Book excerpt: In just 24 lessons of one hour or less, Sams Teach Yourself Windows PowerShell in 24 Hours helps you streamline all facets of Windows administration, supercharging your effectiveness as an IT professional or power user. This book’s straightforward, step-by-step approach shows you how to build and run scripts, extend Windows PowerShell reach, manage computers remotely, and automate a wide variety of tasks on any modern Windows server or client. Every lesson builds on what you’ve already learned, giving you a rock-solid foundation for real-world success! Step-by-step instructions carefully walk you through the most common PowerShell scripting tasks. Practical, hands-on examples show you how to apply what you learn. Quizzes and exercises help you test your knowledge and stretch your skills. Notes, tips, and cautions point out shortcuts, pitfalls, and solutions. Learn how to... Install, configure, and explore Windows PowerShell (including updates for PowerShell 5) Leverage .NET’s remarkable power and scope with easy-to-use cmdlets Build new scripts with the console, ISE visual tools, and other popular hosts Apply best practices for writing more reliable, flexible, team-friendly scripts Work effectively with the pipeline, objects, and data Extend Windows PowerShell reach via providers, drives, and output Run external tools like ping, ipconfig, and tracert from within PowerShell Remotely manage computers with basic and advanced remoting (WinRM), WMI, and Regex Configure Windows devices across the web with PSWA Sort, filter, measure, format, export, and convert script output Run Windows PowerShell flexibly, using background and scheduled jobs Customize your environment with profile scripts, alternate credentials, thirdparty tools, and packages Strengthen your control over Windows systems and services with Desired State Configuration Administer key tasks on SQL Server, SharePoint, and other Windows servers Master PowerShell skills needed to earn many Microsoft certifications