Next Level PowerShell for IT Automation
This course teaches advanced PowerShell techniques on examples of real-world IT problems, ensuring students gain practical, job-ready skills. No slides, lots of demos, even more hands-on exercises.
Course Goals
- Master PowerShell best practices for script design, testing, and publishing
- Work with REST APIs, .NET classes, and cloud services
- Build production-ready reusable scripts and modules
- Automate real-world IT tasks using PowerShell
Audience
System admins and anyone needing to automate IT processes with PowerShell.
Prerequisites
Completion of the Microsoft Official Curriculum AZ-040, or similar knowledge.
Course outline
Chapter 1: Scripting for Automation
- Writing robust scripts with parameters
- Using control of flow in scripts
- Understanding errors and error handling
- Logging best practices
Chapter 2: Testing & Validation
- Introduction to the Pester testing framework
- Writing unit tests for functions
- Using mocks to simulate environments
Chapter 3: Using .NET Classes
- Accessing static and instantiated .NET classes
- Enhancing scripts with .NET libraries
Chapter 4: Credential Management
- Handling SecureString and credential storage
- Using Azure Key Vault for secrets management
- Encrypting and decrypting data
Chapter 5: Using REST APIs
- Making API calls with Invoke-RestMethod
- Handling API authentication
- Parsing JSON responses effectively
Chapter 6: Best Practices & Optimization
- Using PSReadLine for script formatting
- Debugging scripts and modules
- Running PowerShell Best Practices Analyzer
- Optimizing performance
Chapter 7: Module Development & Publishing
- Writing custom modules and manifests
- Writing documentation for modules
- Publishing modules to a repository
