What this book covers

Chapter 1, Introduction to PowerShell DSC, introduces you to PowerShell DSC and configuration management concepts. It covers the features included in DSC and briefly introduces the different DSC versions.

Chapter 2, DSC Architecture, covers all three phases of DSC in depth, the two different DSC deployment models, and the considerations to be made when deploying a Pull Server or using a push deployment.

Chapter 3, DSC Configuration Files, covers authoring the DSC configuration scripts and configuration data files from end to end. It also covers how to use them together effectively.

Chapter 4, DSC Resources, covers the DSC Resource syntax and file structure in both PowerShell v4 and v5. It shows how to find DSC Resources on the local system as well as using community and Microsoft-provided online resources.

Chapter 5, Pushing DSC Configurations, gives step-by-step instructions on how to push DSC configurations to remote target nodes. It also covers the extra steps the user must take to make push deployments work and discusses the pros and cons of using push deployments.

Chapter 6, Pulling DSC Configurations, gives step-by-step instructions on how to set up a DSC Pull Server and your environment to best utilize a pull-based deployment. It covers the pros and cons of using pull deployments in comparison to push deployments.

Chapter 7, Example Scenarios, covers the use of DSC in the real world and how to integrate DSC into not only new environments but also with legacy-style deployments. This chapter walks us through the thought processes of handling the changing requests and the requirements of different software deployments using DSC.