Datasheet

6 CHAPTER 1
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WHAT IS POWERSHELL, AND WHY DO YOU NEED IT?
In many cases, a majority of the built-in roles and services (such as IIS or Active
Directory) that you may run on your Windows Server 2008 R2 server have
PowerShell providers and cmdlets to manage them. For example, the PowerShell
Provider for Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.5 allows you to easily automate
routine and complex IIS 7.5 administration tasks, such as creating websites and
managing con guration and runtime data by using PowerShell. Chapter 10 shows
how to work with PowerShell and your websites.
All of the other major applications running on a Windows Server 2008 R2 server,
including Microso Exchange Server, Microso SQL Server, and Microso
SharePoint Server, have built-in support for PowerShell. (Exchange Server was the
 rst major server application to get full support for PowerShell.)  e SQL Server
2008 PowerShell snap-in supports more complex logic than Transact-SQL scripts,
allowing SQL Server administrators to build robust administration scripts not only
for server administration but also to extend the power of SQL databases. PowerShell
in some cases is also replacing existing tools for the command prompt manage-
ment of a server. With SharePoint Server, PowerShell is gradually replacing the
stsadm tool, which has been the main tool for command prompt administration
for SharePoint servers.
What About the Learning Curve?
One of the many bene ts of PowerShell is that the learning curve to get started with
it is minimal. If you already know scripting languages, you have a good base for
working with PowerShell. Whether you have a background with command prompt
tools for Microso or non-Microso operating systems such as UNIX, PowerShell
lets you build on your existing command prompt knowledge.  roughout this
book, you will see many examples of PowerShell that look similar to techniques
you have used in other shells. PowerShell includes single-function tools such as cd ,
copy , and dir that you are familiar with from the Windows command interface.
You can also recognize these other PowerShell functions from a UNIX background,
such as ls or man .
If you have a UNIX administration background, you are familiar with the term
shell. A shell provides a powerful,  exible, and scriptable command-line experience
that allows you to perform any administrative task that you can perform using the
console.  e di erence between using the shell and the PowerShell console is that
the PowerShell is ideally suited to repetitive tasks. PowerShell is not a text-based
shell but a console. PowerShell has a substantial number of built-in commands that
provide you with a powerful tool set for script-based administration.
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