Free powershell cmdlets – Active Directory

PowershellPack is a free download with some additional Powershell cmdlets like TaskScheduler which is just what it sounds like, a cmdlet to list, create, or delete tasks which is extremely useful given all the additional functionality the task scheduler has in Windows 2008 and Windows 7.

Here is a list of the other cmdlets and the link to go download them.

http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/PowerShellPack

WPK
Create rich user interfaces quick and easily from Windows PowerShell. Think HTA, but easy. Over 600 scripts to help you build quick user interfaces

TaskScheduler
List scheduled tasks, create or delete tasks

FileSystem
Monitor files and folders, check for duplicate files, and check disk space

IsePack
Supercharge your scripting in the Integrated Scripting Environment with over 35 shortcuts

DotNet
Explore loaded types, find commands that can work with a type, and explore how you can use PowerShell, DotNet and COM together

PSImageTools
Convert, rotate, scale, and crop images and get image metadata

PSRSS
Harness the FeedStore from PowerShell

PSSystemTools
Get Operating System or Hardware Information

PSUserTools
Get the users on a system, check for elevation, and start-processaadministrator

PSCodeGen
Generates PowerShell scripts, C# code, and P/Invoke

For more information contact us at www.webactivedirectory.com, or call us at (+1) 800-747-3565

How to use Powershell to check if an Active Directory user account already exists

Using Powershell to create an Active Directory user account?  Maybe you need to check to see if the samaccountname already exists?  Perfect then, here’s your powershell script to check it.

http://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/ScriptCenter/en-us/ab137ae7-e674-407e-87d3-8f76d4cfccb0

Webinars for Windows IT admins from Apple and Mac OS X

I found this link on Apple.com today that provides free virtual webinars for IT admins needing more information about how to properly integrate Mac OS X users into Active Directory.  Here at Web Active Directory, we are constantly talking to customers that have a growing number of Mac OS X users that need to logon to their domain, update their active directory data, or reset their passwords. 

Because all of our solutions are web-based, there are typically no issues inplementing tools that help you manage your active directory.  The issues typically lie in how the Mac OS X users are authenticating.

The link to the Apple main virtual event website is: http://bit.ly/anc498

From there you can click on the relevant webinars that you may want to attend.  There is a specific “Directory Services” event that may be particularly helpful… And good luck with those MacHeads out there!

For more information contact us at www.webactivedirectory.com, or call us at (+1) 800-747-3565

For Windows admins with Mac OSX not able to reconnect to an Active Directory domain

Some great resources for Windows Admins with Mac OS X v10.6 users:

The issue is: If network access is interrupted, a Mac OS X v10.6 client may not be able to reconnect to an Active Directory domain whose name ends in “.local”.The blog is written by mostofmymac.com and provides several resource links to help resolve any issues.

http://bit.ly/9n8KbJ

For more information contact us at www.webactivedirectory.com, or call us at (+1) 800-747-3565

Active Directory Design Guide

It’s great to see Microsoft publish a design guide for Active Directory.  I haven’t read all of it yet but I do like that the guidance is specific to different business verticals and scenarios.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=88f0184c-8f03-4f0f-b3f9-5109255fb461

Windows Powershell Quick Reference

Quick-reference guide to commonly-used Windows PowerShell commands from the Microsoft Download site.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=df8ed469-9007-401c-85e7-46649a32d0e0

For more information contact us at www.webactivedirectory.com, or call us at (+1) 800-747-3565

48 best free software downloads from Microsoft

I was aware of most of the software on this list but there were a few surprises like the Learning Content Development System and UAPick.  Check it out, its a long list and I’m sure you will find something interesting.

http://www.techradar.com/news/software/applications/48-best-free-software-downloads-from-microsoft-665142?artc_pg=1

For more information contact us at www.webactivedirectory.com, or call us at (+1) 800-747-3565

Find out when Active Directory passwords expire using Powershell

See the link below for a great script that uses Powershell to determine when Active Directory passwords will expire.  Web Active Directory, LLC also has a product called PeopleMinder that automates the notification of your end users, specific user groups, etc of an upcoming Active Directory password expiration, but if you want to make your own script here’s a great start at that.

http://blogs.msdn.com/adpowershell/archive/2010/02/26/find-out-when-your-password-expires.aspx

For more information contact us at www.webactivedirectory.com, or call us at (+1) 800-747-3565

Reduce the load on a Windows Domain Controller

Thanks to Mark Parris a Microsoft MVP for pointing out this one.  This article points out how to adjust the weight and priority for LDAP authentication requests against your domain controllers.  Check it out, be sure to follow his blog, I do!

http://markparris.co.uk/2010/02/26/reduce-the-load-on-a-windows-domain-controller/

For more information contact us at www.webactivedirectory.com, or call us at (+1) 800-747-3565

Naming conventions in Active Directory

Ever wonder what characters are valid in domain names, netbios names, Active Directory sites, etc?  Well you don’t have to guess, Microsoft has a knowledgebase article with the standards already defined for you.

Pay special attention to name collisions in the directory and the reserved words when defining OU names.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/909264

For more information contact us at www.webactivedirectory.com, or call us at (+1) 800-747-3565

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