Windows Management Framework 3.0 Community Technology Preview (CTP) 1 is here

Have you tried PowerShell vNext included as a part of Windows 8 client and server developer preview? Don’t have a Windows 8 system to look at it just yet?

Don’t worry! Microsoft [just announced the release][1]  of Windows Management Framework 3.0 CTP1 build. This includes PowerShell vNext. This package also contains updated WMI and WinRM components. This release can be installed on Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1. The below list — from the release page — shows some of the improvements or additions to PowerShell in this release.

Windows PowerShell 3.0

Some of the new features in Windows PowerShell 3.0 include:

• Workflows

  Workflows that run long-running activities (in sequence or in parallel) to perform complex, larger management tasks, such as multi-machine application provisioning. Using the Windows Workflow Foundation at the command line, Windows PowerShell workflows are repeatable, parallelizable, interruptible, and recoverable.

• Robust Sessions

  Robust sessions that automatically recover from network failures and interruptions and allow you to disconnect from the session, shut down the computer, and reconnect from a different computer without interrupting the task.

• Scheduled Jobs

  Scheduled jobs that run regularly or in response to an event.

• Delegated Administration

  Commands that can be executed with a delegated set of credentials so users with limited permissions can run critical jobs

• Simplified Language Syntax

  Simplified language syntax that make commands and scripts look a lot less like code and a lot more like natural language.

• Cmdlet Discovery

  Improved cmdlet discovery and automatic module loading that make it easier to find and run any of the cmdlets installed on your computer.

• Show-Command

  Show-Command, a cmdlet and ISE Add-On that helps users find the right cmdlet, view its parameters in a dialog box, and run it.