Managing System Center Configuration Manager Using PowerShell

Jordan Benzing

The first two days take you into the automated world of PowerShell and teach you the fundamentals like objects, arrays, conditional statements, loops, and more.

For the rest of the week, we use that PowerShell knowledge and apply it to areas within Configuration Manager. Expect a lot of demos and PowerShell samples that you can easily adapt to your organization’s environment after the course is completed.

Expert and Microsoft MVP Nickolaj Andersen from Truesec developed and delivers this five-day hands-on lab.

Level: 300

Prerequisites:
Basic understanding of management and configuration tasks in System Center Configuration Manager. Basic scripting knowledge in any scripting language.

Target:
After completing this lab, you will have learned the fundamentals of PowerShell and should have a good understanding of how to automate daily tasks, site management, and much more in System Center Configuration Manager using PowerShell.

Material:
Lab manual and presentations.

In this lab, you’ll learn the following:
PowerShell Fundamentals (Day 1-2)

– What is PowerShell – cmdlets, modules, aliases, profiles, and drives
– Using the pipeline, objects, storing, knowing, and processing data
– Functions, conditional statements, WMI, remoting, and best practices

PowerShell and Configuration Manager (Day 3-5)

– Using the SMS Provider or PowerShell Module
– Device and User Collections
– Applications and Packages
– Software Updates
– Operating System Deployment
– Compliance Management and Endpoint Protection
– Manage the Configuration Manager client
– Site Administration and Hierarchy configuration

Detailed Outline

Day 1

• Introduction to PowerShell
• Module 1
  Object storage and processing
  Variables, hash-tables, arrays, collections
• Module 2
  • Know your Data

Object data types, string manipulation, calculation, error handling, custom objects

• Module 3
  • Using conditional statements

If, else, elseif and switch

Day 2

• Module 4
  • Controlling the flow of data

Comparison operators (-eq, -like, -in), loops, conversion, export/import, reading

• Module 5
  • Building your first Function

Scripting, functions and scopes, re-usable code

• Module 6
  • Windows Management Instrumentation

Cmdlets, namespaces, classes, properties

• Module 7
  • PowerShell Remoting

PSSession, Remote administration, WSMan

Day 3

• Module 8
  • Using WMI or PowerShell Module

Different ways to automate ConfigMgr, exploring the ConfigMgr PowerShell module

• Module 9
  • Hierarchy configuration

Create boundaries, boundary groups, enable/disable discovery methods, create accounts

• Module 10
  • Create and manage collections

Create a device collection, add a direct membership, update membership, and list members

• Module 11
  • Packages, Applications, and deployments

Create and manage Packages, Applications, and deployments

• Module 12
  • Software Update Management

Create Software Update Groups, deploy Software Updates, execute Automatic Deployment Rules, cleanup operations

Day 4

• Module 13
  • Manage the ConfigMgr client

Invoke remote actions, Client Notification channel operations, Client Settings

• Module 14
  • Operating System Images and Task Sequences

Import Operating System Images and create a Task Sequence from scratch, modify steps and deploy it to a collection

• Module 15
  • Boot Image, Boot Media, and drivers

Create and update Boot Images and different types of Boot Media, add and remove drivers

• Module 16
  • Configuration Items and Baselines

Using PowerShell scripts in Configuration Items

• Module 17
  • Endpoint Protection

Create and deploy antimalware policies

Day 5

• Module 18
  • Installing Site System roles
  • Add a new Distribution Point role to a Site System server
• Module 19
  • Site maintenance

Site upgrade, cleanup, and maintenance tasks
– Create console extensions and Run scripts