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Microsoft System Center Powershell Essentials
Microsoft System Center Powershell Essentials

Microsoft System Center Powershell Essentials: Efficiently administer, automate, and manage System Center environments using Windows PowerShell

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Microsoft System Center Powershell Essentials

Chapter 2. Administration of Configuration Manager through PowerShell

Now that we have the platform set up with Configuration Manager installed in our environment, it's time to understand how the collaboration of Configuration Manager and PowerShell can boost administration activities. We can always use the Configuration Manager console for administration activities (such as the traditional way of administration). However, there is another better and more efficient way for the GUI administration and that is through PowerShell. When we are required to automate a few activities in Configuration Manager, we need to use any of the scripting languages, such as VB or PowerShell. PowerShell has its own advantages over other scripting languages.

In this chapter, we will cover:

  • The introduction of Configuration Manager through PowerShell
  • Hierarchy details
  • Asset and compliance
  • Software distribution
  • Operation system deployment
  • Software update management

Introducing Configuration Manager through PowerShell

The main intention of this chapter is to give you a brief idea of how to use PowerShell with Configuration Manager and not to make you an expert with all the cmdlets. With the goal of introducing Configuration Manager admins to PowerShell, this chapter mainly covers how to use PowerShell cmdlets to get the information about Configuration Manager configurations and how to create our own custom configurations using PowerShell. Just like you cannot get complete information of any person during the first meet, you cannot expect everything in this chapter.

This chapter starts with an assumption that we have a well-built Configuration Manager environment. To start with, let's first understand how to fetch details from Configuration Manager. After that, we will create our own custom configurations. To stick on to convention, we will first learn how to fetch configuration details from Configuration Manager followed by a demonstration of...

Hierarchy details

This section will concentrate on how to get the Configuration Manager site details and how to craft our own custom hierarchy configurations using PowerShell cmdlets. This involves knowing and configuring the site details, user and device discovery, boundary configurations, and installation of various site roles.

Site details

First and foremost, get to know the Configuration Manager architecture details. You can use the Get-CMSite cmdlet to know the details of the Configuration Manager site. This cmdlet without any parameters will give the details of the site installed locally. To get the details of the remote site, you are required to give the site name or the site code of the remote site:

Get-CMSite 
Get-CMSIte –SiteName "India Site"
Get-CMSite –SiteCode P01

Discovery details

It is important to get the discovery details before proceeding, as it decides the computer and the users that Configuration Manager will manage. PowerShell provides the Get-CMDiscoveryMethod...

Asset and compliance

This section will mainly concentrates on gathering information and how to get details of devices, users, compliance settings, alerts, and so on. It also demonstrates how to create custom collections, add special configurations to collections, create custom client settings, install client agents, approve agents, and so on.

Collection details

Getting the collection details from PowerShell is as easy as using the console to get the details. You can use the Get-CMDeviceCollection cmdlet to get the details of the available collection. We can use the basics by using Format-Table with the autosize parameter to get the neat view:

Get-CMDeviceCollection | Format-Table –AutoSize

We can also use the grid view to get the details popped out as a grid. This will give us a nice grid that we can scroll and sort easily:

Get-CMDeviceCollection | Out-GridView

We can use Name or CollectionID as the parameter to get the information of a particular collection:

Get-CMDeviceCollection &...

Software distribution

This section provides detailed knowledge of how to get information of software distribution components (including information on packages, programs, applications, and so on) and how to create your own package, program, and applications using PowerShell cmdlets. This section will also cover how to distribute and deploy packages and applications using PowerShell.

Handling packages and applications

PowerShell allows you to get details of one or more packages in Configuration Manager. You can use the package name and package ID as parameters to the cmdlet. If no parameters are specified, the cmdlet will retrieve all the packages available in Configuration Manager:

Get-CMPackage –Name "Adobe Reader"

We can use Get-CMApplication to get the details of all the applications available in the Configuration Manager database. If no parameters are specified, the cmdlet will retrieve all the applications available in the database:

Get-CMApplication

For any reason, if...

The operating system deployment

This section will shed light on how to view details of the operating system deployment process and configurations, such as the boot image, operating system image files, task sequence, and so on.

An operating system image

Operating system images are the .wim files that are used for the operating system capture and deployment process. PowerShell will provide you the mechanism to extract the available operating system image files in Configuration Manager. We can use the Get-CMOperatingSystemImage cmdlet to list all the images.

Without parameters, the cmdlet will list all the images available in Configuration Manager. You can pass the image name or ID as a parameter to get details of a particular image:

Get-CMOperatingSystemImage –Name "Boot image (x86)"

We can add a new operating system image to Configuration Manager by using the New-CMOperationSystemImage cmdlet. At a minimum, we are required to provide the name of the image file and the path to...

Introducing Configuration Manager through PowerShell


The main intention of this chapter is to give you a brief idea of how to use PowerShell with Configuration Manager and not to make you an expert with all the cmdlets. With the goal of introducing Configuration Manager admins to PowerShell, this chapter mainly covers how to use PowerShell cmdlets to get the information about Configuration Manager configurations and how to create our own custom configurations using PowerShell. Just like you cannot get complete information of any person during the first meet, you cannot expect everything in this chapter.

This chapter starts with an assumption that we have a well-built Configuration Manager environment. To start with, let's first understand how to fetch details from Configuration Manager. After that, we will create our own custom configurations. To stick on to convention, we will first learn how to fetch configuration details from Configuration Manager followed by a demonstration of how to...

Hierarchy details


This section will concentrate on how to get the Configuration Manager site details and how to craft our own custom hierarchy configurations using PowerShell cmdlets. This involves knowing and configuring the site details, user and device discovery, boundary configurations, and installation of various site roles.

Site details

First and foremost, get to know the Configuration Manager architecture details. You can use the Get-CMSite cmdlet to know the details of the Configuration Manager site. This cmdlet without any parameters will give the details of the site installed locally. To get the details of the remote site, you are required to give the site name or the site code of the remote site:

Get-CMSite 
Get-CMSIte –SiteName "India Site"
Get-CMSite –SiteCode P01

Discovery details

It is important to get the discovery details before proceeding, as it decides the computer and the users that Configuration Manager will manage. PowerShell provides the Get-CMDiscoveryMethod cmdlet to...

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Description

If you are a Microsoft System Center administrator who manages System Center environments and utilizes the console for management, then this book is ideal for you. This book is also for System Center users who now want to learn to manage systems using PowerShell.

Who is this book for?

If you are a Microsoft System Center administrator who manages System Center environments and utilizes the console for management, then this book is ideal for you. This book is also for System Center users who now want to learn to manage systems using PowerShell.

What you will learn

  • Set up an environment to effectively use PowerShell for SCCM, SCOM, and SCSM
  • Understand the advanced usage of all the available cmdlets with realtime examples
  • Administer and maintain a System Center environment with PowerShell
  • Create both simple and advanced functions for different cmdlets with PowerShell
  • Get an insight into realtime System Center applications that you can automate using PowerShell
  • Get to grips with scenariobased scripting for efficient System Center administration and maintenance
  • Discover PowerShell tricks and best practices
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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Apr 28, 2015
Length: 140 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781784397142
Vendor :
Microsoft

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Product Details

Publication date : Apr 28, 2015
Length: 140 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781784397142
Vendor :
Microsoft

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Table of Contents

9 Chapters
1. Setting up the Environment to Use PowerShell Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. Administration of Configuration Manager through PowerShell Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Scenario-based Scripting for SCCM Administration Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Administration of Operations Manager through PowerShell Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Scenario-based Scripting for SCOM Administration Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Administration of Service Manager through PowerShell Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. Scenario-based Scripting for SCSM Administration Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
8. Best Practices Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

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Very little that's important in here in terms of how PS can be used in efficient SCCM administration. My purchase is a loss
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