A learning guide to get you started with PowerShell DSC.About This Book* Create flexible and maintainable deployments using DSC configuration scripts that stand the test of time.* Explore the core architecture, concepts, and practices in depth.* Learning PowerShell DSC is a step-by-step guide that shows you how to start using and taking advantage of PowerShell DSC along with configuring and deploying applications.Who This Book Is ForIf you are a system administrator, developer, or engineer and are responsible for configuration management and automation, then this book is for you. IT professionals who wish to learn PowerShell Desired State Configuration for the efficient management, configuration, and deployment of systems will also find this book useful. What You Will Learn* Explore PowerShell Desired State Configuration and activities around it, including the need for configuration management and abstraction.* Create reusable DSC configurations and debug/ troubleshoot configuration files.* Learn about the PowerShell DSC architecture with the help of push-and-pull management and workflows.* Define DSC configuration scripts and data files and push DSC configuration files remotely and locally.* Validate DSC Pull Server install and register target nodes with a DSC Pull Server.* Learn about DSC Cross Platform and install PowerShell on Linux and macOS along with real-life DSC uses and different types of deployment.In DetailThe main goal of this book is to teach you to configure, deploy, and manage your system using the new features of PowerShell v5/v6 DSC.This book begins with the basics of PowerShell Desired State Configuration, covering its architecture and components. It familiarizes you with the set of Windows PowerShell language extensions and new Windows PowerShell commands that make up DSC. Then it helps you create DSC custom resources and work with DSC configurations with the help of practical examples. Finally, it describes how to deploy configuration data using PowerShell DSC. Throughout this book, we will be focusing on concepts such as building configurations with parameters, the local configuration manager, and testing and restoring configurations using PowerShell DSC.By the end of the book, you will be able to deploy a real-world application end-to-end and will be familiar enough with the powerful Desired State Configuration platform to achieve continuous delivery and efficiently and easily manage and deploy data for systems.Style and approachThe purpose of this book is to introduce readers to the powerful PowerShell Desired State Configuration platform to achieve continuous delivery, efficient management, and the easy deployment of data for systems.