Microsoft has just released to the web final bits of their Active Directory Web Services. This is the service you need to install on your domain controller or ADAM/AD LDS server to make them accessible for Microsoft’s AD cmdlets.
As you can see from the diagram above, unlike Quest AD cmdlets, Microsoft’s ones require Active Directory Web Services (ADWS) on the server/DC you manage. These web services ship with Windows Server 2008 R2. Now they are also available as a free download for Windows Server 2003 SP2 and later.
This means that as long as you are ready to install this additional software on your DCs, you can start using these new cmdlets from Microsoft. There is no need to upgrade DCs to 2008 R2 or change the forest functional level.
More choices for PowerShell management of AD – better for everyone. 🙂
Tags: AD cmdlets, Active Directory, PowerShell
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