Microsoft Learn Challenge: Build Edition Registration Open!

Microsoft Build 2024 event is all set to start on May 21 2024 until May 23 2024, being the most vital Microsoft developer event of the year, We are awaiting for great announcements in the AI Space and latest innovations from Microsoft.

You can register for both Offline and Online here: https://build.microsoft.com/en-US/home

As a part of the Build event Registration is now open for the upcoming Microsoft Learn Challenge starts on May 21 and this time is more focused on Latest  advanced AI Technologies with top 5 Curated topics and you will earn a digital badge for completing the challenge under your MS Learn profile.

Register here: Microsoft Learn Challenge: Build Edition

Follow @msdev handle for more updates 

Deprecation of Azure AD PowerShell and MSOnline PowerShell modules

Microsoft has finally deprecated Azure AD PowerShell and MSOnline PowerShell modules this March 2024, Microsoft has provided heads up Quite sometime before this move and guidances are available how to smoothly transition from the deprecated modules to the Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK.

More updates are available here: Important update: Deprecation of Azure AD PowerShell and MSOnline PowerShell modules

PowerShell Notes for Professionals E-Book

PowerShell is a very strong scripting tool and it has evolved a lot in the recent years and I came across an excellent E-Book for IT professionals thats suitable for both beginners and advanced professionals working with PowerShell

You can download the latest e-book version from here : PowerShell Notes for Professionals

Navigate to the PowerShell Gallery for more resources : https://www.powershellgallery.com/

General Availability of the Exchange Online PowerShell v2 Cmdlets

Microsoft Exchange Team recently announced the General Availability of Exchange Online PowerShell v2 Cmdlets.

You can download the Module here: ExchangeOnlineManagement 1.0.1

Access the documentation here: Use the Exchange Online PowerShell V2 module

Note: Currently, the latest version of PowerShell that's supported for the EXO V2 module is PowerShell 5.1. Support for later versions of PowerShell (and by definition, support for Linux or Mac) is a work in progress and will be announced soon.

PowerShell 7.0 GA

PowerShell 7.0 went for General Availability last Month.

Access here to know more: Announcing PowerShell 7.0

Also read the below blog post from Thomas Maurer MSFT to know what's new in PowerShell 7.0 

WHAT’S NEW IN POWERSHELL 7 – CHECK IT OUT!

Stay tuned for more updates...

Microsoft Teams - PowerShell Module now Available

PowerShell Module for Microsoft Teams is now available,  This module contains set of command lets that allows you to manage Microsoft Teams via PowerShell and use Automated scripts at ease.

You can download the Module here: MicrosoftTeams 0.9.0

Read the below Excellent write-up from Matt Soseman MSFT to get an Overview of the new PowerShell Module and how it helps IT Admins to manage and automate tasks for Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft Teams: PowerShell Support

Also read the below blog post from MVP Tony Redmond, where he shows the limitations of the current Module with additional information.

Why the PowerShell Module for Teams is Critically Flawed

Stay tuned for more updates...

PowerShell Module Browser Now Available

Microsoft team recently released the new PowerShell Module Browser, an easy, predictable way to search all Microsoft PowerShell modules and cmdlets.

Access the Browser here: PowerShell Module Browser

Review the documentation here: Announcing the PowerShell Module Browser

Azure Active Directory V2 PowerShell module GA

Earlier this Month Microsoft announced the General Availability of Azure Active Directory PowerShell 2.0 module, To maintain equivalent capabilities between Microsoft Graph API and PowerShell cmdlets, all these new cmdlets are built on top of the Graph API.

Two important notes from Product Team below to keep in mind:

• The new Azure AD PowerShell v2.0 module don’t provide full functional parity with the older MSOL module yet. We’re working hard to make that happen in the coming months and will keep you updated on our progress.

• We are not planning to publish new functionality in the MSOL PowerShell module. Over time we will implement all the functionality of the old MSOL cmdlets in the new module, and this new module contains quite a few new cmdlets that haven’t been available before.

Access the Official Blog post here: AzureAD PowerShell V2.0 is now GA

You can Check the release notes and download the Module from PowerShell Gallery here: Azure Active Directory V2 PowerShell Module - General Availability Release 2.0.0.33

Follow the instructions to install the module according to your Operating System.

Make sure you review all the new cmdlets here : Azure Active Directory V2 PowerShell module

Access the release history here: Microsoft Azure Active Directory PowerShell Module Version Release History

Also read: Updates for the new Azure Active Directory V2 PowerShell module

You can install the new PS Module in your pre-production or Test environment and see how the new V2 cmdlets work in comparison with V1 cmdlets, and once V2 cmdlets have equivalent capabilities as V1 cmdlets you can start update your existing scripts accordingly.

PowerShell is Open Sourced !

Greatest milestone in the history of PowerShell happened last month, Now PowerShell is provided as an open source project on GitHub, available on Windows, Linux and macOS! This is a great news, as many of the customers required to utilize PowerShell other platforms and Microsoft took to the right decision inline with their focus on the support for Open Source Software.

Official Announcement here : PowerShell is open sourced and is available on Linux

Read the Windows PowerShell blog post here for additional information :  PowerShell on Linux and Open Source!

Access the How-To demos from Channel 9 here : PowerShell Open Source Project

Be sure to watch the video session presented by the father of PowerShell himself "Jeffrey Snover" on the new announcements, and the story behind how this innovation started and went live.

Stay tuned for more updates...

MVA Learning : What's New in PowerShell v5

Learn about the latest and greatest features that Microsoft has built into new PowerShell Version 5 with the latest Microsoft Virtual Academy course.

Explore the new features in PowerShell and much more with the below sessions,

1 | Introduction to PowerShell v5 -
Get an overview of the new features in PowerShell v5.

2 | Package Management
Learn what's new with package management in PowerShell v5.

3 | PowerShell v5 Security
Get the details on what's new with security in PowerShell v5.

4 | PowerShell v5 Debugging
Take a look at what's new with debugging in PowerShell v5.

5 | PowerShell Classes
Learn about classes in PowerShell v5.

6 | Just Enough Administration
Hear about the new Just Enough Administration feature in PowerShell v5.

7 | Desired State Configuration
Find out what's new with DSC in PowerShell v5.

Access the Course here: What's New in PowerShell v5

Add-on Read:

Review the below post to get answers to Top 5 PowerShell FAQs of today,

PowerShell FAQ: Top 5 Questions about PowerShell from the Field

Migrate distribution lists to Office 365 Groups

Distribution group management is quite challenging when it comes to Office 365. Managing a Distribution group needs to be done On Premises if you are synchronizing your Distribution groups to Office 365. A migrated user will not be able to manage the groups he own easily as before and rely on additional mechanisms as outlined here. In order to mitigate this challenges some Admins delete and re-create these groups in cloud as explained here with the exception of Security Enabled distribution groups that still have On premises access dependencies. Managing Cloud based Distribution Groups is explained here. Not just the cloud based Distribution groups are suffice for today's needs in this Agile and Collaborative world, its time to adopt the Modern Groups aka Office 365 Groups.

Unlike traditional Distribution Groups, Office 365 Groups provide much more as explained in detail in my earlier blog post curated with references and latest updates "Office 365 Groups Overview, Administration and Roadmap in a NutShell"

I wrote this article today to give a quick refresh on the topic and refer you to the latest support article published that helps you to migrate Distribution lists in Cloud to Office 365 Groups.

You can migrate your Distribution groups to Office 365 groups provided they are Cloud-managed, simple, non-nested distribution lists.

Microsoft team has provided a list of PowerShell scripts that make your migration smooth, You can identify the eligible groups for migration using the Get-DlEligibilityList.ps1 script and refer the table that lists which distribution lists are eligible or not eligible for migration.

Identify the eligibility criteria for the migration and make sure you edit your existing Distribution groups accordingly if you need them to be migrated to an Office 365 Group.

Access the Admin Help Support Article here: Migrate distribution lists to Office 365 Groups - Admin help

Download the Scripts here: Migrate Distribution Lists to Office 365 Groups

Clear steps to migrate distribution lists to an Office 365 group is available in the support article. Make sure you read the FAQs and Additional Information section.

If you are using the latest AAD Connect to synchronize your identities and your on-premises Exchange servers are Exchange 2013 cumulative update 8 (released in March 2015) or Exchange 2016 you get the benefits of using Group Writeback feature, that allow you to writeback Office 365 Groups as Distribution lists On premises.

Read here for more updates: Group writeback

Update:

Now you have the option to convert a distribution list to Office 365 group directly in the Office 365 Exchange Admin Center.

Read the Migrate a distribution group to an Office 365 group section on this TechNet article to know more:Create and manage distribution groups

Update:

New EHLO Blog post : Migrate traditional Distribution Groups to Office 365 Groups

Add-on Read:

Read the below essential blog post from Veteran MVP Tony Redmond to know how to identify a Obsolete Office 365 Group using PowerShell

Read here: Identifying Obsolete Office 365 Groups with PowerShell

Stay tuned for more updates...

Techincal Case Study: Automating licensing for Office 365 in a hybrid environment

Licensing is always a bit of challenging task in any large enterprise and it ideally varies between one another. Learn how Microsoft IT team automated the Licensing for Office 365 in their Hybrid environment from the below Technical Case study.

Utilize the resources provided and test how the solution fits in to your environment and reduce the License management overhead for your Admins.

Review here: Automating licensing for Office 365 in a hybrid environment

Add-on Read:

As we all know PowerShell plays a major role in Office 365 Administration, lets understand how to Manage user accounts and licenses with Office 365 PowerShell.

Access the TechNet documentation here: Manage user accounts and licenses with Office 365 PowerShell

More resources are available in PowerShell for Office 365 Website.

PowerShell 5.0 reaches GA

Windows Management Framework (WMF) 5.0 RTM brings functionality that has been updated from WMF 4.0. WMF 5.0 RTM is available for installation only on Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8.1, and Windows 7 SP1 and contains updated versions or introduction of the following features:

• Windows PowerShell
• Just Enough Administration (JEA)
• Windows PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC)
• Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE)
• Windows PowerShell Web Services (Management OData IIS Extension)
• Windows Remote Management (WinRM)
• Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)

WMF 5.0 RTM replaces the WMF 5.0 Production Preview. You can install WMF 5.0 RTM without uninstalling WMF 5.0 Production Preview, but you must uninstall all other older releases of WMF 5.0 previews before installing the WMF 5.0 RTM.

Note: If you are running Windows 10, you can get the same set of functionality available in WMF 5.0 RTM by updating to the November update of Windows 10 (Version 1511). If you have not already updated your Windows 10 system, select the Start button, then select Settings > Update & security > Windows Update > Check for updates.

Check released notes here: Windows Management Framework (WMF) 5.0 RTM Release Notes Overview

As stated in the Known Product incompatibilities section, don't install the 5.0 Framework on these servers.

Systems that are running the following server applications should not run Windows Management Framework 5.0 at this time:

• Microsoft Exchange Server 2013
• Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 SP3
• Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013
• Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010
• System Center 2012 Virtual Machine Manager

Also Microsoft team re-published the RTM packages and available for download now, access the below post for more details.

Access here: Windows Management Framework (WMF) 5.0 RTM packages has been republished

Download the bits here: Windows Management Framework 5.0

Add-on bytes:

PowerShell Gallery one stop resource for your PowerShell needs is now Generally available.

Read the blog post here to know more: The PowerShell Gallery Is Public

Update:

If you're a Microsoft Premier customer, you now have access to 11 Hours of PowerShell WMF 5.0 Training Available through  the Premier Workshop Library on Demand (WLOD) subscription.

Access here to know more: 11 Hours of PowerShell WMF 5.0 Training Available for Microsoft Premier Customers

Overcome Throttling issues with Office 365 for your PowerShell Scripts

I am writing this post today to point you to the latest Exchange Team blog post, explains how to overcome throttling issues when running PowerShell cmdlets for large numbers of users in Office 365.

Its quite common that we generate reports or apply changes to large number of users in Office 365 as a part of Operations and need to wait for hours to get the results. We all know about the throttling limits that exist with Office 365 and sometime the script breaks and makes us to start from the scratch. Finally, Microsoft team published a blog post to overcome this issue.

By using the the help of Script blocks and Invoke-command cmdlet we can construct PowerShell Scripts that returns the required data without much issues on time and also a great PowerShell script "Start-RobustCloudCommand script" is shared to us that makes our job a lot easier.

More information is available in the below EHLO blog post,

Review here: Running PowerShell cmdlets for large numbers of users in Office 365

I have personally used this script for a recent requirement to disable clutter for a large set of users and it did worked well.

Here is the example,

Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted

$cred = Get-Credential

$session = New-PSSession -ConfigurationName Microsoft.Exchange -ConnectionUri https://ps.outlook.com/powershell -Credential $cred -Authentication Basic -AllowRedirection

$importresults = Import-PSSession $session 


$Mailboxes = invoke-command -scriptblock {Get-mailbox -resultsize unlimited | select-object -property Displayname,PrimarySMTPAddress,Identity} -session (get-pssession)

$cred = get-Credential

.\Start-RobustCloudCommand.ps1 -Agree -Credential $cred -recipients $Mailboxes -logfile C:\temp\out.log -ScriptBlock {Set-Clutter -identity $input.PrimarySMTPAddress.tostring() -enable:$false} –interactive

This guidance is great and it will reduce some of our support cases related to throttling.

Get ready to Manage and Administer Office 365 better

Office 365 Administration mainly relies on the Admin Center and PowerShell, When Managing Office 365 via the Admin Center its is quite complicated as new features added day by day the Admin Center is now having various options made available in different areas and we need to navigate to multiple locations to manage things related to a single task. Also when it comes to reporting we require some additional innovation from Microsoft which can make the reporting lot easier and effective which  suits our needs and we don't require to invest on 3rd party providers.

To address the above said needs Microsoft team is revamping the Admin Center with new UI and enhancements which makes the Administrative experience a lot more easier and also new reporting capabilities are added including new usage reports across Office 365 workloads. Office 365 Admin Center Preview gets this soon and also upcoming Power BI Content Pack for Office 365 admins is a new add-on that will take the reporting capabilities to next level.

Office 365 Admin app also gets new features added to make administration a lot easier on the go, where ever you are with few clicks on your mobile.

PowerShell is the next reliable Administrative tool to manage Office 365 workloads, Automation relies here to make your management experience a lot easier, Microsoft team is giving additional guidance and resources to this key area along with the above said innovations.

All of this is covered with real time demo in the recent Microsoft Mechanics video series by Lawrence Chiu, Sr.Product Manager, Office 365

Review the Official blog post here: Office 365 admin updates—from portal enhancements to PowerShell

We can expect a lot more enhancements  in the upcoming days. Stay tuned...

New Home of PowerShell !!!

Microsoft team recently launched a new website for PowerShell, that stands as a one stop resource online to know more and do more with PowerShell for everyone.

Access the New Home here: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell

PowerShell for Office 365 website now Available !!!

Microsoft team has launched a new dedicated website for IT Administrators to know and work with PowerShell for Office 365.

More information is available in the Official Office Blogs post: Get started on PowerShell for Office 365

Access the new Website here: PowerShell for Office 365

Microsoft Ignite Session Catalog Now Available !!!

Last July 2014, Microsoft team announced their plan on bringing a new change to the way Microsoft Technology events are hosted by providing a Unified Technology Event for Enterprises. This was a hot topic at that time and we had various reviews and comments across the globe over this major move by Microsoft. On 16th October 2014 finally "Microsoft Ignite" was born, Microsoft team globally announced the location and dates "May 4-8, 2015 in Chicago IL"and finalized the event. Now the time is nearing.

Its now time for one more significant announcement from Microsoft Ignite team on whats coming? Yes, The most awaited Session catalog, Which is now made available with one more opportunity to be part of the #IgniteJam live tweet Jam in twitter, this February 3rd, at 9:00 a.m. PT to know more.

Access the Official post here : Introducing the Microsoft Ignite session catalog

Review the Session Catalog here: Ignite Sessions

We have about 275 Sessions on a whole, covering various Microsoft platforms and Technologies from novice to advanced, presented by prominent Experts from Microsoft along with Key people in the Technical Community united together in this Unified event.

Innovation with Microsoft is going beyond imagination which is evident from the recent Technology happenings in the IT world and the sessions are designed in such a way, that provides more insight on the present Technology and shows the path towards the future.

The best part with this announcement is, You now have the list handy that shows whats in, and all  you need to do is to review and decide what Sessions you are planning to attend and try get the most out of it.

If you are not yet registered, you have the link for registration in the Official blog post to register for the event and experience the Technology.

*Follow @MS_Ignite for current updates.

I am eager to know more on this and will be joining the #IgniteJam and share some more information here. stay tuned...

Update: 

Microsoft Ignite team released the full list of sessions and many of the speakers for the Ignite event.

Access these below Posts to know more:

World’s largest SharePint? It will happen ‘all week’ at Microsoft Ignite!

Be the first to learn what’s next for Exchange and Office 365 at Microsoft Ignite - Full session list now available

ADFS & Dirsync Server and Service Availability Check Script !!!

Monitoring ADFS \ Dirsync Servers are essential for an Office 365 Environment and we have various Monitoring Tools in house and available through supported 3rd party vendors for Environment availability.

This is a simple PowerShell script that checks the ADFS\ADFS proxy, Dirsync Servers Availability by testing the connection via Test-Connection cmdlet (sends ICMP echo request packets ("pings") to one or more computers) and also it checks the critical services status using Get-Service cmdlet and cumulatively report us the status in a formatted HTML report via an automated E-mail as per the scheduled task we specify.

Also you can modify this script to specify the Names of any Windows Servers in your environment and specify the Services to be monitored inside for reporting according to your requirement at ease.

Below is the Quick preview of the results simulated for a server and service unavailability.

You can download the script from Microsoft Script Center here: ADFS & Dirsync Server and Service Availability Check Script

Getting started with PowerShell 4.0 - Jeffrey Hicks

PowerShell Guru Jeffrey Hicks MVP recently wrote a whitepaper for PowerShell Newbies to begin with PowerShell 4.0 basics and its available for free download from Veeam.com and this is a must one to have handy for every IT Pro who wants to learn and work with PowerShell.

Download the E-book here: PowerShell for newbies: Getting started with PowerShell 4.0

Additionally, You can register yourself to the new E-Learning Course from Jeff though WindowsITPro scheduled for Wednesday, November 12th and try to Enroll by today and SAVE 15%

Register here: Getting Started with PowerShell 4.0

*Refer my PowerShell Section in the blog  to access all other related resources available for further Learning. Happy Scripting...