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Guy's Top 10 Free Tools

1) FreePing
2) Network Monitor
3) Xobni
4) PuTTY (UNIX)
5) IP SLA Monitor
6) BgInfo
7) Net-SNMP
8) CatTools 
9) Exchange Monitor
10) WinDiff

Microsoft's PowerShell in Exchange Server 2007

Introduction to PowerShell in Exchange Server 2007

The long-term reason for learning PowerShell is to configure Exchange 2007 and Longhorn.  However, you can get started with PowerShell right now.  I suggest that you begin by using PowerShell instead of cmd.  My point is that all the commands such as ping, ipconfig and netstat perform in PowerShell just as they do in the cmd.exe shell.  The benefit is that you will get used to the new PS> interface and may even risk a few PowerShell commands.

To prepare for administering the successor to Exchange 2003, I recommend that you download PowerShell and start experimenting with verb-noun instructions at the PS > prompt.  Feel free to copy or modify my examples, better still, create your own scripts.

PowerShell Topics

• PowerShell and Exchange 2007 Server
• Getting your copy of PowerShell
• Getting Started - PowerShell Structure
• More on PowerShell in Exchange 2007
• Summary of PowerShell

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PowerShell and Exchange 2007 Server

Let me be clear, Exchange 2007 has a GUI for its System Manager, however, for a repetitive task or a clever configuration, Microsoft is saying that you need to learn PowerShell.

Microsoft have redesigned Exchange Server 2007 from scratch.  What their research found is that in Exchange 2003, because of the deep nesting, it's difficult to find settings in the System Manager.  Therefore, Microsoft reason, it will be quicker to configure settings with a few crisp instructions from the PowerShell command line, than endlessly searching through menus in the GUI. 

Microsoft's argument goes on to propose that scripting can achieve complex configurations that are not possible from the GUI menu.  For example, I saw a PowerShell script that not only created users and their mailboxes, but also load-balanced the mailboxes between storage groups.  Typical Microsoft, you will be able to get the best of both worlds, begin with the GUI, but press an option to create PowerShell scripts, which you can then modify with a text editor.

PowerShell Example 1 - Get Mailbox Exchange Server 2007

Here is a real life task to set a users mailbox quota.  Naturally, you to have Exchange Server 2007 installed before running this PowerShell command:

PowerShell Example 2 - List Roles in Exchange Server 2007

Here are more instructions for using PowerShell in Exchange 2007

Summary of PowerShell and Exchange 2007

PowerShell is a potent new scripting language for Exchange Server 2007  servers.  Moreover, one day PowerShell will be Microsoft's standard scripting shell.  One killer reason for learning PowerShell is that you can perform tasks that are not possible through the Exchange System Manager GUI.

See more Windows PowerShell real life tasks

• PowerShell Home  • Real life tasks  • IpConfig  • Exchange  • Com objects  • Services  • Syntax

Please write in if you see errors of any kind.  Please report any factual mistakes, grammatical errors or broken links, I will be happy to not only to correct the fault, but also to give you credit.

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