In PowerShell V2, we added a bunch of computer management cmdlets:

PS >Get-Command -Noun Computer | Format-Table -Auto

CommandType Name                Definition
-———- —-                ———-
Cmdlet      Add-Computer        Add-Computer [-DomainName] [-Credent
Cmdlet      Checkpoint-Computer Checkpoint-Computer [-Description] [
Cmdlet      Remove-Computer     Remove-Computer [[-Credential]
Cmdlet      Restart-Computer    Restart-Computer [[-ComputerName] <String[]>]
Cmdlet      Restore-Computer    Restore-Computer [-RestorePoint] [-Ve
Cmdlet      Stop-Computer       Stop-Computer [[-ComputerName] <String[]>] [[

Astute followers of our CTP process might notice a missing entry in this list when compared to earlier builds: the Rename-Computer cmdlet.

During testing and additional validation, we realized two things:

• 1. The API used to rename computers is fairly “forgiving”
     If you specify an invalid computer name, the API often doesn’t reject it – but instead transforms it. For example, supplying a computer name that is too long will simply truncate the computer name and complete the operation. There’s nothing like losing a computer in your domain! Similarly, the API supports full Unicode input, while many applications break if the computer name is not the same as its NetBIOS name (which does not support full Unicode.)
• 2. Our implementation failed to detect some higher-level scenarios that the existing NetDom.exe command detects
     NetDom.exe is a tool that already lets you rename computers, and users might expect some degree of compatibility with the safety it ensures. For example: in the machine a CA server? In the middle of a DC promo? In the middle of a role change?

Since both netdom.exe and WMI (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa393056(VS.85).aspx) are easily accessible alternatives, we decided to remove the cmdlet rather than ship something that didn’t meet expectations.