It took a little over 6 and a half years since the last episode of The UC Architects podcast, but I was finally reunited with Steve Goodman. This time it was to join him and Paul Robichaux to record an episode of the Practical 365 podcast, and talk about the new Practical PowerShell series on Practical365.com.
Topics discussed in this episode are:
Microsoft Teams: Automatic Camera Switching, Multiple Views, and Improved Joining Options Elevate Teams Rooms Experiences
Microsoft Exchange: High Volume Email
Practical PowerShell series: Bridging the gap
I hope you enjoy the episode.
You can view the notes and listen to the episode here, or you can subscribe to the podcasts using Apple Podcasts, Spotify or look for it in your favorite podcast app.
When working on PowerShell scripts, there might come a point where a set of instructions is – in small or larger form – a repeat of code that occurs elsewhere in the script. Or it might be code you used in another script or sourced from other locations, and you want to incorporate it into your script to easily call the code.
In the second installment of the Practical PowerShell series, I will discuss how to leverage code’s reusability through functions and scripts.
Among the topics discussed are:
(Advanced) functions, including custom parameters, common parameters, and typing.
Adding helpful instructions so your script and functions become documenting.
“How do I start using scripting?” or “How do I turn this piece of code into a fully working script?” These are just some of the questions that reach me through mail or during events. Even after 17 years since its introduction with Exchange Server 2007, there is still a gap regarding PowerShell. Not all administrators are natural developers, despite Microsoft expecting them in some ways. Some may need more help in this area.
To address this need, I am starting a series of PowerShell-related articles on Practical 365. I will be covering skills needed when going from a piece of code or concept to a script with all major bells and whistles. I will also throw in best practices and the occasional tip. The series aims to help this target audience improve their skills using practical examples. Note that practical is the keyword here, as I am trying to start theoretical or aesthetic discussions on code layout or which style is better.
If you are looking for a way to automate and simplify your Microsoft 365 administration tasks, PowerShell is a great option. However, PowerShell scripting is not without its challenges. Not proactively maintaining code can quickly become an issue because of the changes made to dependencies such as modules, as well as the cmdlets you use.
In an article I wrote for Practical 365, related to the presentation of the same name held at the The Experts Conference 2023 in Atlanta this year, I discuss some of the challenges administrators might encounter with PowerShell scripts. Also, I provide some guidance and point out a few tools that can assist with rewriting or refactoring code, i.e., updating code while keeping its external functionality.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of presenting at the Microsoft Exchange Conference Community Technical Airlift 2022. I talked about the challenges that organizations are facing that use Exchange scripts in their work processes or run them scheduled unattended.
Some of the challenges I mentioned, apart from the upcoming demise of Basic Authentication, and resources to methodically assess and make the necessary changes, are:
Get your code more secure leveraging Certificate Based Authentication, especially for scheduled tasks.
Get current with the most recent version of the Exchange Online Management Module for PowerShell.
The same exercise with regards to AzureAD when using MSOnline or AzureAD modules, and the inevitable move to the PowerShell Graph SDK.
In the end I also quickly demonstrated how much easier and secure things can be when utilizing Azure Automation, which might especially appeal to organizations that want to totally get rid of any infrastructure for running jobs.
You can watch the presentation below. All sessions are you published on YouTube, and its playlist can be accessed at aka.ms/MEC2022.
The presentation as well as the deck and script used in the live demonstration can be retrieved from GitHub. The Analyse-ExoScript used in the demo can be found on GitHub as well, or look at the accompanying blog I wrote a while ago here.
Note that during MEC, it was announced that the next GA release of the Exchange Online Management module will be version 3. This jump is likely to prevent any confusion with earlier GA and preview releases. It was said the next GA release might be as early as next week, which should be good news for organizations who’s policy it is to not run Preview software in production environments.
If you have any questions, ask them in the comments or send me a message via the contact form.
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