I recommend Windows PowerShell In Action.
I also hear there's a book on managing VMware with PowerShell that's coming out at some point.
I for this to be a lame "me too" post but yeah, I third Bruce Payette's book, it's great. I haven't read the two others that bsonposh mentions but they come well recommended from what I've heard.
Hal Rottenberg
Co-Host, PowerScripting Podcast (http://powerscripting.net)
VMware is the king when it comes to virtualization. Windows PowerShell has gotten huge accolades as an extremely powerful tool for automation of IT tasks. These two technologies make a lot of sense together, and VMware is now making that happen with the release of their VI Toolkit for Windows. In "Managing VMware Infrastructure with PowerShell", you will learn how to perform everything from simple ad-hoc reporting at the command-line ("are any of my virtual machines powered off?") to complex scripts to automate a a massive deployment of hundreds of virtual machines. Simple, yet powerful; concise, yet robust; you will enjoy using this new language to solve your old problems using less code than you thought possible. If you are a system administrator responsible for managing a VMware Virtual Infrastructure (version 2.0 or above), or a standalone ESX Server (version 3.0 or above), then you need this book. Aimed at scripters of every level, the book starts off with a PowerShell primer and continues well into the internals of virtualization on the VMware platform.
More PowerShell Goodness: The SAPIEN Blog includes a complete section on Windows PowerShell news and tips, and the SAPIEN Knowledge Base has a growing list of PowerShell-related articles. You may also enjoy , which offers discussions, training, and free resources for administrative scripting - including Windows PowerShell.
Regards,
Re: "coming soon", I'm looking at a summer release or thereabouts. My first book, don't start holding your breath yet.
Hal Rottenberg
Co-Host, PowerScripting Podcast (http://powerscripting.net)
Thanks all for the book and resource suggestions.
Hal, good luck with the book.
Bought both Powershell in Action and Windows Powershell Cookbook from Amazon used book sellers for $20 shipped. I think I'll keep these rather then expensing them to my employer.