PowerShell SCCM 2007 Module - My contribution

I recently contributed to a PowerShell module called SCCM Automation created by Andre Bocchini. (SCCM stands for System Center Configuration Manager)

Take a look at it on GitHub here: https://github.com/andrebocchini/sccm-powershell-automation-module Andre really did an awesome job on this module!

This Module for SCCM 2007 (which does not come with a set of PowerShell Cmdlets) allows you to query Computers, Collections, Advertisements etc... (Check the Full list of Cmdlets)

However against big SCCM environment I notice some functions queries were very slow to report object.
After inspecting the code, I tweaked some parts of the code, especially on the Get-WmiObject queries.
Those modifications are now part of the module.

Installing Microsoft System Center Orchestrator 2012 SP1

In one of my last post I installed a new SQL Server 2012 in my Home Lab. This was a requirement for a few incoming home lab projects. One of those projects is Microsoft System Center 2012 Orchestrator. I will have to install, configure and manage this product at my work and thought it would be nice to get familiar with it. 

In 2009, Microsoft bought a company called Opalis that offers an automation platform for orchestrating and integrating IT tools to decrease the cost of datacenter operations while improving the reliability of IT processes. It enables IT organizations to automate best practices, such as those found in Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) and Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL). Opalis operates through workflow processes that coordinate System Center and other management tools to automate incident response, change and compliance, and service-lifecycle management processes.

Opalis was recently renamed Orchestrator and integrated into the System Center suite.

The following procedure will cover a basic/generic install of System Center Orchestrator 2012. This is to be used as a template or POC only.

What's New in Windows PowerShell 4.0

Microsoft just updated the page "What's New in PowerShell" to include information about Windows PowerShell 4.0. They also added a page about Desired State Configuration.

You can try PowerShell 4.0 by either downloading the Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview which has been release just a few hours ago, or by doing the Desired State Configuration Lab from Channel9.

I highly encourage you to check-out this documentation. From my point of view, the following features are very interesting:

• Windows PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC) which is a new management system in Windows PowerShell 4.0 that enables the deployment and management of configuration data for software services, and the environment in which these services run. For more information about DSC, see Get Started with Windows PowerShell Desired State Configuration.
• VIDEO: Desired State Configuration in Windows Server 2012 R2 PowerShell
• LAB: Desired State Configuration in Windows Server 2012 PowerShell
• Article from Don Jones on Redmondmag.com

Installing Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Standard Edition SP1 in my Home Lab

Currently I'm playing with some products from the Microsoft System Center 2012 Suite in my Home Lab. I'm Starting the whole installation by installing a new Virtual Machine with Microsoft SQL Server 2012 (Standard Edition).

I used a dedicated VM that will be used to host the database of Configuration Manager 2012 and Orchestrator 2012 (at least.. for now)


Resources

• Documentation - Microsoft SQL Server 2012 - Technet
• Download - Microsoft SQL Server 2012 - Technet
• Plan, Install, Upgrade, Uninstall, Failover Cluster - Technet

Installation

1 - After launching the SQL 2012 Server Installation, you should first run the System Configuration Checker. This small tool will check if you have every requirements to install SQL Server.

Scripting Games 2013 - Advanced Event 5 - The Logfile Labyrinth

This is my solution for the Advanced Event 5.
I did not have much time to work on this event, but here is the script I submitted.

Instruction
Download [Skydrive]

Dr. Scripto finds himself in possession of a bunch of IIS log files, much like the one at
http://morelunches.com/files/powershell3/LogFiles.zip, if you need one to practice with. He’s keeping all of the log files in a folder, and he’s left the log files with their default filenames, which he’s given a .LOG filename extension. All of the files are for a single Web site, on a single Web server.

He’d like you to write a tool that accepts a path, and then simply scans through each file in that path somehow, generating a list of each unique client IP address that have been used to access the Web site. No IP address should appear more than once in your output, and you don’t need to sort the output in any way.

Your tool should optionally accept an IP address mask like “192.0.1.*” and only display IP addresses that match the specified pattern. If run without a pattern, display all IP addresses.

Regardless of the addresses found in the sample file linked above, you should assume that any legal IP address may appear in the files Dr. Scripto needs to scan. Your command should scan all of the files in the folder (and the folder doesn’t contain any other kind of file) and produce a single set of results. If an IP address appears in multiple log files and it’s likely that will be the case then your final output should still only list that IP address.

Scripting Games 2013 - Advanced Event 4 - An Auditing Adventure

This is my solution for the Advanced Event 4 of the Scripting Games 2013.
This event was a bit challenging for me... In the past, I played with Quest Active Directory snap-in to create a bunch of Monitoring tools and some other small automation tasks, but that's about it. (Example Monitor Active Directory Groups membership change).

Let's see how I solved it.