Summary: Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, talks about Windows PowerShell DSC Resource Kit Wave 9.
Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, is here. If you have been keeping up on Facebook, Twitter, and all of your favorite blog RSS feeds, you already know that the Windows PowerShell team shipped another update to the Desired State Configuration (DSC) Resource Kit in mid-December 2014. If you don't know this, well, here is your official notice: Dude (or dudette), they shipped another release!
DSC Resource Kit Wave 9 available from the Script Center Script Repository. It contains numerous updates and several new providers. This is absolutely incredible—well, maybe not exactly incredible, but it is definitely a good deal. The Windows PowerShell Blog has a post that makes the announcement, along with a handy dandy table showing resource updates for the modules. Check it out: Another Holiday Present from the PowerShell Team - DSC Reskit Wave 9.
Download and install the DSC Resource Kit
There are several ways that you can download and install the DSC Resource Kit. One way is to simply go to the Script Center Script Repository and search on the words DSC Resource Kit.The first result is the DSC Resource Kit (All Modules) link. It contains a ZIP file that you download to a folder. I call my folder DSC_ResourceKit. Here is a screenshot of the page:
The DSC Resource Kit (All Modules) page lists the modules and the resources that each module provides. I generally download the ZIP file that contains all of the modules, but one does not need to do that. Each module is downloadable individually, and this may be a more efficient solution if bandwidth is a concern. After I have the ZIP file, I open it and copy all of the contained modules.
Note I copy all of the subfolders in the AllResources folder in the ZIP file, but not the AllResources folder.
The subfolders are shown here:
After I have copied all of the modules, I paste them into my Program Files/Windows PowerShell/Modulesfolder. All I do is copy everything from the ZIP file I downloaded, and I paste it into the Modules folder. If a prompt reminds me that the folder already exists, I say “Sure, go ahead and overwrite the existing folder.” In this way, I know that everything is updated. Works great. Here is a screenshot of my Modules folder:
The next thing I do is copy the modules to the same location on my servers, and voila! I am done and ready to begin using the new DSC resources.
Note The xSafeHarbor module requires Windows PowerShell 5.0. Therefore an error appears if you load all of the modules and you do not have Windows PowerShell 5.0 installed. You can change the module manifest xSafeHarbor.psd1 to permit loading the module so you can look at it, or you can simply delete it from your Modulesfolder.
That is all there is to using the DSC ResKit Wave 9 release. DSC Week will continue tomorrow when I will talk about more cool DSC stuff.
I invite you to follow me on Twitter and Facebook. If you have any questions, send email to me at scripter@microsoft.com, or post your questions on the Official Scripting Guys Forum. See you tomorrow. Until then, peace.
Ed Wilson, Microsoft Scripting Guy