Tuesday, December 14, 2010

/n software releases NetCmdlets v3 beta

I was surprised to discover that /n software has released a beta of v3 of their NetCmdlets.  One of the major improvements is that it now appears it is module-based.  There are some other additions as well.

I have it downloaded and am looking forward to finding time to check it out in action.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Using Write-EventLog…

I was trying to use the Write-EventLog cmdlet and was noticing additional annoying text being added to the messages.  For example:

PS> write-eventlog -logname "Windows PowerShell" -source PowerShell –event 999 -message "Hello"

Looking at the resulting event, I would see this added:

"The description for Event ID 999 from source PowerShell cannot be
found. Either the component that raises this event is not installed on
your local computer or the installation is corrupted. You can install
or repair the component on the local computer...."

I didn’t want this extra text, and couldn’t seem to figure out the problem, then came across something that Stefan Stranger did HERE:

if(![System.Diagnostics.EventLog]::SourceExists($source))
{
[System.Diagnostics.EventLog]::CreateEventSource($source,'Application')
}

The trick to getting rid of this extra text was to make my own custom source for my events.  Now, the extra text is gone.  I just made up “PowerShell_script”, and used that in my script.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Microsoft MVP for another year…

Today is my re-award date, and I just received a pleasant surprise.

I have been awarded a Microsoft MVP award (PowerShell of course!) for another year.

Looking back, I’ve eased up on blogging (and haven’t been able to tweet all that much), but I’ve been pretty active in other areas, and am looking to continue that for the foreseeable future.

Microsoft: Thanks for the recognition.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Using SSH to invoke PowerShell remotely (PDF)

Here’s something I wrote last Spring that provides a step-by-step on how to call PowerShell remotely using password-less SSH from a Linux-based server to a Microsoft Windows 2003 Server.

It’s a PDF you can get HERE.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Cool application: Sapien’s PrimalMerge 2009

Although I’m quite busy, I try to find time to try out new products when I can.  I’m especially excited when I can try out one of these new programs to help resolve a problem I’m having.

I don’t have any kind of personal script versioning setup, so finding what has changed from one version of one of my scripts to the next can depend on whether I’ve added change comments in my scripts.  In this particular case, I didn’t have any comments.  What to do?

Fortunately, I have access to Sapien’s PrimalMerge product, and could very quickly and easily see what the changes were between my 2 scripts.

It saved me big time in this case!

Friday, June 11, 2010

TechEd 2010 in New Orleans – a brief report

I’m on my way back from my first ever TechEd.  What a great experience.  I was mostly working the PowerShell booth and trying to talk with vendors and attendees, but I did get to attend 2 PowerShell sessions.

It’s difficult to scan a big audience, but those 2 sessions had likely between 300-500 attendees each!

The impression I got from TechEd last year was attendees were mostly asking if they had to learn PowerShell…  This year, things have really turned around!  Most people I talked to were using it or actively wanting to learn it.

It’s no longer “do I have to learn PowerShell?”, but instead it’s “how do I learn PowerShell?”.

For lucky attendees, we even gave out (for free!) a few 100 copies of William Stanek’s “Windows PowerShell™ 2.0 Administrator's Pocket Consultant”.  The book is available HERE.

Using Windows PowerShell with the Amazon Web Services (AWS) SDK for .NET

I recently had the opportunity to write an article for Amazon on how to use their .NET-based AWS SDK with PowerShell.

You can find the article HERE.

It’s a pretty basic PowerShell article geared more for AWS users.  It shows how to load the SDK then use some of its features to get a listing of objects stored on the S3 service, and also shows how to upload local files (for backup purposes basically) to the service.

If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to post them here or by commenting on the article itself.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

TechDays 2010: My speaker bio is up

If you’re from Canada, you must have heard that TechDays is coming back for another year!  TechDays is coming back to Halifax again this November 2 and 3.

I’m excited to have another chance to get up in front of a local crowd and spread my knowledge and make contacts, but also learn from what others are going to present.

My bio is up HERE.  The content is still being worked on so I don’t what I’ll present exactly, but I’ll be looking to submit a session for their new community track (“Local Flavours”) tentatively titled: “Windows PowerShell: Automating Clients, Servers, Clouds and Everything in Between”.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Microsoft Official Course – PowerShell v2

Don Jones has just made it official HERE: Microsoft will be offering an official course on PowerShell v2.

I have had the honour on working on some of the labs for the course, and I think it is going to be a great course packed full of information for beginner and even intermediate PowerShell users.

I definitely agree with Don on his statement about how beneficial having a experienced instructor deliver such a course.

Books can be a struggle, but with a in-person course, you get to ask all those questions that may be lingering in your mind or they may be able to approach a concept from a different angle to help you understand all the important topics/concepts.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Microsoft is coming to Moncton: EnergizeIT

Register: http://tinyurl.com/energizeit-moncton

Details:
April 20, 2010 6:30 PM - April 20, 2010 9:00 PM Atlantic Time (Canada)
Welcome Time: 6:00 PM

Mapleton Rotary Pavilion
600 Mapleton Rd.
Moncton New Brunswick Canada

Language(s):     English.
Product(s):     Microsoft Hyper-V Server, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office "14", Microsoft Silverlight, Microsoft SQL Server,
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2, Microsoft technologies, Microsoft Visual Studio, Microsoft Visual Studio 2010, Windows, Windows 7 and Windows Azure.
Audience(s):     Architect, IT Decision Maker, IT Generalist and Pro Dev/Programmer.

Event Overview

Energize IT: Anything is Possible.

Energize IT: Community Connection Series is an evening event series hosted by your local Community User Group.  Throughout the evening event, you will hear us, Microsoft advisors, talk about Windows Azure, Office System 2010, Visual Studio 2010, Windows Mobile.  It’s evident the Microsoft-based platform presents a bevy of opportunities for all of us.  Whether you are a Developer or an IT Pro, knowing how these will impact you is critical, especially in the new economic reality.

This evening Energize IT: Community Connection event will help you understand Microsoft’s Software+Services vision.   You will find out about the possibilities that these technologies help realize and the value that they can bring to your organization and yourself.

We will explore the Microsoft-based platform through a scenario that will demonstrate different points of view - from developer to IT Pro, from consumer to the information worker.  From the client to the cloud, this fun-filled demo-intensive exploration will excite you about the possibilities of the Microsoft-based platform.  You’ll see how to build next generation applications with technology like Silverlight, .NET 4.0 and Visual Studio 2010. You will find out how to consume those applications on a variety of devices, like mobile devices running Windows Mobile, netbooks and PCs running Windows 7, as well as the web.  You will learn about how the Microsoft-based platform allows you to connect with your colleagues no matter where you are –office, coffee shops, or your own living room.  You’ll also see how you and your colleagues can be even more productive with Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010.

For cities that have a full day Energize IT: From the Client to the Cloud full day event, please note, the community evening event is an encore presentation of the first part of Energize 2010 daytime event.

EnergizeIT: Community Connection series is your opportunity to learn how to harness the power and flexibility of the Microsoft-based platform from the client to the cloud. Visit www.microsoft.ca/energizeIT to learn about the Energize IT: From the Client to the Cloud Tour; EnergizeIT: Install Fests (in select cities) and Energize IT Podcasts lined up for this spring 2010 program.

If you have any questions about this event, have food allergies or require special needs, please reference your city and email us at energizeIT@microsoft.com.

Registration Options

Event ID:
1032441793

Saturday, February 13, 2010

PowerShell in Practice – 40% OFF

Last week HERE, I mentioned the upcoming PowerShell books for 2010.

Well, if you’re interested in one of these: PowerShell in Practice, I have some good news for you: YOU CAN GET 40% OFF NOW.

Just go to the Manning site, drop the printed or ebook edition into your shopping cart and use the code “marcoshell40” when you’re ready to check out and the discount will be applied.

You’ll get the book when it is fresh off of the press in about 2-3 months from now likely.

**I don’t stand to make any profit from you using the discount code.  It’s just a gift from Manning to you.**

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

PowerShell books for 2010

I wanted to post a list of the PowerShell books I’m looking forward to being out in 2010.  There may be others in the works that I’m not aware of.

December 2009 (I’m including this in 2010):
Windows PowerShell 2.0 Best Practices – Ed Wilson/Microsoft Press

January 2010:
Windows PowerShell 2.0: TFM – Don Jones and Jeffery Hicks/Sapien Press

April 2010:
PowerShell in Practice – Richard Siddaway/Manning Press

June 2010:
PowerShell in Action, 2nd edition – Bruce Payette/Manning Press

There’s something in that list for everyone, from the beginner to the more advanced user.  I’m going to be posting a review of Ed’s book soon.

Now, Lee Holmes seems to be super-secretive about his authoring projects, but I’d expect to see something out this year with his name on it.