Articles from January 2018 on PowerShell.org - Welcome Automaters!

Distilling Microsoft's DSC Update (Jan 2018)

Mon, 29 Jan 2018 16:11:10 +0000

This past Friday, Microsoftposted a DSC Update that’s worth your attention - and some commentary.

This follows up on a previous announcement about “DSC Core,” a term which the company has wisely stopped using. I do think the original use of “DSC Core” was well-intentioned: “Core” had come to represent the company’s cross-platform efforts, a la .NET Core and PowerShell Core. But the “new DSC” has nothing to do with either of those, and so the use of “Core” was confusing.

The “new DSC” does mean that “old DSC” is going away. But, as this most recent update reveals, very little of your existing work or knowledge investment will go to waste.
The “new DSC” will consist of a rewritten Local Configuration Manager, or LCM. This should still duplicate much of the functionality of the existing LCM, but will be written in C++, enabling it to be compiled for any operating system. So, gone are the days of a .NET-based LCM for Windows and a distinct one written for Unix/Linux - we’ll have one code base.
The big announcement, for me, was that the LCM will rely on a “provider model” for running DSC resources. While the word provider is a little overused in PowerShell, this is a huge and positive step forward. The announcement indicates that the first provider will allow the new, C++ based LCM to run DSC resources written for PowerShell - e.g., almost everything currently out there today. A future provider will enable resources written in cross-platform PowerShell Core (which,as discussed previously here, is a distinct product from Windows PowerShell), and other future providers will support resources written in C++ and Python. This is a _huge deal, _as it offers the potential for a much wider array of community-based resources.
I was also impressed with the humility in Microsoft’s open source direction for the LCM. I think the company has learned from its open sourcing of PowerShell Core that “open source” means a great deal more than just publishing your code in GitHub. You’ve got to be responsive to issue posts, responsive to pull requests, and more. So the team is taking a more gradual approach to open sourcing the new LCM, which should help ensure they do it right.
The announcement mentions that, “[the new LCM] will need to be installed on systems where the current DSC platform exists today, and we will need to offer conflict detection…” and I find that notable. It means the company is still thinking about the best ways to deploy this new LCM, and they’re working through the math on, “what if you have the old one and new one installed - is it going to be raccoons in a bag clawing at each other, or no?” We’ll have to see what they come up with, but I’d personally be just fine if the new LCM just disabled itself if the old, original LCM was working. That would make it easy to pre-stage the new LCM without fear, and “flip it on” one day by disabling the old LCM.
I think by the time the new LCM is formally released as “General Availability” (as opposed to the inevitable beta releases), we’ll be looking at feature parity with the old LCM. That means I think we can expect to see it support both pull and push modes. Given that the LCM pretty much is DSC - that is, the LCM has all the brains of the technology - that should make the transition pretty easy and seamless. I think it’s important to follow the beta builds, so that if you’re seeing feature parity go awry, you can provide Microsoft with the feedback they’ll need to course-correct in time. Don’t wait until GA to bitch and moan; get in there and play with this new thing the moment you can.
There are, of course, questions not answered in this post, but I’ll hazard my own guesses. There’s no mention of Pull Server. Now that the team has enabled SQL Server for the “native” Pull Server, I honestly think we can expect to see them stop investing in that product. Their direction, as with much of Microsoft, is Azure; the pricing for running DSC in Azure Automation is so low that many organizations can, and should, simply do that. Those companies whose servers must run in a totally disconnected environment should plan to look outside of Microsoft - such asTug, an open-source pull server replacement that’s got a ton more flexibility. Today’s Microsoft can’t be all things to all people, and if you have edge-case working conditions - like no Internet for your servers - then you’re going to find yourself a bit more on your own. And, if I’m being honest, for some of those edge cases (and even for some more mainstream cases), a full configuration management platform like Chef or Puppet may be your best bet.
The real upshot here, though, is that _everything you know about DSC is still valid. _Microsoft is going to be doing some heavy lifting, programming-wise, to broaden the applicability of your DSC knowledge across platforms, but I suspect you’re not going to have to do much work to “keep up” for this first phase. We’ll doubtless see some asked-for new features creep in along the way, which will be great, and hopefully we’ll see some of the minor architectural improvements that the community has been asking for for a few years, now.
Overall, I think this is a bright and positive announcement for DSC fans, and I’m looking forward to seeing where the company goes next!

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PowerShell Story Continued Becoming a Craftsman

Sun, 28 Jan 2018 10:46:03 +0000

My journey started off by figuring out how to automate a daily disk space report on the mailserver, which ran most of the company, and emailing the report to my boss at the time. After PowerShell sent that first email, something clicked. I sat back in my chair and thought to myself, “Wow, I don’t have to do this anymore”. I can still feel how exciting and relieving that thought was. Fast forward a few years and I had made automation about 80% of my job. I had moved into a few new roles - Tier 2 Support to Systems Engineer, to Senior Systems Engineer. My last post left off when I left my role as a Senior Systems Engineer and landed a gig as a DevOps Engineer. At the time I thought this was the end of the road. I thought, “I’ll pick up a few new tricks and further improve my PowerShell skills”. I couldn’t have been more wrong. This post picks up at the beginning of my transition into the world of DevOps, where I learned no matter how much you know, you know nothing. Continue reading to hear the rest of the story…
http://duffney.io/PowerShell-Story-Continued-BecomingACraftsman

Iron Scripter Prequel: Puzzle 2 – a commentary

Sun, 28 Jan 2018 00:02:37 +0000

A discussion and possible solution to puzzle 1 is now available at Iron Scripter Prequel Puzzle 2 - A commentary
Remember this isn’t presented as a definitive solution. It’s my view of the solution.
I’ve not provided faction specific code but rather a list of points the factions need to consider to be truly worthy of their faction.

Iron Scripter 2018 Prequel: Puzzle 3

Sun, 28 Jan 2018 00:01:38 +0000

You have overcome 2 challenges so far both involving code from the archives. In this challenge you’ll be called upon to create your own code. You’ll be presented with a task to perform in Iron Scripter Prequel Puzzle 3
How you approach this challenge is up to you but remember the goals of your faction.
Please remember that we’re not grading submissions for these puzzles. You can comment, and discuss the puzzle on the Iron Scripter Prequel forum
Good luck

Summit 2018 registration update

Fri, 26 Jan 2018 16:55:41 +0000

As an update to the registrations for Summit 2018 - we’ve sold 75% of the available places.
As Don explained we won’t be able to add further places like we did last year.
This is our biggest (and hopefully best) Summit yet with more sessions and nearly double the number of speakers.
If you want a place I recommend not waiting. Last year we sold our last place on 24 February. If sales carry on as they currently are we’ll sell out for 2018 well before then.

PowerShell Summit Registration Status

Tue, 23 Jan 2018 20:30:12 +0000

A quick update - all numbers as of 23-January-2018, 12:23pm Pacific time.
91 seats remaining. We are on track to sell out in approximately 45 days. Unlike previous years where we’ve scrounged some spare seats at the last minute, **please don’t expect that this year, **as I think I’ve gotten better at math and have not been rounding as much.
Hotel situation:

Marriott, we have 6 rooms left. This is our “official” hotel, with the largest number of Summiteers on site.
Courtyard, we have 9 rooms left. This is a quick walk to the Meydenbauer, with about half as many Summiteers as the Marriott.
Hotel 116, we have 34 rooms left. This also has about half as many Summiteers as the Marriott, and is our lowest price point hotel. This is still a quick walk to the Meydenbauer.

After the rooms above are exhausted, you’re on to “rack rate,” which, sadly, can be ridonkulous as it’s a popular time of year to be in Bellevue and they’ve gotten used to our crowd coming in. We do ask that you choose one of the above hotels if humanly possible so that we’re not stuck paying for this reserved space regardless. If we have to do so, prices for Summit will assuredly rise in 2019.
Can’t make it? We’re often asked about session recordings. We’re not prepared to commit to anything for 2018, although we’re working hard with a partner to try and make something happen. There’s no need whatsoever to “+1” this; we’re well aware that everyone asks for recordings (despite fairly low actual view numbers for them), and we’re working on it. Last year’s attempt was massively disruptful and unsuccessful, so we can’t have that again.
That’s it! Hit us up on Twitter @PSHSummit if you have questions!

Iron Scripter Prequel: Puzzle 1 – a solution

Sun, 21 Jan 2018 00:05:19 +0000

A discussion and possible solution to puzzle 1 is now available at Iron Scripter Prequel Puzzle 1 - A solution
Remember this isn’t presented as a definitive solution. It’s my view of the solution. Please also note that the faction specific parts are indicative and not prescriptive - they are my view of how the different factions would approach solving the puzzle.

Iron Scripter 2018 Prequel: Puzzle 2

Sun, 21 Jan 2018 00:01:10 +0000

You’ve survived the first challenge. A new challenge in the shape of Iron Scripter Prequel Puzzle 2 is now available.
Take note of the faction based instructions.
Please remember that we’re not grading submissions for these puzzles.
You can comment, and discuss the puzzle on the Iron Scripter Prequel forum
Stay true to your faction and victory will be yours.

Can We Talk About PowerShell Core 6.0?

Mon, 15 Jan 2018 16:36:18 +0000

Microsoft recentlyannounced the General Availability (that is, a non-beta release) of PowerShell Core 6.0. Acompanion document detailing breaking changes, along with some of the language in the announcement, has led to more than a few inquiries in my mailbox. Most take the tone of, “have I been wasting my time learning PowerShell?!?!?” because, at first glance, PowerShell Core looks deeply less functional than its predecessor. Let me tell you what I think.

First, I need to stress that this isn’t an official Microsoft position - it’s my opinion. I’ve been working with this product since before it launched, I’ve lived through its successes and missteps, and I’ve gotten pretty good at figuring out what the company is up to - but this article isn’t based on any official conversations or info.

Articles from January 2018 on PowerShell.org - Welcome Automaters!

Distilling Microsoft's DSC Update (Jan 2018)

PowerShell Story Continued Becoming a Craftsman

Iron Scripter Prequel: Puzzle 2 – a commentary

Iron Scripter 2018 Prequel: Puzzle 3

Summit 2018 registration update

PowerShell Summit Registration Status

Iron Scripter Prequel: Puzzle 1 – a solution

Iron Scripter 2018 Prequel: Puzzle 2

Can We Talk About PowerShell Core 6.0?

There are Two PowerShells Now

Iron Scripter 2018 Prequel: Puzzle 1

PSCore 6 – Jeffrey Snover and the PowerShell Team hosting AMA on 11th Jan 9am PT

Iron Scripter prequel

Articles from January 2018 on PowerShell.org - Welcome Automaters!

Distilling Microsoft's DSC Update (Jan 2018)

PowerShell Story Continued Becoming a Craftsman

Iron Scripter Prequel: Puzzle 2 – a commentary

Iron Scripter 2018 Prequel: Puzzle 3

Summit 2018 registration update

PowerShell Summit Registration Status

Iron Scripter Prequel: Puzzle 1 – a solution

Iron Scripter 2018 Prequel: Puzzle 2

Can We Talk About PowerShell Core 6.0?

There are Two PowerShells Now

PowerShell Has Never Been “Windows”

Sins of the Past

It’s 6.0, Not 6.Done.

Why the Hell is Core Even Needed, Though?

What if I Don’t Admin on Linux?

So is Windows PowerShell Really “Done?”

Let’s Review