ADSI Scripting: TFM

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 321 pages
• Published by: SAPIEN Press
• Edition: 1st Edition February 28, 2007
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0977659712
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0977659715
• Book Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 5.6 ounces

Product Description
Active Directory Services Interface (ADSI) has long been one of the most complex and mysterious aspects of automating Windows administration with VBScript and the Windows Script Host. In ADSI Scripting: TFM, Cade Fassett breaks down ADSI scripting, exposing its complete functionality with plenty of real-world examples, incredibly detailed reference information, and comprehensive coverage of both the WinNT and LDAP ADSI providers. Readers who are familiar with VBScript and WSH will take their scripting skills to new levels as they learn to more thoroughly automate a variety of administrative tasks related to Active Directory, local computer security accounts, local computer resources, and much more. Included is a unique, exclusive cross-reference between the Active Directory Users & Computers graphical user interface elements and the underlying Acitve Directory schema attributes, making it easier than ever before to script nearly any aspect of various Active Directory objects. If you've been lookig to make ADSI scripting a bigger part of your administrative toolkit, ADSI Scripting: TFM is the book for you.

About The Author
Cade Fassett is the president and founder of Everest Digital, LLC (www.everestdigital.com), an IT consulting and training firm servicing clients worldwide. He has several years of experience in the IT industry, as well as a degree in Economics, both of which he employs to help his clients use technology to solve real business issues. He specializes in overcoming challenges such as improving the effectiveness of corporate IT departments, reducing training time and cost for new employees, and improving collaboration across the enterprise.

Reader Reviews
By the end of 2006 (publishing year for this title), any administrator who wanted to add ADSI in their scripting repertoire had over 50 titles to choose from (and more now); any new comer writing on this topic needs to either bring something fresh and new to the learning experience, or find a way to give the reader as complete of a post-initial read reference as possible for a cookbook or a methodology primer. This title does neither. Don't misunderstand me, there is a lot of useful information on ADSI scripting for those who are completely unfamiliar with it, and I suspect that if you're only goal is to automate a few user / computer / service routines, this book will meet your needs. The title starts off with a quick 18 page "learn by example" primer on how to connect to both the WinNT and LDAP ADSI providers in VBScript (nothing on NDS, NWCOMPAT, or IIS providers) and general AD searching using ADO. From there, you are given 46 pages of "recipe" scripts, which do a good job of covering the administrative basics for user, computer, printer, service, group, and OU objects. Chapter 4, the longest in the book at 76 pages, is an AD object GUI to ADSI property map, consisting of page after page of screen shots and labels. The last two true chapters attempt to provide a reference for the methods and properties of the WinNT and LDAP object types, making it useful for administrators who want to go beyond the provided recipe scripts and create their own. What really disappointed me was not only how much of this was freely available elsewhere, but how major topics that could have provided the reader with the tools to really learn ADSI were not even addressed. For instance, the free on-line Microsoft Windows 2000 Scripting Guide provides the same how-to overview as the first few chapters; the same guide also provides as many recipe scripts to demonstrate the how-to's. This book never even mentions (that I could find) the free Microsoft ADSI Script-O-Matic tool that will generate an example script for every object and class available to your computer. Although the GUI to AD Property reference is nice, again you can find similar references on-line, and no where (that I could find) was a reference to the ADSI Edit tools that let you see every single property available to all objects / classes mentioned. The last chapter is little more than a table of ADSI error codes, again, available on the web. As a side note, possibly to make the it appear bigger, the book has the most stretched-out index I've ever seen. It totals 54 pages of single column, 1.5 line-space text, which might not seem like much, but in a book that is only 297 pages long, that's just about one sixth of the entire text. Again, as a beginner's resource, its easier to read and understand than many of the older ADSI titles, but falls way short of being your last purchase on the topic. If you're not familiar with VBScripting or COM object use within scripts, you will need to learn those first. With so much of the information bringing little more than what is often freely available, it almost doesn't make sense to start here. A plus, however, is that the book is small enough to be easily traveled with, making it a good reminder / portable resource.