14 DAY TRIAL // Early adopters can now download an early development milestone of PowerShell 3.0 for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) and start testing it immediately.
Microsoft backported some Windows 7 components to Windows Vista SP2 and Windows XP SP3, and it looks like the company is doing the same with Windows 8 and Windows 7 SP1.
But testers need to be aware that the first Community Technology Preview of Windows 8 PowerShell 3.0 is not available as a standalone download. But this should come as no surprise, especially considering the way that PowerShell 2.0 was backported from Windows 7 to its predecessors.
Remember the Windows Management Framework? Well, Windows 8 PowerShell 3.0 CTP1 is actually a part of the first Community Technology Preview of Windows Management Framework 3.0.
At the time of this article, Windows Management Framework 3.0 - Community Technology Preview (CTP) #1 was live on the Microsoft Download Center, and available for all testers.
In addition to PowerShell 3.0, Windows Management Framework 3.0 also features Windows Remote Management (WinRM) 3.0, Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) 3.0 and the Windows PowerShell Web Service.
“Windows PowerShell Web Service enables an administrator to expose a set of PowerShell cmdlets as a RESTful web endpoint accessible via the Open Data Protocol (OData). This provides remote access to invoke cmdlets from both Windows and non-Windows clients,” revealed Travis Jones, Windows PowerShell PM.
Similarly, there are improvements in Windows Remote Management (WinRM) 3.0, including more robust and more resilient connections, according to the software giant.
The Redmond company indicates that Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) 3.0 brings to the table a new provider development model which breaks dependency on COM. Customers will also be able to take advantage of a new MI Client API to for standard CIM operations and even to put together Windows PowerShell cmdlets in native code.
At the same time, PowerShell 3.0 introduces a number of enhancements compared to its predecessor, including Workflows, Robust Sessions, Scheduled Jobs, Delegated Administration, Simplified Language Syntax, Cmdlet Discovery, and Show-Command.
Jones highlighted some of the new Windows 8 PowerShell 3.0 features:
“• Workflows - Workflows that run long-running activities (in sequence or in parallel) to perform complex, larger management tasks, such as multi-machine application provisioning. Using the Windows Workflow Foundation at the command line, Windows PowerShell workflows are repeatable, parallelizable, interruptible, and recoverable.
• Robust Sessions - Robust sessions that automatically recover from network failures and interruptions and allow you to disconnect from the session, shut down the computer, and reconnect from a different computer without interrupting the task.
• Scheduled Jobs - Scheduled jobs that run regularly or in response to an event.
• Delegated Administration - Commands that can be executed with a delegated set of credentials so users with limited permissions can run critical jobs
• Simplified Language Syntax - Simplified language syntax that make commands and scripts look a lot less like code and a lot more like natural language.
• Cmdlet Discovery - Improved cmdlet discovery and automatic module loading that make it easier to find and run any of the cmdlets installed on your computer.
• Show-Command - Show-Command, a cmdlet and ISE Add-On that helps users find the right cmdlet, view its parameters in a dialog box, and run it.”
Windows Management Framework 3.0 CTP1 can only be installed on Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1.
Windows Management Framework 3.0 - Community Technology Preview (CTP) #1 is available for download here, it includes Windows 8 PowerShell 3.0 CTP1, Windows Remote Management (WinRM) 3.0 CTP1, Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) 3.0 CTP1 and the Windows PowerShell Web Service.
Windows 8 Developer Preview Build 8102 Milestone 3 (M3) is available for download here.