Inventory your network and clients with PowerShell

Inventory Your Network and Clientswith Windows PowerShellDon JonesSenior Partner and TechnologistConcentrated Technology, LLCRequired SlideSESSION CODE: WCL308

This slide deck was used in one of our many conference presentations. We hope you enjoy it, and invite you to use it within your own organization however you like.For more information on our company, including information on private classes and upcoming conference appearances, please visit our Web site, www.ConcentratedTech.com. For links to newly-posted decks, follow us on Twitter:@concentrateddon or @concentratdgregThis work is copyright ©Concentrated Technology, LLC

IntroductionsMe: Don Jones, Concentrated TechnologyMicrosoft MVP Award recipientContributing Editor, TechNet MagazineAuthor of 45+ IT booksBlogger at http://ConcentratedTech.comYou: A Busy Windows AdministratorNeeding to inventory management information from one or more remote computers, both server and client (but especially client)

AgendaWindows PowerShell, BrieflyWindows Management Instrumentation, BrieflyExploring WMIPlaying with WMI on Your Local ComputerUsing WMI on Remote ComputersMaking a Flexible WMI Tool in Steps

Windows PowerShell, BrieflyThis session’s code will work with v1 and v2 (up until “advanced functions” at the very end – that’s v2 only)V1: Ships with Win2008 and Vista, available for WinXP and Win2003V2: Ships with Win2008R2 and Win7, available for WinXP, Win2003, Vista, and Win2008Primarily a command-line shell; has scripting capabilities, but we won’t be diving into them (much) – we’ll be using scripts as “batch files” mainlyNote: I make all scripts downloadable from my Web site, no need to take notes

Security NotesWindows PowerShell disables script execution (but not commands) by default; see Help about_execution* for detailsWindows PowerShell is subject to User Account Control (UAC); for our purposes, ensure you explicitly run “as Administrator” for necessary remote privileges

WMI, BrieflyPresent since Windows NT 4.0Does not require PowerShell on the remote computerUses Remote Procedure Calls (RPCs) for communication; does not require PowerShell v2 / WinRM “remoting” on remote machinesOrganized into:Namespaces: Top-level, strictly organizational, usually product-relatedClasses: Represent potential manageable elementsInstances: Real-world occurrences of classesProperties & Methods: Elements of an instanceProperties contain management informationMethods perform actions (such as reconfiguration)

WMI SecurityConfigured (by default) on the root namespaceTypically, don’t mess with this – many things rely on WMI and can get angry if you fuss with the permissionsUse WMI Control MMC snap-in to modify (or view – great way for seeing what namespaces are installed)

WMI Security and NamespacesDEMO

Differences from Machine to MachineWMI namespaces will vary based on the roles/products/technologies installed on a computerIndividual classes will vary based on product or Windows versionClasses’ properties and methods can vary from version to version, tooCore Windows OS and hardware stuff is in \root\CIMv2; most classes start with Win32_ or CIM_ prefix in the class nameBest to get a “WMI Explorer” or “WMI Browser” that can be focused at a remote computer to see what that computer hasYou don’t need a class on your computer in order to query it from a remote computer (very handy)

DocumentationEasiest: Plug class name into favorite search engineFirst 1-2 results usually msdn.microsoft.com/…, which will be what you wantOnly rely on “core” classes being well-documented – everything else is pretty inconsistently documentedUse search engines to find examples – even VBScript examples can usually provide some helpPipe retrieved WMI objects to Get-Member or to Format-List * in order to see what properties/methods they have, and what values the properties contain

Using PowerShell LocallyUse Get-WmiObjectcmdletCannot specify alternate credentials for local connections (by design); make sure shell is running as AdministratorSpecify –class name to query; retrieves all instances and all properties by default

Filtering ResultsUse –filter parameter to narrow down instances returned (large result sets can take a lot of time and resources)-filter "property <comparison> value”Numeric values are not delimitedString/date values are delimited in single quotesEasiest to enclose the entire filter in double quotesValid comparison operators:= > < <> <= => LIKE (use % as a wildcard)These are different from PowerShell’s native operators!

WMI in PowerShell, LocallyDEMO

Going RemoteUse –computerName parameter to specify remote computer(s)-computername ”Client17”-computername (get-content names.txt)-computername “client17”,”client18”,”client19”Other parameters allow specification of alternate credential-credential CONTOSO\AdministratorGraphically prompts for password – by designUse Get-Credentialto create a reusable credential object that contains a password

Multiple ComputersRemote connections are synchronous and sequential (not parallel)Use –AsJob to run in backgroundUse remoting (Invoke-Command) for parallel processing (not in this session)Failure of one computer will not stop the command from continuingYou can trap errors and log them; we’ll see how later

WMI in PowerShell, RemotelyDEMO

The StepsMove command into a “batch file” for easier repetitionEnclose command in a function for parameterizationAdd error handling / loggingUpgrade function to a filtering function to accept pipeline inputEnables scenarios like getting names from AD OR a text fileUpgrade function to an advanced function (v2 only) for cmdlet-like behaviorPackage as a Script Module (v2 only) for easier distribution and re-use by othersAdd comment-based help so you can tell what the heck it’s doing(I’ll demo – you remind me of what step is next)

Building a WMI ToolDEMORemember! I’ll save all my scripts and make them downloadable fromwww.ConcentratedTech.com in a few days – no need to take notes!

ConclusionWMI + PowerShell = Very Powerful, Very ConvenientAnd a great way to learn PowerShell incrementally!Build reusable, cmdlet-like toolsNow in the TechEd Bookstore:Windows PowerShell v2: TFM by Don Jones & Jeffery HicksDownload this session’s scripts & slides fromwww.ConcentratedTech.com

Track ResourcesRequired Slide Track PMs will supply the content for this slide, which will be inserted during the final scrub. Resource 1Resource 2Resource 3Resource 4

ResourcesRequired SlideLearningSessions On-Demand & CommunityMicrosoft Certification & Training Resourceswww.microsoft.com/techedwww.microsoft.com/learningResources for IT ProfessionalsResources for Developershttp://microsoft.com/technethttp://microsoft.com/msdn

Related ContentRequired SlideSpeakers, please list the Breakout Sessions, Interactive Sessions, Labs and Demo Stations that are related to your session.Breakout Sessions (session codes and titles)Interactive Sessions (session codes and titles)Hands-on Labs (session codes and titles)Product Demo Stations (demo station title and location)

Required SlideComplete an evaluation on CommNet and enter to win!

© 2010 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.

Inventory your network and clients with PowerShell

Recommended

More Related Content

Viewers also liked (19)

Similar to Inventory your network and clients with PowerShell (20)

More from Concentrated Technology (19)

Recently uploaded (20)

Inventory your network and clients with PowerShell