TOPIC

Active Directory Module Overview

SHORT DESCRIPTION
The Active Directory module is a command line interface for managing
Active Directory.
LONG DESCRIPTION
The Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell is for IT
Professionals who are administering and interfacing with Active
Directory. The Active Directory module provides an efficient way to
complete many administrative, configuration, and diagnostic tasks across
Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) and Active Directory
Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) instances in their environments.
The Active Directory module includes a set of Windows PowerShell cmdlets
and a provider. The provider exposes the Active Directory database
through a hierarchical navigation system, which is very similar to the
file system. As with drives in a file system, such as C:, you can
connect Windows PowerShell drives to Active Directory domains and AD
LDS, as well as Active Directory snapshots.
Coverage of Active Directory Module Cmdlets
Create, Read, Update, and Delete actions are supported for Active
Directory objects by cmdlets such as New-ADUser,
Get-ADOrganizationalUnit, Set-ADComputer, and Remove-ADUser.
Account and Password Policy Management are supported by cmdlets such as
Enable-ADAccount, Unlock-ADAccount, New-ADServiceAccount,
Set-ADAccountControl, and Remove-ADFineGrainedPasswordPolicy.
Domain and Forest Management is supported by cmdlets such as
Get-ADForest, Set-ADForest, Set-ADForestMode, Enable-ADOptionalFeature,
Get-ADDomainController, and Get-ADDomain.
Listing the Active Directory Module Cmdlets
To get a list of all of the Active Directory module cmdlets, see
get-command -module ActiveDirectory.
Getting Started
Getting started with the Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell
is as easy as clicking the following shortcut:
Start -> Administrative Tools ->
Active Directory Module for Windows PowerShell
This shortcut opens Windows PowerShell with the Active Directory module
preloaded. Additionally, you can type the following command in any
Windows PowerShell prompt to import the Active Directory module:
import-module ActiveDirectory
Overview and Conceptual Topics
The first two of these topics offer a high level overview of the Active
Directory module and the Active Directory Provider.
For a brief introduction to the Active Directory provider for Windows

PowerShell, see ActiveDirectory.

The following topics are conceptual support topics for the Active
Directory module cmdlets.
For an introduction to the -Identity parameter, which is used by the
Active Directory module cmdlets to identify objects in the directory,
see about_ActiveDirectory_Identity.
For an introduction to the -Filter parameter which is used by Active
Directory module cmdlets to search for objects in the directory, see
about_ActiveDirectory_Filter.
For an introduction to the .NET Framework-based object model implemented
by the Active Directory module, see about_ActiveDirectory_ObjectModel.
SEE ALSO
ActiveDirectory
about_ActiveDirectory_Filter
about_ActiveDirectory_Identity
about_ActiveDirectory_ObjectModel