Windows PowerShell Cookbook, 2nd Edition

Chapter 26. Active Directory

Introduction

By far, the one thing that makes system administration on the Windows platform unique is its interaction with Active Directory. As the centralized authorization, authentication, and information store for Windows networks, Active Directory automation forms the core of many enterprise administration tasks.

In PowerShell version one, the primary way to interact with Active Directory came through its support for Active Directory Service Interface (ADSI) type shortcuts.

While PowerShell version two was under development, the Active Directory team created an immensely feature-filled PowerShell module to manage Active Directory domains. The Active Directory module includes a PowerShell provider (Set-Location AD:\) and almost 100 task-specific PowerShell cmdlets.

Working with the Active Directory module has two requirements:

Support from the server

This module works with any domain that has enabled the Active Directory Web Services feature. Windows Server 2008 R2 enables this feature by default on Active Directory instances, and you can install it on any recent server operating system from Windows Server 2003 on.

Support from the client

The module itself is included in the Windows 7 Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) package. After downloading and installing the package, you can enable it through the “Turn Windows Features On or Off” dialog in the Control Panel.

If working with the Active Directory module is an option at all, import it and use its ...