Professional Windows® PowerShell

Chapter 23. Working with WMI

In Windows PowerShell version 1.0, the range of available cmdlets is significant, but they cover only part of the tasks that a fully developed administrative command shell and scripting language need to cover. To fill that potential gap the PowerShell approach in version 1.0 includes support of existing technologies until such time as later versions of PowerShell provide fuller system coverage. In fact, PowerShell may continue to support existing technologies for longer than is strictly necessary, but in version 1.0 that support of legacy technologies is essential to plug the gaps that version 1.0 PowerShell cmdlets don't cover.

NOTE

Another approach used alongside the Web distribution of PowerShell 1.0 is the release of specialized cmdlets designed for specific problem domains. The first such group of cmdlets is intended for use with Microsoft Exchange 2007. It is likely that other Microsoft management technologies will later have their own set of functionally related cmdlets.

One of the most important ways that PowerShell exploits existing technologies is to allow developers access to Windows Management Instrumentation, WMI, through the get-wmiobject cmdlet. One gap in PowerShell version 1.0 functionality is that the cmdlets in the PowerShell Web release can access resources only on the local machine. To access remote resources using PowerShell, it is initially necessary to make use of legacy technologies. Windows Management Instrumentation provides ...