Automate IT Tasks

Connect to a SQL Server you own this product

This project is part of the liveProject series Automate IT Tasks with PowerShell
prerequisites
basic PowerShell
skills learned
connect to SQL Server • secure secrets • use SendGrid to send emails • use HTML to format data
William Wade
1 week · 4-6 hours per week · BEGINNER

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team

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Look inside

As the star IT professional at RetroToy, an online retailer that sells replacement parts to toy and game hobbyists, you’ve been tapped by the IT director to resume work on a previously started project for generating reports from RetroToy’s e-commerce website and emailing them to the management team. Using PowerShell and existing SQL Code, you’ll connect to the site’s SQL Express Database and query data from it, and you’ll protect sensitive information using the SecretManagement and SecretStore modules. You’ll export data to a visually appealing, email-friendly format using CSS and HTML, then send the report in an email using SendGrid, a popular tool among PowerShell users.

This project is for Windows only.

This project is designed for learning purposes and is not a complete, production-ready application or solution.

book resources

When you start your liveProject, you get full access to the following books for 90 days.

project author

William Wade

William Wade is a freelance developer specializing in software automation. As the founder of Dirigo Software Solutions, he pursues his passion for helping businesses leverage technology to improve their productivity. He speaks to local IT user groups about PowerShell and automation.

prerequisites

This liveProject is for beginning IT professionals who are looking for ways to improve their PowerShell skills. To begin these liveProjects you’ll need to be familiar with the following:

TOOLS
  • Basic PowerShell
TECHNIQUES
  • Basic Windows IT administration (set up users, work with files, install software)

you will learn

In this liveProject, you’ll learn to work with SQL Server and PowerShell to gather information from a database and protect user privacy by securing sensitive data.

  • Set up and interact with SQL Express
  • Work with results from a database and format them
  • Use email from within PowerShell
  • Use various features of PowerShell to solve challenges

features

Self-paced
You choose the schedule and decide how much time to invest as you build your project.
Project roadmap
Each project is divided into several achievable steps.
Get Help
While within the liveProject platform, get help from other participants and our expert mentors.
Compare with others
For each step, compare your deliverable to the solutions by the author and other participants.
book resources
Get full access to select books for 90 days. Permanent access to excerpts from Manning products are also included, as well as references to other resources.

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team

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  • five seats for your team
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