The aim of this thesis was to study Windows PowerShell and use it to perform different management tasks on Windows Server 2012 operating system and Active Directory. PowerShell is a command-line shell and scripting environment developed by Microsoft. The main purpose of PowerShell is to enhance and automate the management capabilities of Windows operating systems and the applications that run on Windows.

The theoretical background of the thesis concentrated on Windows Server 2012 operating system, Active Directory, PowerShell and PowerShell ISE scripting environment. The sources for the thesis were gathered both from literary work and internet sources.

The practical section of the thesis was comprised of different management tasks performed on Windows Server 2012 operating system and Active Directory using PowerShell. The management tasks performed on Windows Server 2012 included installation and removal of roles, management of event logs, services and processes, and booting and rebooting of a server computer. The management tasks performed on Active Directory dealt with organizational units, security groups, computer accounts and user accounts.

All management tasks in the thesis were performed in a virtual environment. The virtual environment was implemented with VMware Player software. It consisted of two virtual machines, of which one acted as a server computer and the other one as a client computer. Windows Server 2012 operating system and Active Directory were installed on the server computer and Windows 8 operating system was installed on the client computer.

Results of this study revealed that it is efficient to manage Windows server and Active Directory with PowerShell. However, the true efficiency was achieved with scripts when working with large amount of manageable objects.