I was talking with a good friend that has an environment with terabytes of information and to create a homolog or dev environment to him is a pain. He comes to me with a solution : A PowerShell script that gets only the first 1000 lines of each table, creates the inserts and schema files … Read more
Move objects on Azure is not simple. Move between Tenants is extremely difficult or not possible. I faced the challenge to move a virtual machine and disks between tenants recently and found the solution. Some Years ago, I wrote an article about the Azure Resource Mover when it was still being created. Today the resource … Read more
A company’s Azure environment can easily grow to a level that managing all the objects may become harder. The solution of this problem requires methods to query resources, such as Azure Functions, based on their properties. One of the fetures used for this is the Azure Resource Graph . However, Function Apps configuration is beyond … Read more
I wrote before about Automating table Refresh in Power BI. On that article I explained how to schedule a refresh script using the Azure Automation Account. We can improve the automation process even more. If we create a parameterized Powershell script and publish it to github, the script becomes available in the Automation Account gallery. … Read more
Azure Cloudshell uses PowerShell 7.2.1. However, Powershell 7.2.2 is already available and we have also a PowerShell version 7.3.0 in preview. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could update the powershell version in cloudshell, instead of waiting for Microsoft? This would allow you to run scripts using the new features of the updated versions. Before … Read more
Mapping an Azure Storage Account file share on a local machine is a powerful feature. In this post, Dennes Torres explains how to do it and what to watch out for.… Read more
I wrote many blogs about policies in Azure. First, I started talking about How essential Policies are. After that, I included them in a blog about Azure SQL AD Only Authentication and finally about how to ensure Azure SQL is with Azure AD Only Authentication enabled. Using both, policies and management groups, we can manage … Read more
How do you list all the objects and values within a PowerShell object, investigate an object or explore its structure? There must be a simple way. I used to use ConvertTo-JSON. This is fine up to a point but what if you just wish to search for strings or look for objects with a cartain … Read more
The Azure SQL Databases don’t give us access to the SQL Server Agent. Usually, we use SQL Server Agent to schedule jobs on premise, but in the cloud, we need a different solution. In the technical sessions I deliver I usually explain about Azure Automation and how we can create runbooks to execute scheduled tasks … Read more
Browser tabs hold some similarities with tribbles in the way they multiply. Before you can notice, you have hundreds of them. However, in the same way tibbles are fluffy, browser tabs sometimes hold fluffy information as well, the kind of information you know you need but usually you are not sure where to hold it … Read more
Because it is important with maintaining Virtual Machine environments to be able to repeat routine tasks completely accurately, Windows PowerShell has grown in importance for the job. Now you can manage the Hyper-V environment via PowerShell without needing to use the Hyper-V Manager console. It opens up many opportunities for automation.… Read more
PowerShell's Desired State Configuration (DSC) framework depends on the Local Configuration Manager (LCM) which has a central role in a DSC architecture. It runs on all nodes that have PowerShell 4.0 or above installed in order to control the execution of DSC configurations on target nodes. Nicolas Prigent illustrates the role of the LCM in the 'Push' mode of configuring nodes.… Read more
Sometimes, it is the small improvements in a language that can make a real difference. PowerShell is able to introduce extra common parameters that can be used by any Cmdlet or advanced function. When -PipelineVariable was introduced in V4, we all wondered what it could be used for. Laerte experimented and discovered that it could be a real convenience in every-day scripting with the pipeline.… Read more
Although PowerShell Cmdlets are usually written in PowerShell, there are occasions when the level of integration with existing C# or VB libraries is awkward to achieve with PowerShell. Yes, you can write Cmdlets in C# perfectly easily, but until now it has been tiresome to discover how. Now Michael Sorens shows you the simple route to writing effective C# Cmdlets.… Read more
SQL Server instances are generally poorly-documented. How easily can you tell if something has changed? How easily can you check that there is adequate space for growth? Are you up-to-date with licenses? What errors are happening? Who has accessing the system? Before PowerShell, it was difficult to be on top of all this. Now you can, with the help of Sander's database documenter.… Read more
'Desired State Configuration (DSC) is an essential part of the configuration, management and maintenance of Windows-based servers. It allows a PowerShell script to specify the configuration of the machine using a declarative model in a simple standard way that is easy to maintain and understand. Nicolas introduces the basic DSC concepts and provides a simple example of using the 'Push' model of DSC. … Read more
When starting out with PowerShell, it is hard to escape from the detail to work out the best strategy for creating scripts. Laerte explains how, when and why it pays to think in terms of versatile functions to meet varying demands.… Read more
The BASH shell is the most popular UNIX command-line scriptable shell. It became the inspiration for PowerShell. As with so many standard components of the Open Source movement, there is a hard-working and dedicated individual who quietly supports the tool over many years. Chet Ramey maintains and extends BASH by himself, and we all give thanks to him for his dedication.… Read more