'Monad'.

--Of all the new products that Microsoft has made available in beta release over the past year, Monad might be the least known. But this new interactive command line and scripting language is essential for those who want reduce the number of repetitive management steps in Windows systems.

"At last, to the relief of administrators and power users everywhere, the command line is truly becoming a first-class citizen in the world of Windows system management," remarks Andy Oakley, lead program manager at Microsoft and author of 'Monad' (O'Reilly).

As the first look at this powerful technology, Oakley's new book features more than 40 hands-on labs and scripts. Each activity is designed to familiarize users with key Monad concepts and features, or to showcase its flexibility and power. The purpose of this quick guide is to get readers using the technology as quickly as possible.

Oakley says "As soon as I became aware of Monad it immediately captured my attention as the toolset I'd been waiting for.'

Known formally as MS 14, Monad offers many innovative features in the field of system administration and management, designed to replace a host of Windows management tools with a single unified shell for Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows Vista. Built on the NET Framework, Monad provides a powerful infrastructure for the automation of a wide range of administrative tasks, from setting up automated build environments to managing 200 desktops in an organization.

'Monad is readily usable in its current state, and my book covers a number of different potential uses,'

'The book provides complete instructions for installing the Monad shell, a quick reference to syntax and grammar, along with standard Monad functions, and aliases. Other topics include: -Using and personalizing the interactive command shell Writing Monad scripts and automating recurring operations Monad toolkit and performing everyday tasks, from manipulating files to monitoring active processes "Each lab introduces a task, shows readers how to do it, and explains what happens when MSH runs the command or script used in the lab,' explains Oakley.

www.oreilly.com