>>>Hi All,
>>>
>>>Is there a way to add users and/or remove users from Windows user groups via a script or similar? I need to be able to effciently add/disable/remove user accounts via a web interface we want to build and not manually do this as we are now via the Windows Server -> Computer Management -> Local Users and Groups -> Users dialog.
>>>
>>>This is running on a plain vanilla Windows 2008 R2 Server.
>>
>>Server 2008 and later offer a so-called "core" installation, which does not include a graphical UI. PowerShell and scripts are used to manage those servers.
>>
>>PowerShell can also be used in that fashion with "normal" server installations that have a GUI. You can Google [powershell add user accounts], [powershell maintain user accounts] etc. for some ideas.
>
>Al, thanks. Forgive my ignorance with these matters - would the Windows 2008 server automatically be installed with Active Directory? It is a stand-alone server with a website and terminal services running. It is not a network server. Is AD just a part of Windows 2008 Server used to manage user accounts?
Hmm, it depends. The main question would be if the server is part of a domain. If so, AD may have been installed:
- so it can act as a backup domain controller (BDC)
- to ease management of TS user accounts
I haven't worked a lot with Server 2008, and the systems I've seen have all had it installed - they've been domain members.
Regardless, it should still be possible to use PowerShell even if AD is not present - you'd be working against local accounts, rather than AD domain accounts.
Regards. Al
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