Posted on: September 7th, 2016 by Wolf TG Admin

Microsoft Powersell as an Open SourceMicrosoft has recently announced that PowerShell will now be available as an open source application. As a result, PowerShell can now be used on Mac and Linux architectures. More specifically, Microsoft says that the new open source PowerShell will work with the following platforms:

  • Mac OSX
  • Red Hat Linux
  • CentOS
  • Ubuntu

Microsoft has released the source code of PowerShell on GitHub, making it possible for developers to customize this powerful scripting language for different platforms. What is the impact of PowerShell going open source and how can administrators get the most out of the new development?

The Alpha release of PowerShell has only been available for a short period of time but administrators have already found creative methods of implementing this advanced scripting technology. Here are a few ways PowerShell is now being used since it has been released as an open source application.

PowerShell System Administration Tasks on Mac OS X

Nowadays, it’s pretty common to find organizations that are bringing Macs onto their networks. With the new open sourced PowerShell, system administrators can perform remote tasks on Mac from a PC. The creativity of your system administrators will be unleashed as they are provided functions and cmdlets that can now be executed on OS X systems.

For example, at the PowerShell prompt you could type:

    • Get-Process

The screen will then print out a list of all the local running processes on the Mac.

Utilizing PowerShell on your fleet of OS X machines will make it easier for your IT staff to streamline their internal auditing processes when it comes to administrating the Macs on your network.

Manage Apache on Linux from the Command Line Interface

Linux server administrators are comfortable using the command line interface (CLI) to remotely administrate applications. Webmasters commonly utilize the LAMP stack (Linux Apache MySQL and PHP) to run sophisticated web applications.

Since PowerShell is now available as an open source application, LAMP stack administrators can now use PowerShell to automate the administration of Apache web servers. GitHub has an Apache Management Demo that breaks down all the features and functionalities associated with those who wish to use PowerShell to administrate their Linux web servers.

Remotely Administrate Linux VMs in the Cloud

Organizations are adopting IaaS quickly within their environments. What if you could orchestrate your IaaS services using PowerShell? Although Microsoft has extensively provided documentation PowerShell for Azure, Amazon Web Services has also published articles showing administrators how to manage IaaS services on AWS with PowerShell.

By using PowerShell to administrate your cloud services, you can begin to automate processes that may have been manually performed by system administrators. For example, you could run PowerShell on a Linux VM to monitor specific system metrics and spin up another Linux VM when needed to help alleviate bottlenecks that website visitors may encounter during peak times.

Your IT Staff Has Just Become More Versatile

Since most enterprise system administrators are well versed in PowerShell. It should come as a delight that they can now perform advanced system level tasks on Linux and OS X machines.

In addition to managing Windows desktops and servers, your IT staff can now execute sophisticated PowerShell tasks on all of the machines connected to your network. This allows your team to take an agnostic approach to systems administration, making their PowerShell skills that much more valuable.

One of the most popular trends in technology is the emergence of the DevOps role. Someone who has been hired on as a DevOp has acquired skills in both development and systems operations.

With PowerShell now being open sourced for all of the major enterprise computing platforms, you’ll likely see more system administrators take on the role of DevOps as they will be able to perform scripted operations based on data points and logic.

Begin Learning about the New Open Sourced PowerShell

If you aren’t well versed in PowerShell, Microsoft has produced a 50 minute long video that provides essential information for using PowerShell on non-Windows systems.

PowerShell gives administrators the ability to script out tasks for machines regardless of the underlying architecture. Given PowerShell’s new open source status, even more PowerShell developers will be brought into the fold, giving birth to a new era of system administration innovation.

PowerShell is quickly becoming one of the most valuable skills your IT staff can possess. Since all major platforms can be administrated with PowerShell, your organization can now get the most out of their investments in IT assets.

To learn more about how Microsoft PowerShell can help your business as an open source application, give us a call at (833) 482-6435 or click the banner below to schedule a consultation online. As a Microsoft Partner, we look forward to hearing from you!

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