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A Good Reason to Take an Instructor Led Class

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I am doing my final checkout of my code for my evening session with Jaap Brasser for next week’s PowerShell Conference Asia.  Microsoft released Windows Server 2016 last week and all of us are rebuilding our test environments and validating our code with the final product.  While doing my thing, I received an email notification from the  IDERA community from someone new to PowerShell.  They were having some difficulty getting the distinguished names of their clients from Active Directory.  First off, for someone who is new to PowerShell, the code they posted is intense:

Function Get-ComputerFromAD
 {
  param(
   $ComputerName
  )
 
 
  ForEach ($Domain in $Global:ADDomains)
  {
   $LdapPath = "LDAP://OU=Computers,OU=GPWS,DC=$Domain,DC=xxx,DC=com"
   [System.DirectoryServices.DirectorySearcher]$Searcher = $LdapPath
   $Searcher.Filter = "(&(objectCategory=computer)(cn=$ComputerName))"
   $Searcher.SearchRoot = $LdapPath
   $Searcher.SearchScope = "Subtree"
   $Searcher.PageSize = 1000
  
   $PropertiesToLoad = "objectClass","cn","description","distinguishedName","operatingSystem","operatingSystemVersion","operatingSystemServicePack","dnsHostName","lastLogonTimeStamp","whenCreated"
   foreach ($property in $PropertiesToLoad) { $Searcher.PropertiesToLoad.Add($property) | Out-Null }
   
   $ADResult = $Searcher.FindOne()
  
   if ($ADResult -ne $null)
   {
    return $ADResult
   }
  }
 
  return $null
 }

That is really awesome for someone who is new.  The problem is that this wheel has already been invented.  To get the distinguished name of a client in Active Directory, you simply need to use the Active Directory Module for Windows PowerShell.  Here is the command:

 Get-ADComputer -filter * | Select-Object -ExpandProperty DistinguishedName

After 5 days of my PowerShell classes, I routinely get comments like:
  • ·         I would have never figured that out on my own.
  • ·         I read the entire book and could not understand it until I listened to you.
  • ·         I’ve tried to understand this for a month, you taught it to me in an hour.

The internet is great, but you just cannot beat an interactive class with an instructor who knows there stuff.  Give your local Microsoft Training Partner a call and ask them to place you in a  PowerShell class in your area. If you want me to be your instructor, just ask them to contact me.  Let me help you invest your time wisely and get you well on your way to being a PowerShell rock star.  

That command took me 10 seconds.  Image the time that I can save you.


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