Richard Siddaway

Richard Siddaway is a technical architect for Serco in the UK, working on transformation projects in the Local Government and Commercial arena. With more than 20 years of experience in various aspects of IT, Richard specializes in the Microsoft environment at an architectural level—especially around Active Directory (AD), Exchange, SQL Server, and infrastructure optimization.

Much of his recent experience has involved Active Directory migrations and optimizations, which often include Exchange. Richard has hands-on administration experience and is involved in implementation activity in addition to filling architectural and design roles. He has extensive experience specifying, designing, and implementing high-availability solutions for a number of versions of the Windows platform, especially for Exchange and SQL Server.

Richard is always looking for the opportunity to automate a process, preferably with PowerShell. Richard founded and currently leads the UK PowerShell User Group. Microsoft has recognized his technical expertise and community activities by presenting a Microsoft Most Valued Professional award. Richard has presented to the Directory Experts Conference, at various events at Microsoft in the UK and Europe, and for other UK user groups. Richard has a number of articles and technical publications to his credit.

books by Richard Siddaway

PowerShell in Depth, Second Edition

  • October 2014
  • ISBN 9781617292187
  • 744 pages
  • printed in black & white

A Windows admin using PowerShell every day may not have the time to search the net every time he or she hits a snag. Wouldn't it be great to have a team of seasoned PowerShell experts ready to answer even the toughest questions? That's what you get with this book.

PowerShell in Depth, Second Edition is the go-to reference for administrators working with Windows PowerShell. Every major technique, technology, and tactic is carefully explained and demonstrated, providing a hands-on guide to almost everything an admin would do in the shell. Written by PowerShell MVPs Don Jones, Jeffrey Hicks, and Richard Siddaway, each valuable technique was developed and thoroughly tested, so you'll be able to consistently write production-quality, maintainable scripts while saving hours of time and effort.

PowerShell Deep Dives

  • July 2013
  • ISBN 9781617291319
  • 464 pages
  • printed in black & white

PowerShell Deep Dives is a trove of essential techniques and practical guidance. It is rich with insights from experts who won them through years of experience. The book's 28 chapters, grouped in four parts (Administration, Scripting, Development, and Platforms), were hand-picked by four section editors: Jeffery Hicks, Richard Siddaway, Oisín Grehan, and Aleksandar Nikolić.

Whether you're just getting started with PowerShell or you already use it daily, you'll find yourself returning to this book over and over.

Learn Active Directory Management in a Month of Lunches

  • March 2014
  • ISBN 9781617291197
  • 400 pages
  • printed in black & white

At the heart of your Windows network is Active Directory, the control center for administration, security, and other core management functions. If you're new to Active Directory administration -- or if you find yourself unexpectedly thrust into that role -- you'll need to get up to speed fast.

Learn Active Directory Management in a Month of Lunches is a hands-on tutorial designed for IT pros new to Active Directory. Without assuming previous administration experience, the book starts by walking you through the most important day-to-day system management tasks. You'll learn how to administer AD both from the GUI tools built into Windows and by using PowerShell at the command line. Along the way, you'll touch on best practices for managing user access, setting group policies, automating backups, and more.

PowerShell in Depth

  • February 2013
  • ISBN 9781617290558
  • 632 pages
  • printed in black & white

Organized into 40 concise chapters, PowerShell in Depth is the go-to reference for administrators working with Windows PowerShell. Every major shell technique, technology, and tactic is explained and demonstrated, providing a comprehensive reference to almost everything an admin would do in the shell. Written by three experienced authors and PowerShell MVPs, this is the PowerShell book you'll keep next to your monitor--not on your bookshelf!

This book requires basic familiarity with PowerShell.

PowerShell and WMI

  • April 2012
  • ISBN 9781617290114
  • 552 pages
  • printed in black & white

PowerShell and WMI is an industrial-strength guide for administrators of Windows networks, servers, and desktops. You'll start with practical overviews of PowerShell and of WMI. Then you'll explore 150 specific examples — all with ready-to-use scripts — designed to simplify your day-to-day system management. Each tested technique is configured to load as part of a PowerShell module.

A set of handy appendixes includes references for PowerShell and WMI.