Microsoft® Windows Server® 2008: Implementation and Administration

Chapter 8. PowerShell

With the introduction of Vista and now Windows Server 2008, command-line administration has gained a powerful new tool: Windows PowerShell. PowerShell is a command-line shell coupled with a scripting language that administrators can use to manage and control systems across the network. PowerShell had been called the Microsoft Shell (MSH), and most recently the "Monad" Shell during development. PowerShell opens in a window showing a single command prompt, and so it appears to be no different than the command processor CMD.EXE that has shipped with Windows for many years now. However, PowerShell is anything but simple. Inside PowerShell Microsoft has created a powerful command-line environment with a standardized command ...