Windows PowerShell™ 2 For Dummies®

Chapter 8. Working with Windows Management Instrumentation

In This Chapter

• Understanding Windows Management Instrumentation

• Using Windows PowerShell to talk to WMI

• Understanding advanced WMI querying using WQL

• Using WMI to its full potential

• Making use of WMI security features

• Being someone else with Impersonation

• Taking a look at the new WMI Cmdlets in PSH 2

I've been managing Microsoft Windows–based networks for a fairly long time now, and I still remember how much manual effort it took to perform even simple systems management tasks before Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) came about. I remember during the year leading up to Y2K, a company I did some work for had to bring in a small army of technicians just to visit each and every workstation to find out their BIOS version in order to determine which ones needed to be flashed to become Y2K-compliant. If WMI was accessible to me back then the way it is today, I'm certain I'd still have a lot more hair on my head. Those times have come and gone, and many of the systems management tools today are built to take advantage of WMI. PowerShell is no exception!

In this chapter, you run some commands that allow you to interact with Windows through WMI. It's something that's very easy to do but packs a big punch, so once you understand how to talk to Windows through WMI, you'll be increasing your effectiveness in controlling Windows exponentially.

Getting Familiar with Windows Management Instrumentation

Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) ...