Distribution on Janik von Rotz

The Beauty of pacman -Syu

Wed, 13 May 2026 08:02:20 +0200

I use arch btw and Arch is the best are obnoxious ways to tell somebody that you are using the Arch Linux distribution on your computer. Arch users also claim that their distro is superior to other distros. Sure, they’re just silly memes - but, they’re the reason I even looked into Arch in the first place.

It led me to install Arch on my Tuxedo InfinityBook (which btw is the best laptop I ever had). Formatting the disk and setting up a UEFI boot partition was the most intimidating part of the process. But there are many good guides that cover this in detail without going too much into details.

Once I was able to boot into Arch, setting up my work environment was fairly easy. I have my dotfiles project that does kind of everything. Installing new software, restoring data from backups, symlinking configuration files and setting up the window manager.

So how is Arch superior to other distributions? you may ask. To me, the answer is simple, it is sudo pacman -Syu. This command updates all packages installed with Arch, including the Linux kernel itself. In Arch everything is a package. As long as you install everything with pacman, you do not have to worry about missing updates for your system.

This is what the process looks like in action:

[~]$ sudo pacman -Syu
:: Synchronizing package databases...
 core                                                                                  126.9 KiB   599 KiB/s 00:00 [#####################################################################] 100%
 extra                                                                                   8.2 MiB  15.5 MiB/s 00:01 [#####################################################################] 100%
:: Starting full system upgrade...
:: Replace geocode-glib-2 with extra/geocode-glib? [Y/n] y
resolving dependencies...
looking for conflicting packages...
:: geocode-glib-3.26.4-6 and geocode-glib-common-3.26.4-5 are in conflict. Remove geocode-glib-common? [y/N] y

Packages (449) accountsservice-26.13.3-1  acl-2.3.2-2  alsa-card-profiles-1:1.6.4-1  android-udev-20260423-1  apache-2.4.67-1  aquamarine-0.11.0-2  archlinux-keyring-20260420-1
               at-spi2-core-2.60.3-1  atkmm-2.28.4-2  attr-2.5.2-2  babl-0.1.126-1  binutils-2.46+r70+g155188ea10a7-1  bluez-5.86-6  bluez-libs-5.86-6  bluez-obex-5.86-6  bluez-utils-5.86-6
               boost-libs-1.91.0-1  botan-3.12.0-1  breeze-icons-6.26.0-1  brltty-6.9.1-1  btop-1.4.7-1  bubblewrap-0.11.2-1  ca-certificates-mozilla-3.123.1-1  calibre-8.7.0-11
               cfitsio-1:4.6.4-1  chromium-148.0.7778.96-1  clang-22.1.5-1  compiler-rt-22.1.5-1  containerd-2.3.0-1  coreutils-9.11-1  cpio-2.15-3  cups-2:2.4.19-1  curl-8.20.0-6
               debugedit-5.3-1  decibels-49.6.1-1  device-mapper-2.03.40-1  dkms-3.4.1-1  docker-1:29.4.3-1  docker-compose-5.1.3-1  editorconfig-core-c-0.12.11-1  efibootmgr-18-4
               efivar-39-2  electron39-39.8.10-1  electron41-41.5.1-1  element-desktop-1.12.15-2  element-web-1.12.15-2  elfutils-0.195-1  epiphany-50.4-2  evolution-data-server-3.60.1-3
               expat-2.8.1-1  faac-1.50-1  fastfetch-2.62.1-1  fd-10.4.2-2  ffmpeg-2:8.1.1-1  fftw-3.3.11-1  file-5.47-3  firefox-150.0.2-1  fish-4.7.1-1  flatpak-1:1.16.6-1  flex-2.6.4-6
               fluidsynth-2.5.4-1  freerdp-2:3.26.0-1  freetds-1.5.17-1  gcc-16.1.1+r12+g301eb08fa2c5-1  gcc-libs-16.1.1+r12+g301eb08fa2c5-1  gdb-17.2-1  gdb-common-17.2-1  gdm-50.0-2
               geoclue-2.8.1-1  geocode-glib-3.26.4-6  geocode-glib-2-3.26.4-5 [removal]  geocode-glib-common-3.26.4-5 [removal]  giflib-6.1.3-1  gimp-3.2.4-1  git-2.54.0-1
               github-cli-2.92.0-1  glib2-2.88.1-1  glibc-2.43+r22+g8362e8ce10b2-2  gmic-3.7.5-1  gnome-bluetooth-3.0-47.2-1  gnome-calendar-50.0-2  gnome-control-center-50.1-1
               gnome-keybindings-50.1-1  gnome-maps-50.1-1  gnome-online-accounts-3.58.1-1  gnome-remote-desktop-50.1-1  gnome-settings-daemon-50.1-1  gnome-shell-1:50.1-2
               gnome-shell-extensions-50.1-1  gnome-software-50.1-1  gnome-text-editor-50.1-1  gnutls-3.8.13-2  gsettings-desktop-schemas-50.1-1  gsettings-system-schemas-50.1-1
               gst-devtools-libs-1.28.3-1  gst-editing-services-1.28.3-1  gst-plugin-gtk-1.28.3-1  gst-plugin-gtk4-0.15.2-1  gst-plugin-pipewire-1:1.6.4-1  gst-plugins-bad-1.28.3-1
               gst-plugins-bad-libs-1.28.3-1  gst-plugins-base-1.28.3-1  gst-plugins-base-libs-1.28.3-1  gst-plugins-good-1.28.3-1  gst-python-1.28.3-1  gstreamer-1.28.3-1
               gtk-update-icon-cache-1:4.22.4-1  gtk4-1:4.22.4-1  harfbuzz-14.2.0-1  harfbuzz-icu-14.2.0-1  haskell-aeson-2.2.2.0-4  haskell-ansi-terminal-1.1-42
               haskell-ansi-terminal-types-1.1-42  haskell-base-orphans-0.9.3-127  haskell-bifunctors-5.6.3-17  haskell-character-ps-0.1-1  haskell-colour-2.3.7-8  haskell-comonad-5.0.10-5
               haskell-data-fix-0.3.4-184  haskell-diff-0.5-55  haskell-distributive-0.6.2.1-467  haskell-dlist-1.0-421  haskell-fgl-5.8.3.0-121  haskell-foldable1-classes-compat-0.1.3-4
               haskell-generically-0.1.1-109  haskell-hashable-1.4.7.0-62  haskell-indexed-traversable-0.1.4-195  haskell-indexed-traversable-instances-0.1.2.1-8
               haskell-integer-conversion-0.1.1-75  haskell-integer-logarithms-1.0.4-185  haskell-network-uri-2.6.4.2-155  haskell-onetuple-0.4.2.1-16
               haskell-optparse-applicative-0.18.1.0-334  haskell-os-string-2.0.10-28  haskell-prettyprinter-1.7.1-402  haskell-prettyprinter-ansi-terminal-1.1.3-543
               haskell-primitive-0.9.1.0-154  haskell-quickcheck-2.15.0.1-154  haskell-random-1.2.1.3-240  haskell-regex-tdfa-1.3.2.5-49  haskell-scientific-0.3.8.1-46
               haskell-semialign-1.3.1.1-2  haskell-semigroupoids-6.0.2-23  haskell-splitmix-0.1.3-49  haskell-strict-0.5.1-77  haskell-tasty-1.5.2-144  haskell-text-iso8601-0.1.1.1-6
               haskell-text-short-0.1.6.1-20  haskell-th-compat-0.1.7-18  haskell-these-1.2.1-287  haskell-time-compat-1.9.9-38  haskell-unordered-containers-0.2.20.1-69
               haskell-uuid-types-1.0.6-297  haskell-vector-0.13.2.0-421  haskell-witherable-0.4.2-252  helm-4.1.4-1  highway-1.4.0-1  hugo-0.161.1-1  hunspell-1.7.3-1  hwdata-0.407-1
               hyprcursor-0.1.13-6  hyprgraphics-0.5.1-2  hyprland-0.55.0-4  hyprland-guiutils-0.2.1-5  hyprland-qt-support-0.1.0-12  hyprlang-0.6.8-4  hyprpaper-0.8.4-1  hyprtoolkit-0.5.4-1
               hyprutils-0.13.1-1  hyprwayland-scanner-0.4.6-1  hyprwire-0.3.1-2  iana-etc-20260425-1  ibus-1.5.34-1  ijs-0.35-7  imagemagick-7.1.2.22-1  imath-3.2.2-5  inetutils-2.8-1
               iproute2-7.0.0-1  iptables-1:1.8.13-1  jbig2dec-0.20-2  jdk-openjdk-26.0.1.u8-1  jemalloc-1:5.3.1-2  jq-1.8.1-3  js140-140.10.2-1  jujutsu-0.41.0-1  jxrlib-1.3.2-1
               karchive-6.26.0-1  kauth-6.26.0-1  kbookmarks-6.26.0-1  kcmutils-6.26.0-1  kcodecs-6.26.0-1  kcolorscheme-6.26.0-1  kcompletion-6.26.0-1  kconfig-6.26.0-1
               kconfigwidgets-6.26.0-1  kcoreaddons-6.26.0-1  kcrash-6.26.0-1  kdbusaddons-6.26.0-1  kdsingleapplication-1.2.1-1  keepassxc-2.7.12-3  keyutils-1.6.3-4  kglobalaccel-6.26.0-1
               kguiaddons-6.26.0-1  ki18n-6.26.0-1  kiconthemes-6.26.0-1  kio-6.26.0-1  kirigami-6.26.0-1  kitemviews-6.26.0-1  kjobwidgets-6.26.0-1  knotifications-6.26.0-1
               kservice-6.26.0-1  kwallet-6.26.0-1  kwidgetsaddons-6.26.0-1  kwindowsystem-6.26.0-1  kxmlgui-6.26.0-1  lazygit-0.61.1-1  lcms2-2.19.1-1  ldb-2:4.24.1-1  leancrypto-1.7.2-1
               libarchive-3.8.7-1  libasan-16.1.1+r12+g301eb08fa2c5-1  libass-0.17.4-2  libatomic-16.1.1+r12+g301eb08fa2c5-1  libblockdev-3.5.0-1  libblockdev-crypto-3.5.0-1
               libblockdev-fs-3.5.0-1  libblockdev-loop-3.5.0-1  libblockdev-mdraid-3.5.0-1  libblockdev-nvme-3.5.0-1  libblockdev-part-3.5.0-1  libblockdev-smart-3.5.0-1
               libblockdev-swap-3.5.0-1  libbpf-1.7.0-1  libcap-2.78-1  libcap-ng-0.9.3-1  libcbor-0.14.0-1  libcmis-0.6.2-9  libcue-2.3.0-2  libcups-2:2.4.19-1  libdrm-2.4.133-1
               libedataserverui4-3.60.1-3  libelf-0.195-1  libexif-0.6.26-1  libexttextcat-3.4.7-2  libfdk-aac-2.0.3-2  libfido2-1.17.0-1  libgcc-16.1.1+r12+g301eb08fa2c5-1
               libgcrypt-1.12.2-1  libgdm-50.0-2  libgfortran-16.1.1+r12+g301eb08fa2c5-1  libgit2-1:1.9.3-1  libgoa-3.58.1-1  libgomp-16.1.1+r12+g301eb08fa2c5-1  libgpg-error-1.61-1
               libgsf-1.14.58-1  libibus-1.5.34-1  libical-4.0.0-2  libimagequant-4.4.1-2  libixion-0.20.0-7  liblsan-16.1.1+r12+g301eb08fa2c5-1  libmalcontent-0.14.0-4  libmd-1.2.0-1
               libmpc-1.4.1-1  libmysofa-1.3.4-1  libnautilus-extension-50.1-1  libnetfilter_conntrack-1.1.1-1  libnghttp2-1.69.0-1  libngtcp2-1.22.1-1  libobjc-16.1.1+r12+g301eb08fa2c5-1
               liborcus-0.21.0-6  libpgm-5.3.128-4  libphonenumber-1:9.0.30-1  libpipewire-1:1.6.4-1  libpng-1.6.58-1  libquadmath-16.1.1+r12+g301eb08fa2c5-1  libraqm-0.10.5-1
               libreoffice-fresh-26.2.3-2  libshumate-1.6.1-1  libsodium-1.0.22-1  libstdc++-16.1.1+r12+g301eb08fa2c5-1  libsysprof-capture-50.0-2  libtool-2.6.0+r23+gb08cb0a0-1
               libtsan-16.1.1+r12+g301eb08fa2c5-1  libubsan-16.1.1+r12+g301eb08fa2c5-1  libunibreak-7.0-1  libunrar-1:7.2.6-1  libverto-0.3.2-6  libwbclient-2:4.24.1-1  libwslay-1.1.1-7
               libxaw-1.0.16-2  libxdmcp-1.1.5-2  libxml2-2.15.3-1  libxmlb-0.3.26-1  libxpm-3.5.19-1  linux-7.0.5.arch1-1  linux-firmware-20260410-1  linux-firmware-amdgpu-20260410-1
               linux-firmware-atheros-20260410-1  linux-firmware-broadcom-20260410-1  linux-firmware-cirrus-20260410-1  linux-firmware-intel-20260410-1  linux-firmware-mediatek-20260410-1
               linux-firmware-nvidia-20260410-1  linux-firmware-other-20260410-1  linux-firmware-radeon-20260410-1  linux-firmware-realtek-20260410-1  linux-firmware-whence-20260410-1
               lld-22.1.5-3  llvm-22.1.5-1  llvm-libs-22.1.5-1  localsearch-3.11.1-1  make-4.4.1-3  malcontent-0.14.0-4  md4c-0.5.3-1  mdadm-4.6-2  mercurial-7.2.2-1  mesa-1:26.0.6-1
               meson-1.11.1-1  mkinitcpio-41-3  mpg123-1.33.5-1  mutter-50.1-1  nautilus-50.1-1  nettle-4.0-1  nextcloud-client-2:33.0.4-1  node-gyp-12.3.0-1  nodejs-26.1.0-2  npm-11.14.1-1
               nspr-4.39-1  nss-3.123.1-1  oath-toolkit-2.6.14-3  obsidian-1.12.7-2  onetbb-2023.0.0-1  openal-1.25.2-1  opencv-4.13.0-6  openexr-3.4.11-1  openjph-0.27.2-1  openmp-22.1.5-1
               openssl-3.6.2-2  openxr-1.1.59.1-1  orca-50.1.2-1  pacman-7.1.0.r9.g54d9411-2  pangomm-2.46.4-2  parted-3.7-1  perl-5.42.2-1  pipewire-1:1.6.4-1  pipewire-audio-1:1.6.4-1
               pipewire-pulse-1:1.6.4-1  pipewire-session-manager-1:1.6.4-1  plasma-thunderbolt-6.6.5-1  podofo-0.10.6-1  polkit-qt6-0.201.1-1  poppler-26.05.0-1  poppler-glib-26.05.0-1
               psmisc-23.7-2  pulse-native-provider-1:1.6.4-1  python-3.14.4-1  python-apsw-3.53.1.0-1  python-brltty-6.9.1-1  python-certifi-2026.04.22-1  python-click-8.3.3-1
               python-cryptography-48.0.0-1  python-filelock-3.29.0-1  python-gevent-26.4.0-1  python-gobject-3.56.3-1  python-greenlet-3.5.0-1  python-idna-3.14-1  python-lxml-6.1.0-1
               python-mako-1.3.11-1  python-more-itertools-11.0.2-1  python-packaging-26.2-1  python-pip-26.1.1-1  python-pipx-1.12.0-1  python-platformdirs-4.9.6-1  python-psycopg2-2.9.12-1
               python-pycryptodomex-3.23.0-3  python-pyopenssl-26.2.0-1  python-pypdf-6.11.0-1  python-regex-2026.5.9-1  python-requests-2.34.0-1  python-tests-3.14.4-1
               python-urllib3-2.7.0-1  python-wheel-0.47.0-1  python-xxhash-3.7.0-1  python-zope-event-6.2-1  python-zope-interface-8.4-1  qca-qt6-2.3.10-6  qt6-base-6.11.0-4
               qt6-declarative-6.11.0-4  qt6-webengine-6.11.0-6  qtkeychain-qt6-0.16.0-1  rasqal-1:0.9.33-8  redland-1:1.0.17-10  rpi-imager-2.0.8-1  rsync-3.4.2-1  rtmpdump-1:2.6-2
               rust-1:1.95.0-1  sbcl-2.6.4-1  sdl2-compat-2.32.68-1  sdl3-3.4.8-1  sed-4.10-1  semver-7.8.0-1  shellcheck-0.11.0-104  signal-desktop-8.9.1-2  simdjson-1:4.6.4-1
               slurp-1.5.0-2  smbclient-2:4.24.1-1  solid-6.26.0-1  source-highlight-3.1.9-18  sqlite-3.53.1-1  srt-1.5.5-1  sushi-50.0-1  svt-hevc-1.5.1-4  systemd-260.1-2
               systemd-libs-260.1-2  systemd-sysvcompat-260.1-2  taglib-2.3-1  tesseract-data-afr-2:4.1.0-5  tesseract-data-osd-2:4.1.0-5  texinfo-7.3-1  thunar-4.20.8-3
               thunderbird-150.0.1-2  tinysparql-3.11.1-1  tomlplusplus-3.4.0-2  totem-pl-parser-3.26.7-1  tzdata-2026b-1  vapoursynth-75-2  verdict-1.4.5-2  vim-9.2.0450-1
               vim-runtime-9.2.0450-1  vulkan-mesa-implicit-layers-1:26.0.6-1  vulkan-radeon-1:26.0.6-1  wasi-libc-1:0+592+161b3195-1  wayland-1.25.0-1  webkit2gtk-4.1-2.52.3-1
               webkitgtk-6.0-2.52.3-1  weston-15.0.1-1  wget-1.25.0-4  xdg-desktop-portal-1.20.4-1  xdg-user-dirs-0.20-1  xmlsec-1.3.11-1  xorg-fonts-encodings-1.1.0-2  xorg-server-21.1.22-2
               xorg-server-common-21.1.22-2  xorg-server-xvfb-21.1.22-2  xorg-xwayland-24.1.11-2  yelp-49.1-1  zed-1.1.7-2  zip-3.0-13  zsh-5.9-6

Total Download Size:   2940.06 MiB
Total Installed Size:  9253.96 MiB
Net Upgrade Size:       279.40 MiB

:: Proceed with installation? [Y/n] y
:: Retrieving packages...
 jdk-openjdk-26.0.1.u8-1-x86_64                                                         18.8 MiB  3.02 MiB/s 02:05 [##-------------------------------------------------------------------]   4%
 libreoffice-fresh-26.2.3-2-x86_64                                                      81.5 MiB  11.4 MiB/s 00:05 [#####################################--------------------------------]  55%
 linux-7.0.5.arch1-1-x86_64                                                             49.2 MiB  5.86 MiB/s 00:16 [######################-----------------------------------------------]  33%
 linux-firmware-intel-20260410-1-any                                                    44.7 MiB  11.3 MiB/s 00:07 [########################---------------------------------------------]  35%
 chromium-148.0.7778.96-1-x86_64                                                        48.1 MiB  6.34 MiB/s 00:12 [##########################-------------------------------------------]  38%
 Total (  0/447)                                                                       243.5 MiB  38.2 MiB/s 01:10 [#####----------------------------------------------------------------]   8%

The download and installation takes some time.

(441/447) upgrading wget                                                                                           [#####################################################################] 100%
(442/447) upgrading xorg-server                                                                                    [#####################################################################] 100%
(443/447) upgrading xorg-server-xvfb                                                                               [#####################################################################] 100%
(444/447) upgrading yelp                                                                                           [#####################################################################] 100%
(445/447) upgrading zed                                                                                            [#####################################################################] 100%
(446/447) upgrading zip                                                                                            [#####################################################################] 100%
(447/447) upgrading zsh                                                                                            [#####################################################################] 100%
New optional dependencies for zsh
    grml-zsh-config: grml's zsh setup
    zsh-autosuggestions: Fish-like autosuggestions for zsh
    zsh-completions: Additional completion definitions for Zsh
    zsh-doc: Info, HTML and PDF format of the ZSH documentation
    zsh-history-substring-search: ZSH port of Fish history search (up arrow)
    zsh-lovers: A collection of tips, tricks and examples for the Z shell.
    zsh-syntax-highlighting: Fish shell like syntax highlighting for Zsh
    zshdb: A debugger for zsh scripts
:: Running post-transaction hooks...
( 1/28) Creating system user accounts...
( 2/28) Creating temporary files...
( 3/28) Updating journal message catalog...
( 4/28) Updating udev hardware database...
( 5/28) Applying kernel sysctl settings...
( 6/28) Reloading system manager configuration...
( 7/28) Reloading user manager configuration...
( 8/28) Updating the MIME type database...
( 9/28) Enqueuing marked services...
(10/28) Reloading device manager configuration...
(11/28) Arming ConditionNeedsUpdate...
(12/28) Rebuilding certificate stores...
(13/28) Updating module dependencies...
(14/28) Install DKMS modules
==> ERROR: Missing 7.0.5-arch1-1 kernel headers for module tuxedo-drivers/4.15.4.
(15/28) Updating linux initcpios...
==> Building image from preset: /etc/mkinitcpio.d/linux.preset: 'default'
==> Using default configuration file: '/etc/mkinitcpio.conf'
  -> -k /boot/vmlinuz-linux -g /boot/initramfs-linux.img
==> Starting build: '7.0.5-arch1-1'
  -> Running build hook: [base]
  -> Running build hook: [systemd]
  -> Running build hook: [autodetect]
  -> Running build hook: [microcode]
  -> Running build hook: [modconf]
  -> Running build hook: [kms]
  -> Running build hook: [keyboard]
  -> Running build hook: [sd-vconsole]
  -> Running build hook: [block]
  -> Running build hook: [filesystems]
  -> Running build hook: [fsck]
==> Generating module dependencies
==> Creating zstd-compressed initcpio image: '/boot/initramfs-linux.img'
  -> Early uncompressed CPIO image generation successful
==> Initcpio image generation successful
(16/28) Updating the appstream cache...
✔ Metadata cache was updated successfully.
(17/28) Restarting accounts-daemon...
(18/28) Reloading system bus configuration...
(19/28) Updating system dconf databases...
(20/28) Checking for old perl modules...
(21/28) Updating fontconfig cache...
(22/28) Registering Haskell modules...
(23/28) Compiling GSettings XML schema files...
(24/28) Probing GTK3 input method modules...
(25/28) Updating icon theme caches...
(26/28) Updating GTK4 module cache...
(27/28) Updating the info directory file...
(28/28) Updating the desktop file MIME type cache...

And done!

Manage ActiveDirectory Distribution Groups

Tue, 27 Aug 2013 12:39:11 +0000

With Office365 connected with an ADFS you have to redesgin your Exchange distribution groups. ADFS only syncs distribution groups that have these definitions:

My idea was simple, I’m developing a script that creates for every OU and child OU I’m chosing in the ActiveDirectory structure a distribution list containing the users of the chosen OU recursively.

While developing this I’ve added some cool features, in addition you can:

By default the script will only add enabled users with an email address.

This script makes use of the PowerShell Profile environment, f.e. the function Send-PPErrorReport sends an error report per email when the script fails or produces problems.

<#
$Metadata = @{
    Title = "New ActiveDirectory Distribution Groups"
    Filename = "New-ADDistributionGroups.ps1"
    Description = "Create or update ActiveDirectory distribution groups"
    Tags = "powershell, activedirectory, distribution, groups, create, update"
    Project = ""
    Author = "Janik von Rotz"
    AuthorContact = "https://janikvonrotz.ch"
    CreateDate = "2013-08-27"
    LastEditDate = "2013-09-30"
    Url = "https://gist.github.com/6352037"
    Version = "1.1.0"
    License = @'
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Switzerland License.
To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ch/ or
send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA.
'@
}
#>

#--------------------------------------------------#
# modules
#--------------------------------------------------#
Import-Module ActiveDirectory

# set OUs where the distributions groups should be enabled
$OUs = @(
    @{Name = "OU=Betrieb,OU=vblusers2,DC=vbl,DC=ch"},
    @{Name = "OU=Direktion,OU=vblusers2,DC=vbl,DC=ch"},
    @{Name = "OU=Finanzen,OU=vblusers2,DC=vbl,DC=ch"},
    @{Name = "OU=Personal,OU=vblusers2,DC=vbl,DC=ch"},
    @{Name = "OU=Technik,OU=vblusers2,DC=vbl,DC=ch"}
)

# list of users to exclude in distribution groups
$ExcludeUsers = "abascan","ba test","ba-service"

# list of distribution groups to exclude
$ExcludeOUs = "Verwaltungsrat"

# special configuration to handle special
$Configs = @(
    @{
        Name = "GL";
        Options = @("UpdateFromGroups");
        AddGroups = @("Geschäftsleitung Gruppe")
    },
    @{
        Name = "GL erw";
        Options = @("UpdateFromGroups");
        AddGroups = @("Erweiterte Geschäftsleitung Gruppe")
    },
    @{
        Name = "Alle";
        Options = @("UpdateFromGroups");
        AddGroups = @("Technik","Betrieb","Personal","Finanzen","GL","Kommunikation","Sekretariat")
    },
    @{
        Name = "Alle mit Arbeitsplatz";
        Options = @("UpdateFromGroups","RemoveGroups");
        AddGroups = @("Alle");
        RemoveGroups = @("SPO_365E1License")
    },
    @{
        Name = "Alle ohne Arbeitsplatz";
        Options = @("UpdateFromGroups");
        AddGroups = @("SPO_365E1License");
    },
    @{
        Name = "Fahrdienst A - Hermann M";
        Options = @("UpdateFromGroups");
        AddGroups = @("Fahrdienst A - Hermann M Gruppe");
    },
    @{
        Name = "Fahrdienst A - Segui M";
        Options = @("UpdateFromGroups");
        AddGroups = @("Fahrdienst A - Segui M Gruppe");
    },
    @{
        Name = "Fahrdienst B - Nietlispach M";
        Options = @("UpdateFromGroups");
        AddGroups = @("Fahrdienst B - Nietlispach M Gruppe");
    },
    @{
        Name = "Fahrdienst B - Zaugg D";
        Options = @("UpdateFromGroups");
        AddGroups = @("Fahrdienst B - Zaugg D Gruppe");
    },
    @{
        Name = "Fahrdienst C - Habegger R";
        Options = @("UpdateFromGroups");
        AddGroups = @("Fahrdienst C - Habegger R Gruppe");
    },
    @{
        Name = "Fahrdienst C - Malbasic N";
        Options = @("UpdateFromGroups");
        AddGroups = @("Fahrdienst C - Malbasic N Gruppe");
    },
    @{
        Name = "Fahrdienst D - Küchler P";
        Options = @("UpdateFromGroups");
        AddGroups = @("Fahrdienst D - Küchler P Gruppe");
    },
    @{
        Name = "Fahrdienst D - Zimmermann L";
        Options = @("UpdateFromGroups");
        AddGroups = @("Fahrdienst D - Zimmermann L Gruppe");
    },
    @{
        Name = "Fahrdienst E - Bechter K";
        Options = @("UpdateFromGroups");
        AddGroups = @("Fahrdienst E - Bechter K Gruppe");
    },
    @{
        Name = "Fahrdienst E - Brunner R";
        Options = @("UpdateFromGroups");
        AddGroups = @("Fahrdienst E - Brunner R Gruppe");
    },
    @{
        Name = "Fahrdienst F - Bieri René";
        Options = @("UpdateFromGroups");
        AddGroups = @("Fahrdienst F - Bieri René Gruppe");
    },
    @{
        Name = "Fahrdienst F - Bieri Urs";
        Options = @("UpdateFromGroups");
        AddGroups = @("Fahrdienst F - Bieri Urs Gruppe");
    },
    @{
        Name = "Verkehrsdisponnenten";
        Options = @("UpdateFromGroups");
        AddGroups = @("F_Verkehrsdisponnenten");
    },
    @{
        Name = "Personalkommission";
        Options = @("UpdateFromGroups");
        AddGroups = @("Personalkommission Abteilung");
    }
)

# get all OUs recursive
$OUs = $OUs | %{Get-ADOrganizationalUnit -Filter "*" -SearchBase $_.Name} | where {-not ($ExcludeOUs -contains $_.Name)}

# check in every OU if a distribution group with the same name as the OU exist
$OUs | %{$OU = $_.DistinguishedName;
    if(Get-ADGroup -Filter {SamAccountName -eq $_.Name -and GroupCategory -eq "Distribution"} | Where-Object{$_.DistinguishedName -like "*$OU"}){

        Write-Host "Update users in distribution group $($_.Name)."
        $ADGroup = Get-ADGroup -Filter {SamAccountName -eq $_.Name -and GroupCategory -eq "Distribution"}
        Get-ADGroupMember -Identity $ADGroup | %{Remove-ADGroupMember -Identity $ADGroup -Members $_ -Confirm:$false}
        Get-ADUser -Filter {EmailAddress -like "*"} -SearchBase $OU | where {$_.enabled -eq $true -and -not ($ExcludeUsers -contains $_.Name)} | where{$_ -ne $null} | %{Add-ADGroupMember -Identity $ADGroup -Members $_}

    }else{

        Write-Host "Create distribution group $($_.Name)."
        New-ADGroup -Name $_.Name -SamAccountName $_.Name -GroupCategory Distribution -GroupScope Universal -DisplayName $_.Name -Path $($_.DistinguishedName) -Description "Distribution group for $($_.Name)."
        $ADGroup = Get-ADGroup $_.Name
        Get-ADUser -Filter {EmailAddress -like "*"} -SearchBase $_.DistinguishedName | where {$_.enabled -eq $true -and -not ($ExcludeUsers -contains $_.Name)} | where{$_ -ne $null} | %{Add-ADGroupMember -Identity $ADGroup -Members $_}
    }
}

# custom configuration
$Configs | %{

    $ADGroup = Get-ADGroup -Identity $_.Name
    $Config = $_

    if($_.Options -match "UpdateFromGroups"){

        Write-Host "Add users from $($Config.AddGroups) to $($ADGroup.Name)."
        Get-ADGroupMember -Identity $ADGroup | %{Remove-ADGroupMember -Identity $ADGroup -Members $_ -Confirm:$false}
        $Config.AddGroups | %{Get-ADGroupMember -Identity $_ -Recursive | Get-ADUser | where {($_.enabled -eq $true) -and -not ($ExcludeUsers -contains $_.Name)}} | select -Unique | %{Add-ADGroupMember -Identity $ADGroup -Members $_}

    }

    if($_.Options -match "RemoveGroups"){

        Write-Host "Remove users from $($Config.RemoveGroups) in $($ADGroup.Name)."
        $ADGroupMembers = Get-ADGroupMember -Identity $ADGroup
        $Config.RemoveGroups | %{Get-ADGroupMember -Identity $_ -Recursive | Get-ADUser | where {($ADGroupMembers -match $_) -and ($_.enabled -eq $true) -and -not ($ExcludeUsers -contains $_.Name)}} | select -Unique  | %{Remove-ADGroupMember -Identity $ADGroup -Members $_ -Confirm:$false}

    }
}

if($error){
    Send-PPErrorReport -FileName "activedirectory.mail.config.xml" -ScriptName $MyInvocation.InvocationName
}

Latest version of this script: https://gist.github.com/6352037