PRESENTED BY
GOLD SPONSORS
SILVER SPONSOR
Scripting and Automation
Don’t be the administrator who has to click a lousy checkbox or button to do every little administrative task in Windows. You must automate! Whether you’re looking to avoid mindless repetition, improve consistency, reduce errors, increase your personal “bandwidth,” or just be able to go home sooner each day, administrative automation is your answer. Join gurus Don Jones and Jeffery Hicks, co-authors of Advanced VBScript for Windows Administrators and Windows PowerShell™: TFM™ for a knock-down, drag-out fight against manual administration.
The tools of the trade are Windows PowerShell, VBScript, command-line tools, batch files and more. That’s right, the “right tool for the right job,” whatever the job may be. Can’t make the entire track? No problem. Most of the sessions stand alone, so you can choose the tasks you need to complete.
Want to become the ultimate scripting guru in your organization, gain the respect of your boss and coworkers, and put something substantial on your resume? Then join us for the entire track, and you’ll be automating nearly everything in less than a week. Note that these sessions are not intended as hands-on unless specifically noted in the session description. There will not be power outlets available in the session room at any time. Please bring notepaper, or a spare battery if you intend to use your laptop to take notes. Flash photography is not permitted. Please keep hands, arms and legs inside the session room at all times.
PowerNuts! PowerShell in a NutShell
12:30 – 2:00pm
Don Jones and Jeffery Hicks
Windows PowerShell uber-geeks Don Jones and Jeffery Hicks join forces for a fast-paced tour of Windows PowerShell. They’ll cover what it is, why every administrator in the universe needs to care about it, how it works, and—most importantly—how to use it to do some major cool stuff. Who says new administrative technologies need to be boring? Maybe this is no reality TV show, but you’ll still have a blast as you navigate the suddenly-clear waters of PowerShell’s basic functionality, learn to perform core tasks like process and service management, use WMI in PowerShell and much more.
PowerNuts! Top Ten PowerShell Cmdlets Every Administrator Needs to Know
2:15 – 3:45pm
Don Jones and Jeffery Hicks
Microsoft’s new shell ships with 129 cmdlets. Don Jones and Jeffery Hicks will introduce you to the very best—the ones that do the most work, give you the most benefit, and the ones you will use almost every day to automate administrative tasks. Plan to use Exchange 2007, System Center or nearly any other future Microsoft product? These are the cmdlets you’ll be using with all of those products. This isn’t just names and serial numbers. You’ll learn the inside, intimate personal details of these cmdlets, from the two most-published and most-vocal Windows PowerShell advocates on the face of the planet.
VBScript in 90 Minutes
4:00 – 5:30pm
Jeffery Hicks
Need to suddenly learn “just enough to be dangerous?” Perhaps you need to maintain existing VBScripts, refresh your memory about VBScript’s most important functions, or quickly come up to speed on enough VBScript to make sense of our other VBScript-based sessions? Then start here with the author of WSH and VBScript Core: TFM™ for a fast-paced look at everything you really need to know about using VBScript for Windows administration. You’ll learn how VBScript works, key language elements and functions, and the core objects that VBScript uses to accomplish administrative tasks.
Managing Local Users, Groups, and More with VBScript
10:15 – 11:45am
Jeffery Hicks
Active Directory is great, but what about the bazillions of local user and group accounts lying around on client computers and member servers? Learn to use VBScript to “reach out and touch someone” for local user and group account management, changing local Administrator passwords, managing local group membership, and much more. You’ll learn the basic concepts of local account management and pick up plenty of “recipes” (ready-to-run solutions) for instant administrative satisfaction, all from the co-author of Advanced VBScript for Windows Administrators.
PowerShell Scripting
2:30 – 4:00pm
Don Jones
Turn PowerShell up to 11 by taking advantage of its built-in capabilities for looping, logical decision-making, and more—or just save your fingers from constant re-typing of commands. Don Jones, PowerShell MVP and co-author of Windows PowerShell: TFM™, takes you through every single element of the PowerShell scripting language. He’ll explain PowerShell’s scripting security infrastructure, show you how to “script interactively,” and write powerful, repeatable scripts to accomplish administrative tasks. If you attend just one PowerShell session this TechMentor, attend the first on Monday. If you attend just two, make this one the second.
Managing Systems with PowerShell and WMI
4:15 – 5:45pm
Don Jones
Windows PowerShell columnist Don Jones takes you on a tour of PowerShell and its most powerful ally: Windows Management Instrumentation. You’ll learn what WMI is, why it’s so darn important to administrators, and what it can and can’t do for you. You’ll also learn how PowerShell manipulates WMI with a single cmdlet (and one hand tied behind its back) to accomplish remote management tasks, inventory critical information and more. This is where much of the “power” in PowerShell shines through, so don’t miss it.
Stupid (and not-so-stupid) Windows PowerShell Tricks<
8:30 – 10:00am
Don Jones
Hey, cmdlets aren’t everything. Learn how to use the .NET Framework (don’t worry, you don’t even need to really know what that means), arrow keys, and your favorite PowerShell script editor to accomplish amazing tasks like pinging computers, resolving DNS names, sending e-mail, creating balloon notification messages, and many other nearly-unrelated, unspeakably cool tricks with Windows PowerShell. Spruce up your scripts and pump up your one-liners with these incredibly useful tricks of the trade that would otherwise take you years of searching to discover—all in 90 short minutes. Think a single session can’t be worth the price of an entire conference admission? Think again.
Error Handling and Debugging in PowerShell Scripts
10:15 – 11:45am
Don Jones
Give extra smarts to your PowerShell scripts—and debug those scripts faster—by leveraging PowerShell’s built-in error handling capabilities and integrated, interactive debugger. Handle run-time errors, make your scripts more flexible and robust, and track down (and squash) bugs faster than you ever believed possible. You’ll even learn Don’s Not-Yet-Patented Strategy for Bug Elimination, which will save you hours of time and bottles of aspirin as you learn to debug even the most complex scripts with an almost embarrassing ease.
Mr. Roboto’s Resource Kit
2:30 – 4:00pm
Jeffery Hicks
Join Redmond magazine’s Mr. Roboto -- King of All Automation -- and learn to automate administrative tasks using powerful tools that you either never knew about or weren’t using to their full potential. Mr. Roboto laughs in the face of manual, repetitive tasks with an arsenal of useful tools—many of which you won’t find on Microsoft’s Download site. These require years of careful spelunking and patient stalking to uncover. You’ll leave with a virtual tool belt stuffed full of utilities that help automate some of the most difficult and complex administrative tasks known to Windows administration. You can even imagine Jeffery wearing that cool metal helmet from his magazine column.
Mr. Roboto by the Batch: Command-Line Scripting, Old School Style
4:15 – 5:45pm
Jeffery Hicks
Don’t want to learn VBScript? Still not ready for PowerShell? Never fear, Mr. Roboto is here! Take “scripting” back to its Windows administrative roots by learning how to use simple batch files to accomplish modern, complex administrative tasks. Always a believer in the right tool for the right job, Redmond’s automation automaton shows you the tasks that are uniquely well-suited for batch scripting and covers powerful and under-used techniques and tools that give batch scripting amazing potential for getting the job done.
Converting VBScripts to PowerShell
8:30 – 10:00am
Don Jones
Whether you really want to convert VBScripts to PowerShell scripts, or just leverage your VBScript skills to learn PowerShell’s basics faster, this is the session for you. Don Jones, author of VBScript, WMI, and ADSI Unleashed and co-author of Windows PowerShell: TFM™, bridges the gap between VBS and PS1 scripts. He’ll show you how nearly every single VBScript element is accomplished in PowerShell—all in just 90 minutes. You’ll learn how key VBScript tasks and concepts are implemented in PowerShell, and get a quick lesson of one-to-one script conversion—along with a good-sized helping of PowerShell’s new paradigm and how it can reduce a dozen lines of VBScript code to a single PowerShell command. Convert your scripts and upgrade your mind.
Creating a Graphical User Interface in PowerShell
10:15 – 11:45
Don Jones
Who says the command-line can’t be pretty? Learn to use the .NET Framework’s “WinForms” to build simple, effective and functional graphical user interfaces (GUIs) right from within Windows PowerShell. PowerShell author, columnist, and MVP Don Jones guides you through the WinForms hierarchy and shows you practical, effective examples—which you’ll be given—for creating, fine-tuning and using your own custom-built GUIs from within PowerShell scripts. This is an intermediate session: You should have a basic understanding of PowerShell cmdlets and scripting (or attend our earlier sessions on those topics) in order to take full advantage of this session.
Managing Active Directory Users, Computers, and More with VBScript
1:00 – 2:30pm
Jeffery Hicks
VBScript is the “right tool for the job” when it comes to managing Active Directory objects, says Jeffery Hicks, and he’ll show you how. Automate tasks that affect an entire domain or OU full of computers, automate user creation and maintenance, and perform other critical Directory-related tasks, all with straightforward VBScript statements and constructs. You’ll see real-world, practical examples, learn how they work, and get to take them home and put them to use. You’ll also learn about key references that make Directory scripting easier, more powerful and more capable; and how to use non-scripting tools to examine the Directory schema to discover new capabilities.
Graphical VBScript: HTML Applications (HTAs)
2:45 – 4:15pm
Jeffery Hicks
Combine your VBScript skills with your HTML superpowers, and you’ve got an HTA -- a graphical application that doesn’t require Visual Studio or a complex .NET Framework programming language. You’ll learn how HTAs work, what they can do and see a smattering of useful HTA-based administrative tools. You’ll also learn Jeffery’s recommended techniques for HTA development, including ways to reduce debugging time, increase code modularization (and re-use), and speed up HTA development time. A grounding in VBScript and a working knowledge of basic HTML formatting tags will help you get the most from this intermediate-level session.
Welcome to the Jungle: Fun Stuff with PowerShell Add-Ins
8:30 – 10:00am
Don Jones
Learn about the rich and diverse “ecosystem” that supports Windows PowerShell, including commercial tools, add-ins, and community-developed open-source add-ins. You’ll see how PowerShell can effectively manage Active Directory, how to use PowerShell to create graphical “dashboards” for monitoring performance and other data, how to connect PowerShell to additional hierarchical storage systems, and even a graphical way to use PowerShell’s capabilities. This is an intermediate-level session that assumes a working knowledge of PowerShell. The presenter will cover several commercial tools, as well as free tools.
PowerShell Survivor: Hands-On in Tribal Council
10:15 – 11:45am
Don Jones
This is what you’ve been waiting for -- a chance to use PowerShell to accomplish real administrative tasks, win reward challenges, and conquer immunity challenges. That’s right, you’ll get practical hands-on time with PowerShell in a fun, competitive team environment. You’ll face the risk of being voted “off the island” in Tribal Council for the chance to win real prizes worth real money. Windows PowerShell MVP Don “Probst” Jones takes you straight to the action, helping you cement your PowerShell skills with a fun wrap-up to the week, and an opportunity to take home valuable scripting-related books, software, tools and more. Bring your laptop with Windows PowerShell and a fully-charged battery (there will not be power available in the classroom). Please ensure that PowerShell is functional prior to coming to the session (running PowerShell as a local Administrator is strongly recommended).
