Help Beta-Test a New Free eBook on PowerShell Reporting
I’ve written previously about my frustration with reporting in PowerShell - how I see admins struggle with ugly, low-level COM code to manipulate Excel spreadsheets, just so they can get nice-looking reports with a degree of automation.
Enough.
The right thing to do is put your data in SQL Server, and use SQL Server Reporting Services to generate awesome looking reports, complete with charts and graphs. With the right setup, you can completely automate data collection, report generation, and delivery. And it doesn’t have to cost a single dime. Plus, the learning curve isn’t too steep, and the skills you’ll learn along the way will be massively beneficial to you over the long haul - far more so than the time sunk into becoming an Excel jockey.
So I’ve written a little book about it, which you’ll find on at https://powershell.org/ebooks, entitled Making Historical and Trend Reports in PowerShell. Unlike my earlier book on HTML reporting, which was mainly around producing inventory reports, this one’s specifically designed to make reports based on collected-over-time data, like disk utilization, performance, and so on. And I’ve bundled in a PowerShell module that should make this easy, insulating you from 99% of the SQL Server-related stuff.
Right now (November 2012) I’m looking for folks to test stuff out and let me know (via comments here) if you find any problems. I want to make sure that what I’ve got in here works and is understandable. Final publication is scheduled for January 2013, after which I’ll start taking suggestions for stuff to add to the book.
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PowerShell Escape Room
PowerShell Escape Room by Michiel Hamers
by Michiel Hamers
https://about.me/michielhamers/
Why on earth you want to create an Escape Room with PowerShell as backend?
I’ve always been a fan of escape rooms, so I decided to create my own for my kids. I wanted to make it something that would be challenging and fun for them, but also educational. I decided to use PowerShell as the backend for the escape room, as I’m a PowerShell developer and I thought it would be a great way to learn more about the language.
The first step was to design the rooms. I wanted to make sure that there were a variety of puzzles and challenges that my kids would have to solve. I also wanted to make sure that the rooms were visually appealing and engaging. Once I had the rooms designed, I started building them.
I used a variety of materials to build the rooms, including wood, cardboard, and fabric. I also used a few electronic components, such as a USB extension cable with a switch and a 3-button keyboard. The USB extension cable with a switch was used to create a physical button that my kids could press to solve one of the puzzles. The 3-button keyboard was used to enter the code that my kids had to find to solve another puzzle.
I also used a few websites to create rebus puzzles that my kids had to solve. I printed out the rebus puzzles and placed them around the rooms. Once my kids had solved all of the puzzles, they were able to enter the code on a single screen to escape the room.
In this blog post, we’ll delve into the process of creating an engaging PowerShell escape room for the global PowerShell community. We’ll emphasize the significance of storytelling and provide a detailed breakdown of the PowerShell structure used for the escape room.
Microsoft Graph PowerShell Module: Getting Started Guide
Microsoft Graph PowerShell Module: Getting Started Guide
by Jeff Brown
Microsoft is retiring the Azure AD Graph API sometime after June 30, 2023 (announcement). This retirement includes the Azure AD PowerShell module. In its place, Microsoft has released the Microsoft Graph PowerShell module. The Microsoft Graph PowerShell module is the next-generation way of managing Microsoft cloud services using PowerShell. If you have used MSOnline or Azure AD PowerShell in the past, you’ll need to read on to learn about this new module.
ICYMI: PowerShell Week of 08-October-2021
Topics include VMWare, Windows 11, Web Reports and more…
Special thanks to Robin Dadswell, Prasoon Karunan V, Kiran Patnayakuni and Kevin Laux
How to gather your vCenter inventory data with this VMware PowerShell script
by Scott Matteson on 7th October
Inventory reports are a common request when administering a VMware vCenter environment. Learn how this VMware PowerShell script can make such requests quick and easy
Building a Web Report in PowerShell, use the -Force Luke
by Chris Noring on 8th October