of Server Manager a while back. I somehow forgot to mention that Server Manager has a command line version. So I am taking this chance to make up for my omission, although the main intent of this post is to express my view about the value of these new command line capabilities of Vista and Server 2008 in general.

(more…)

Submitted by Darren Mar-Elia – Blog: The GPOGuy Group Policy Blog

The GPMC PowerShell cmdlets are a set of free cmdlets that wrap the functionality of Microsoft’s Group Policy Management Console (GPMC). The cmdlets provides functionality to PowerShell such as creating and deleting GPOs, linking and unlinking GPOs and modifying GPO permissions, to name just a few.

GPMC PowerShell Cmdlets

Rate this tool: (2 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

 Loading ...

Submit favorite free admin tool | Free tools ranking list | Descriptions of all tools

Group Policy and PowerShell are both very powerful tools to automate IT management tasks. Specops Command combines both technologies giving you an even more powerful scripting solution.

(more…)

Rate this tool: (7 votes, average: 4.71 out of 5)

 Loading ...

Submit favorite free admin tool | Free tools ranking list | Descriptions of all tools

Yesterday, I blogged about my favorite four new PowerShell 2.0 features. The one I like most is Graphical PowerShell. Maybe “IDE” (Integrated Development Environment) is an exaggeration. Graphical PowerShell is still a very simple tool. But, I think, it is a good start, and I hope that Microsoft will keep on adding new features. In this post, you’ll find some screenshots and a short description of Graphical PowerShell.

(more…)

You can download Windows PowerShell 2.0 CTP (Community Technology Preview) now. I just skimmed over the release notes. The number of new features is quite impressive.

(more…)

With Vista’s UAC (User Account Control) enabled, you need an elevated command shell if you have to run commands with administrator privileges from the command line. This post explains how you can alter the Windows Explorer context menu to open an elevated command prompt in a certain directory using Microsoft’s Script Elevation PowerToys for Windows Vista. The elevate.cmd that comes with the PowerToys allows you to launch commands and scripts with administrative rights from a non-elevated command prompt. You can also use them to elevate other file types such as MSI or MSP easily.

(more…)

Rate this tool: (3 votes, average: 2.67 out of 5)

 Loading ...

Submit favorite free admin tool | Free tools ranking list | Descriptions of all tools

Some time ago I recommended focusing on PowerShell in the future when it comes to scripting. Jeffrey Snover from Microsoft also suggests making this move. He has a couple of hints to help you convert your VBScript scripts to PowerShell.

(more…)

Microsoft released some new reference guides: Group Policy ADMX Syntax Reference Guide, Windows PowerShell Quick Reference, Windows PowerShell Graphical Help File, VBScript Quick Reference. What I find interesting is that that Microsoft released these guides on the same day. Perhaps, this is just a mere coincidence. But maybe someone at Microsoft wants to remind us that there are quite a few technologies available to automate Windows management.

(more…)

I hope that I didn’t put off too many of my readers with my somewhat negative post about Windows PowerShell yesterday. It is not that I dislike PowerShell, it is just that I can’t imagine using it often as a shell. But, this is certainly a matter of taste. Jeffrey Snover replied to my post in the Microsoft Windows PowerShell team blog putting forward an important argument for using PowerShell as a shell.

(more…)