Using Powershell Packagemanager (OneGet) basics

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Danny den Braver

One of the new great features of WMF5, included in Windows 10 RTM is Powershell Packagemanager (previously called OneGet).

I will not go into the details on how it works or what it is (that you can find here!) I do want to show you how you can use it to simply install some packages from the powershell gallery, or from chocolatey which is basically a community based package source that already includes alot of applications and tools.

Lets take a look at the basic command sets:
Find-Package: find the package you are looking for in the registered package sources in powershell packagemanager
Get-Package: finds the packages on your system that have been installed using powershell packagemanager
Install-Package: installs a package on your system using powershell packagemanager
Uninstall-Package: removes a package from your system that was installed using powershell packagemanager

When you first kick off find-package you may get the request that the package provider nuget has not been installed and needs to be downloaded and installed.

The provider 'nuget v2.8.5.127' is not installed.
nuget may be manually downloaded from https://oneget.org/nuget-anycpu-2.8.5.127.exe and installed.
Would you like PackageManagement to automatically download and install 'nuget' now?
[Y] Yes  [N] No  [S] Suspend  [?] Help (default is "Y"):

The provider 'nuget v2.8.5.127' is not installed.

nuget may be manually downloaded from https://oneget.org/nuget-anycpu-2.8.5.127.exe and installed.

Would you like PackageManagement to automatically download and install 'nuget' now?

[Y] Yes [N] No [S] Suspend [?] Help (default is "Y"):

If you select Yes, you will now (by default) get a list of available packages -from the powershell gallery only-.

Lets now install the chocolatey package provider so that we can use PowerShell Packagemanager to install available community packages.

PS C:\Users\Administrator> get-packageprovider -name chocolatey

The provider 'chocolatey v2.8.5.130' is not installed.
chocolatey may be manually downloaded from https://oneget.org/ChocolateyPrototype-2.8.5.130.exe and installed.
Would you like PackageManagement to automatically download and install 'chocolatey' now?
[Y] Yes  [N] No  [S] Suspend  [?] Help (default is "Y"):

PS C:\Users\Administrator> get-packageprovider -name chocolatey

The provider 'chocolatey v2.8.5.130' is not installed.

chocolatey may be manually downloaded from https://oneget.org/ChocolateyPrototype-2.8.5.130.exe and installed.

Would you like PackageManagement to automatically download and install 'chocolatey' now?

[Y] Yes [N] No [S] Suspend [?] Help (default is "Y"):

If you now once again do a find-package you will suddenly see alot of additional packages that are available from the source ‘chocolatey’. Please be aware however that not all of these packages can be trusted (please read the chocolatey FAQ)

You can install simply the packages by using the install-package, or pipe the install package behind the find-package to also install the dependencies (if any). For example:

Install-package -Name 'GoogleChrome'
Find-Package 'GoogleChrome' -IncludeDependencies | Install-Package

1 2	Install-package -Name 'GoogleChrome' Find-Package 'GoogleChrome' -IncludeDependencies \| Install-Package

After the software has been installed you can review the installed software by using get-package

Get-Package -Name 'GoogleChrome'

Name                           Version          Source           Summary
----                           -------          ------           -------
GoogleChrome                   45.0.2454.101    C:\Chocolatey...

Get-Package -Name 'GoogleChrome'

Name Version Source Summary

---- ------- ------ -------

GoogleChrome 45.0.2454.101 C:\Chocolatey...

Here is an example script that you can use for installing some software to your local desktop with powershell packagemanager: oneget_example.ps1

I hope you can enjoy this new functionality as much as myself. This new functionality could greatly help with package deployment and management in the future. You could for example set up your own package repository and deploy your own internal packages using Nuget Server.

Using Powershell to get your server’s uptime!

Posted on October 6, 2015 by Danny den Braver

I have always missed the option in windows to just easily see the uptime from a server.

Ofcourse we have the uptime.exe available from Microsoft, but I wanted to have something available directly from powershell.

For starters we could get the last bootuptime from WMI with the following query

(Get-WmiObject -Class win32_operatingsystem).lastbootuptime
20151005150834.490241+120

1 2	(Get-WmiObject -Class win32_operatingsystem).lastbootuptime 20151005150834.490241+120

Since this is not really in a nice format, lets change it into something we can read

[System.Management.ManagementDateTimeconverter]::ToDateTime((Get-WmiObject -Class win32_operatingsystem).lastbootuptime)
Tuesday, October 6, 2015 10:37:14 AM

1 2	[System.Management.ManagementDateTimeconverter]::ToDateTime((Get-WmiObject -Class win32_operatingsystem).lastbootuptime) Tuesday, October 6, 2015 10:37:14 AM

Now that we have the bootup time/date in a readable format we can substract this date from our current time/date to get our actual uptime.

((Get-Date)-([System.Management.ManagementDateTimeconverter]::ToDateTime((Get-WmiObject -Class win32_operatingsystem).lastbootuptime)))

Days              : 0
Hours             : 0
Minutes           : 16
Seconds           : 8
Milliseconds      : 736
Ticks             : 9687365862
TotalDays         : 0.0112122290069444
TotalHours        : 0.269093496166667
TotalMinutes      : 16.14560977
TotalSeconds      : 968.7365862
TotalMilliseconds : 968736.5862

((Get-Date)-([System.Management.ManagementDateTimeconverter]::ToDateTime((Get-WmiObject -Class win32_operatingsystem).lastbootuptime)))

Days : 0

Hours : 0

Minutes : 16

Seconds : 8

Milliseconds : 736

Ticks : 9687365862

TotalDays : 0.0112122290069444

TotalHours : 0.269093496166667

TotalMinutes : 16.14560977

TotalSeconds : 968.7365862

TotalMilliseconds : 968736.5862

And there you go, you can now see the uptime for your server. I took this along a bit and created a powershell function to make it more usable for everyone in the company.

Function Get-Uptime 
{
    <#
            .SYNOPSIS
            Get uptime for Server(s)
            .DESCRIPTION
            This script will provide you the uptime for your servers in easy format
            .PARAMETER Servers
            One or multiple servers
            .EXAMPLE
            Get-Uptime -Server "computername"
            Request the uptime for a server
    #>
    [CmdletBinding(SupportsShouldProcess = $true)]

    param(
        [parameter(Mandatory = $true, HelpMessage = 'Please enter a computername.')]
        [alias('Computernames','Computername','Server','Computer')]
        [string[]]$servers
    )

    ForEach ($server in $servers) 
    {
        Write-Verbose -Message "Retrieving information from $server"
        $uptime = ((Get-Date )-([System.Management.ManagementDateTimeconverter]::ToDateTime((Get-WmiObject -Class win32_operatingsystem -ComputerName $server -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue ).lastbootuptime)))
        $server | Select-Object -Property @{
            Name       = 'Computername'
            Expression = {
                $server
            }
        }, 
        @{
            Name       = 'Days'
            Expression = {
                $uptime.Days
            }
        }, 
        @{
            Name       = 'Hours'
            Expression = {
                $uptime.Hours
            }
        }, 
        @{
            Name       = 'Minutes'
            Expression = {
                $uptime.Minutes
            }
        }, 
        @{
            Name       = 'Seconds'
            Expression = {
                $uptime.Seconds
            }
        }, 
        @{
            Name       = 'Milliseconds'
            Expression = {
                $uptime.Milliseconds
            }
        }
    }
}

Function Get-Uptime

{

.SYNOPSIS

Get uptime for Server(s)

.DESCRIPTION

This script will provide you the uptime for your servers in easy format

.PARAMETER Servers

One or multiple servers

.EXAMPLE

Get-Uptime -Server "computername"

Request the uptime for a server

[CmdletBinding(SupportsShouldProcess = $true)]

param(

[parameter(Mandatory = $true, HelpMessage = 'Please enter a computername.')]

[alias('Computernames','Computername','Server','Computer')]

[string[]]$servers

)

ForEach ($server in $servers)

{

Write-Verbose -Message "Retrieving information from $server"

$uptime = ((Get-Date )-([System.Management.ManagementDateTimeconverter]::ToDateTime((Get-WmiObject -Class win32_operatingsystem -ComputerName $server -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue ).lastbootuptime)))

$server | Select-Object -Property @{

Name = 'Computername'

Expression = {

$server

}

Name = 'Days'

Expression = {

$uptime.Days

}

Name = 'Hours'

Expression = {

$uptime.Hours

}

Name = 'Minutes'

Expression = {

$uptime.Minutes

}

Name = 'Seconds'

Expression = {

$uptime.Seconds

}

Name = 'Milliseconds'

Expression = {

$uptime.Milliseconds

}

Now you only need to type Get-Uptime “servername” to get the uptime for the server you wish 🙂

PS C:\> get-uptime localhost | FT

Computername Days Hours Minutes Seconds Milliseconds
------------ ---- ----- ------- ------- ------------
localhost       0    19      49      32          478

PS C:\> get-uptime localhost | FT

Computername Days Hours Minutes Seconds Milliseconds

------------ ---- ----- ------- ------- ------------

localhost 0 19 49 32 478

Zipping your DSC Resources

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Danny den Braver

When you are setting up a DSC Pull scenario, you will have to zip your DSC Resources in a correct format and by using proper tooling.

At first you need to zip your primary directory, and you have to give your zip file the correct naming. This should be Resourcename_versionnumber.zip (see screenshot below), and then placed in the “C:\Program Files\WindowsPowerShell\DscService\Modules directory”.

Please be aware that even though its ‘just a zip file’ not all programs zip the same way, if you for example use 7zip or winrar you could bump into eventid 4104: Failed to extract the module from zipfile.

If you however use the windows native compressing engine, everything will work out fine.

DSC Resource versioning fixed with WMF5 Production preview!

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Danny den Braver

Last week I blogged about an issue with the DSC resource folder versioning in a DSC Pull scenario. DSC Resource folder versioning issue in a DSC-Pull scenario.

This week Microsoft released a new version of WMF 5.0 which fixes a whole range of issues.

While you still have to zip your DSC Resource without the version folder, the DSC engine now extracts the ZIP file to the corresponding folder version!

DSC Resource zip structure:

DSC Resource client structure:

This means that now, we can use multiple versions of a DSC Resource on the same client. This will help when for example you only want to update 1 partial configuration on a server that uses a newer resource, while not having to update dependent others.

Disable privacy sensitive settings in Windows 10

Posted on August 29, 2015 by Danny den Braver

Recently a minor discussion started with one of my Facebook friends, where people found the new data collecting engines from Microsoft a bit annoying. Personally I find that Windows 10 has alot more features and stability to offer, and that these settings should not be the reason for you to hold back on a better operating system. However I do understand some people’s concerns.

Example article: http://lifehacker.com/what-windows-10s-privacy-nightmare-settings-actually-1722267229

This made me think, there should be a way to just quickly disable all those annoyances. Below you can find the result of a quick Posh script that takes care this for you.

DisablePrivacySettings_Win10.ps1

###########################################################################
## Created by Danny den Braver @29-08-2015
##
## I primary made this script due to a minor discussion that started on FB about the Windows 10 Privacy 'flaws'
## This script will disable most of the 'features' that microsoft uses to gain privacy sensitive data
##
## Currently this script disables Telemetry and DataCollection, Wifi Sense, SmartScreen Filter & Cortana
##########################################################################

#region Disable Telemetry and Data Collection

Write-Verbose -Message 'Disabling: Telemetry and Data Collection' -Verbose

# Create registry key to disable Telemetry
New-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\DataCollection" -Name AllowTelemetry -Value '0' -PropertyType DWord -Force | Out-Null 

# Disabling & Stopping service DiagTrack
Set-Service -name DiagTrack -StartupType Disabled
Stop-Service DiagTrack

# Disabling & Stopping App Push Service
Set-Service -name dmwappushservice -StartupType Disabled
Stop-Service dmwappushservice

#endregion

#region Disable Wifi-Sense (Wifi Sharing)

Write-Verbose -Message 'Disabling: Wifi-Sense (Wifi Sharing)' -Verbose

# Create Registry key into policy to disable Wi-fi Sense
New-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WcmSvc\wifinetworkmanager\config" -Name AutoConnectAllowedOEM -Value '0' -PropertyType DWord -Force | Out-Null 

#endregion

#region Disable SmartScreen Filter

Write-Verbose -Message 'Disabling: SmartScreen Filter' -Verbose

# Create Registry key into policy to disable Microsoft SmartScreen
New-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System" -Name EnableSmartScreen -Value '0' -PropertyType DWord -Force | Out-Null
 
#endregion

#region Disable Cortana

# Read current user
$whoami = whoami
$domain = ($whoami).split("\")[0]
$username = ($whoami).split("\")[1]

if (Test-Path 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy\SearchUI.exe')
{
    Write-Verbose -Message 'Disabling: Cortana' -Verbose
    # Change permissions on Cortana folder & executable
    $objUser = New-Object System.Security.Principal.NTAccount($domain, $username)
    $objFile = Get-Acl 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy\SearchUI.exe'
    $objFile.SetOwner($objUser)
    Set-Acl -aclobject $objFile -path 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy\SearchUI.exe'
    Set-Acl -aclobject $objFile -path 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy'
    icacls 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy\SearchUI.exe' /grant "$($whoami):(OI)(CI)F"
    icacls 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy' /grant "$($whoami):(OI)(CI)F"

    # Rename Cortana Executable so it no longer starts
    Rename-Item 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy\SearchUI.exe' 'Disabled.SearchUI.exe'
}

else 
{
    Write-Verbose -Message 'Check: Cortana was already disabled' -Verbose
}

#endregion

Write-Warning -Message 'Please be aware that you will need to restart your computer for settings to take effect'

###########################################################################

## Created by Danny den Braver @29-08-2015

## I primary made this script due to a minor discussion that started on FB about the Windows 10 Privacy 'flaws'

## This script will disable most of the 'features' that microsoft uses to gain privacy sensitive data

## Currently this script disables Telemetry and DataCollection, Wifi Sense, SmartScreen Filter & Cortana

##########################################################################

#region Disable Telemetry and Data Collection

Write-Verbose -Message 'Disabling: Telemetry and Data Collection' -Verbose

# Create registry key to disable Telemetry

New-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\DataCollection" -Name AllowTelemetry -Value '0' -PropertyType DWord -Force | Out-Null

# Disabling & Stopping service DiagTrack

Set-Service -name DiagTrack -StartupType Disabled

Stop-Service DiagTrack

# Disabling & Stopping App Push Service

Set-Service -name dmwappushservice -StartupType Disabled

Stop-Service dmwappushservice

#endregion

#region Disable Wifi-Sense (Wifi Sharing)

Write-Verbose -Message 'Disabling: Wifi-Sense (Wifi Sharing)' -Verbose

# Create Registry key into policy to disable Wi-fi Sense

New-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WcmSvc\wifinetworkmanager\config" -Name AutoConnectAllowedOEM -Value '0' -PropertyType DWord -Force | Out-Null

#endregion

#region Disable SmartScreen Filter

Write-Verbose -Message 'Disabling: SmartScreen Filter' -Verbose

# Create Registry key into policy to disable Microsoft SmartScreen

New-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System" -Name EnableSmartScreen -Value '0' -PropertyType DWord -Force | Out-Null

#endregion

#region Disable Cortana

# Read current user

$whoami = whoami

$domain = ($whoami).split("\")[0]

$username = ($whoami).split("\")[1]

if (Test-Path 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy\SearchUI.exe')

{

Write-Verbose -Message 'Disabling: Cortana' -Verbose

# Change permissions on Cortana folder & executable

$objUser = New-Object System.Security.Principal.NTAccount($domain, $username)

$objFile = Get-Acl 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy\SearchUI.exe'

$objFile.SetOwner($objUser)

Set-Acl -aclobject $objFile -path 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy\SearchUI.exe'

Set-Acl -aclobject $objFile -path 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy'

icacls 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy\SearchUI.exe' /grant "$($whoami):(OI)(CI)F"

icacls 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy' /grant "$($whoami):(OI)(CI)F"

# Rename Cortana Executable so it no longer starts

Rename-Item 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy\SearchUI.exe' 'Disabled.SearchUI.exe'

}

else

{

Write-Verbose -Message 'Check: Cortana was already disabled' -Verbose

}

#endregion

Write-Warning -Message 'Please be aware that you will need to restart your computer for settings to take effect'

DSC Resource folder versioning issue in a DSC-Pull scenario.

Posted on August 27, 2015 by Danny den Braver

Please be aware of the following if you are using DSC Pull with folder versioning in your DSC Resources

In my case, I have a custom DSC Resource named cDNSRecord with the following directory structure: .\cDnsServer\1.1.0.0\DSCResources\cDNSRecord.

It seems that currently as in WMF 5.0 (April 2015 Preview) it is not supported to have resources with folder versioning in a DSC Pull scenario and will most likely end you up with error 4104 in the event log:

ErrorId is 0x1. ErrorDetail is The PowerShell DSC resource % not contain the corresponding MOF file %.

EventID4252-1DSC

A Work-around to this solution is simple:unzip your resource, and remove the folder versioning to for example: .\cDnsServer\DSCResources\cDNSRecord

While you can now use your DSC Resource in a Pull scenario, this does mean that you cannot use multiple versions of a DSC Resource on 1 sever if you use DSC Pull. This also means that if you want to upgrade to a newer version for this DSC Resource you will first need to remove the old version from the C:\Program Files\WindowsPowerShell\Modules directory on this specific server.

If you forget to remove the old folder you will most end up with another errorid 4252 in the event log:

Error Message: Installation of module % failed since the module directory already exists at %.Message ID: ModuleDirectoryAlreadyExists EventID4252-2DSC

This can be resolved by using the AllowModuleOverwrite = $true value in your LCM configuration.

Hopefully this issue will be resolved in a future release of WMF5.

Scan Cluster Volume Health

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Danny den Braver

I created this function some time ago already when we did not have the SCOM Management Pack for Windows Clusters imported yet.

This script basically scans a Cluster, to scan its current CSV State, and report you the current size/usage/freespace available.

The output of this script can be used to filter out unhealthy volumes, or volumes that are filling up!

Function GetClusterVolumeState{
<#
.SYNOPSIS
Retrieve information about the Cluster Volume Health
.DESCRIPTION
The GetClusterVolumeState function retrieves information about the cluster volumes on a certain cluster.
This information will show the Cluster, Volume, Health and Disk space.
.PARAMETER Clusters
One or multiple clusters you would like to retrieve information from
.EXAMPLE
Retrieve information about the Clustervolumes for Cluster01
RI-GetClusterVolumeState -clusters "Cluster01"
.NOTES
This script was written by Danny den Braver @2013, for questions please contact danny@denbraver.com
#>
[CmdletBinding(SupportsShouldProcess=$true)]
param([array][Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]$Clusters)

foreach ($Cluster in $Clusters){
    # Test Connection availability and continue if $true
    $testconnection = Test-Connection $Cluster -Quiet
    if ($testconnection -eq $true){
        Write-Verbose -Message "Scanning: $Cluster for clusterdisk information"
	    # Get CSV Volumes
	    $CSVDisks = Get-ClusterSharedVolume -Cluster $Cluster
	    foreach ($CSVDisk in $CSVDisks){
		    # Get CSV VolumeInformation
		    $CSVVolumeInfo = $CSVDisk | Select -Expand SharedVolumeInfo
		    $CSVFriendlyName = $CSVVolumeInfo.FriendlyVolumeName
		    $CSVVolume = ($CSVFriendlyName.Split("\")[2]).ToLower()
		    $CSVState = $CSVDisk.State
		    # Get CSV free space
		    [int]$CSVDiskDriveFreeSpace = ([math]::round((($CSVVolumeInfo | Select -Expand Partition).FreeSpace / 1GB), 0))
		    # Get CSV total space
		    [int]$CSVDiskSpace = ([math]::round((($CSVVolumeInfo | Select -Expand Partition).Size / 1GB), 0))
		    # Get CSV used Space
		    [int]$CSVDiskDriveUsedSpace = [int]$CSVDiskSpace - [int]$CSVDiskDriveFreeSpace
		    # Get CSV Health
		    if ($CSVState -eq "Online"){
			    if ($CSVVolumeInfo.MaintenanceMode -eq $False){
				    if ($CSVVolumeInfo.RedirectedAccess -eq $True){
					    $CSVHealth = "Warning"
					    $CSVHealthDetails = 'Volume is in redirected mode.'
				    }
				    else {
					    $CSVHealth = "Healthy"
					    $CSVHealthDetails = 'Volume is healthy.'
				    }
			    }
			    else {
				    $CSVHealth = "Maintenance"
				    $CSVHealthDetails = 'Volume is in maintenance mode."'	
			    }									
		    }
		    else {
			    $CSVHealth = "Critical"
			    $CSVHealthDetails = 'Volume is in offline state.'
		    }
 
		    # CSV Output
            $clustername = $cluster -replace ".eu.rabonet.com",""
            $clustername | select   @{l="Clustername";e={$Clustername}},
                                    @{l="Volume"; e={"$CSVVolume"}},
                                    @{l="DiskSpaceGB"; e={"$CSVDiskSpace"}},
                                    @{l="UsedSpaceGB"; e={"$CSVDiskDriveUsedSpace"}},
                                    @{l="FreeSpaceGB"; e={"$CSVDiskDriveFreeSpace"}},
                                    @{l="Health"; e={"$CSVHealth"}},
                                    @{l="Health Description"; e={"$CSVHealthDetails"}}
	    }
    }
    else { Write-Warning "Could not connect to $Cluster" }
}
}

Function GetClusterVolumeState{

.SYNOPSIS

Retrieve information about the Cluster Volume Health

.DESCRIPTION

The GetClusterVolumeState function retrieves information about the cluster volumes on a certain cluster.

This information will show the Cluster, Volume, Health and Disk space.

.PARAMETER Clusters

One or multiple clusters you would like to retrieve information from

.EXAMPLE

Retrieve information about the Clustervolumes for Cluster01

RI-GetClusterVolumeState -clusters "Cluster01"

.NOTES

This script was written by Danny den Braver @2013, for questions please contact danny@denbraver.com

[CmdletBinding(SupportsShouldProcess=$true)]

param([array][Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]$Clusters)

foreach ($Cluster in $Clusters){

# Test Connection availability and continue if $true

$testconnection = Test-Connection $Cluster -Quiet

if ($testconnection -eq $true){

Write-Verbose -Message "Scanning: $Cluster for clusterdisk information"

# Get CSV Volumes

$CSVDisks = Get-ClusterSharedVolume -Cluster $Cluster

foreach ($CSVDisk in $CSVDisks){

# Get CSV VolumeInformation

$CSVVolumeInfo = $CSVDisk | Select -Expand SharedVolumeInfo

$CSVFriendlyName = $CSVVolumeInfo.FriendlyVolumeName

$CSVVolume = ($CSVFriendlyName.Split("\")[2]).ToLower()

$CSVState = $CSVDisk.State

# Get CSV free space

[int]$CSVDiskDriveFreeSpace = ([math]::round((($CSVVolumeInfo | Select -Expand Partition).FreeSpace / 1GB), 0))

# Get CSV total space

[int]$CSVDiskSpace = ([math]::round((($CSVVolumeInfo | Select -Expand Partition).Size / 1GB), 0))

# Get CSV used Space

[int]$CSVDiskDriveUsedSpace = [int]$CSVDiskSpace - [int]$CSVDiskDriveFreeSpace

# Get CSV Health

if ($CSVState -eq "Online"){

if ($CSVVolumeInfo.MaintenanceMode -eq $False){

if ($CSVVolumeInfo.RedirectedAccess -eq $True){

$CSVHealth = "Warning"

$CSVHealthDetails = 'Volume is in redirected mode.'

}

else {

$CSVHealth = "Healthy"

$CSVHealthDetails = 'Volume is healthy.'

}

else {

$CSVHealth = "Maintenance"

$CSVHealthDetails = 'Volume is in maintenance mode."'

}

else {

$CSVHealth = "Critical"

$CSVHealthDetails = 'Volume is in offline state.'

}

# CSV Output

$clustername = $cluster -replace ".eu.rabonet.com",""

$clustername | select @{l="Clustername";e={$Clustername}},

@{l="Volume"; e={"$CSVVolume"}},

@{l="DiskSpaceGB"; e={"$CSVDiskSpace"}},

@{l="UsedSpaceGB"; e={"$CSVDiskDriveUsedSpace"}},

@{l="FreeSpaceGB"; e={"$CSVDiskDriveFreeSpace"}},

@{l="Health"; e={"$CSVHealth"}},

@{l="Health Description"; e={"$CSVHealthDetails"}}

}

else { Write-Warning "Could not connect to $Cluster" }

}

Make a SSH Connection using Powershell

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Danny den Braver

Ever needed to connect to a hardware or unix interface from a windows box? For example to manage HP Servers / Interfaces, or to run some code on a Linux appliance?

Over at Powershelladmin.com they have an answer to this: SSH-Sessions powershell module.

Copy the SSH-Sessions folder to your C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules directory and then unblock the SSH.Net library using Unblock-File C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules\SSH-Sessions\Renci.SshNet.dll

After that you can just Import-module the SSH-Sessions and you’re on your way:

get-help *ssh*

Name                    Category  Synopsis
----                    --------  --------
Get-SshSession          Function  Shows all, or the specified, SSH sessions in the global $SshSessions var...
Remove-SshSession       Function  Removes opened SSH connections. Use the parameter -RemoveAll to remove a...
New-SshSession          Function  Creates SSH sessions to remote SSH-compatible hosts, such as Linux...
Invoke-SshCommand       Function  Invoke/run commands via SSH on target hosts to which you have already op...
Enter-SshSession        Function  Enter a primitive interactive SSH session against a target host....

get-help *ssh*

Name Category Synopsis

---- -------- --------

Get-SshSession Function Shows all, or the specified, SSH sessions in the global $SshSessions var...

Remove-SshSession Function Removes opened SSH connections. Use the parameter -RemoveAll to remove a...

New-SshSession Function Creates SSH sessions to remote SSH-compatible hosts, such as Linux...

Invoke-SshCommand Function Invoke/run commands via SSH on target hosts to which you have already op...

Enter-SshSession Function Enter a primitive interactive SSH session against a target host....

Has your hotfix been installed?

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Danny den Braver

Of course you may wonder, why do you not use SCCM or WSUS to check if your software was installed successfully. Sadly when working in an enterprise environment you do not always have access to all the tooling you require, even though you have administrator access to the servers you need to manage.

Recently I was asked if I could scan all our Hypervisors to see if the latest December update rollup was installed, and if possible to mail it to the team’s functional mailbox.

This resulted in the following simple script:

Function CheckHotfix {
<#
.SYNOPSIS
Checks if Microsoft hotfixes are installed against KB numbers (reports if missing).
.DESCRIPTION
The CheckHotfix will check the hosts against the list of KB numbers.
If a KB number is not found it will be reported back to you.
Please make use of the -verbose switch to see information of what the script is handling.
.PARAMETER Server 
A single Servername, or an array of multiple Servers, this field is mandatory.
.PARAMETER KBnumbers 
One or multiple KB numbers, this field is mandatory.
.EXAMPLE
Scan 1 server for a KB number
CheckHotfix -Server "Server01" -KBnumbers "292929"
.EXAMPLE
Scan multiple servers for FC Card information
$computernames = (Get-scvmhost).computername
$kbnumbers = "292929 - doesnt exist","KB3013769 - Update Rollup December 2014"
CheckHotfix -Server $computernames -KBnumbers $kbnumbers
.NOTES
You need to be local administrator on the Server(s) you are querying.
This script was written by Danny den Braver @2015, for questions please contact danny@denbraver.com
#>
[CmdletBinding(SupportsShouldProcess=$true)]
param([array][Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]$Server,
      [array][Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]$KBnumbers)

ForEach ($Server_ in $Server){
    #Test Connection availability and continue if $true
    $testconnection = Test-Connection $Server_ -Quiet
    if ($testconnection -eq $true){
        Write-Verbose -Message "Scanning: KB Article for server $Server_"
        foreach ($kbnumber in $KBnumbers){
            $kba = $null
            $kbnumbersmall = ($kbnumber.split(" "))[0]
            $kba = Get-WmiObject -ComputerName $Server_ -query 'select * from win32_quickfixengineering' |  ? {$_.hotfixid -contains $kbnumbersmall}
            if ($kba -eq $null){
                $Server_ | select @{Name="Computername"; Expression={$Server_}},
                @{Name="Productionlevel"; Expression={(Get-WmiObject Win32_environment -computername $server_ | ? {$_.name -eq "Productionlevel"}).variablevalue}},
                @{Name="Not Installed"; Expression={$kbnumber}}
            }
        }
    }
    else {Write-Warning "Cannot connect to $Server_"}
}

}

Function CheckHotfix {

.SYNOPSIS

Checks if Microsoft hotfixes are installed against KB numbers (reports if missing).

.DESCRIPTION

The CheckHotfix will check the hosts against the list of KB numbers.

If a KB number is not found it will be reported back to you.

Please make use of the -verbose switch to see information of what the script is handling.

.PARAMETER Server

A single Servername, or an array of multiple Servers, this field is mandatory.

.PARAMETER KBnumbers

One or multiple KB numbers, this field is mandatory.

.EXAMPLE

Scan 1 server for a KB number

CheckHotfix -Server "Server01" -KBnumbers "292929"

.EXAMPLE

Scan multiple servers for FC Card information

$computernames = (Get-scvmhost).computername

$kbnumbers = "292929 - doesnt exist","KB3013769 - Update Rollup December 2014"

CheckHotfix -Server $computernames -KBnumbers $kbnumbers

.NOTES

You need to be local administrator on the Server(s) you are querying.

This script was written by Danny den Braver @2015, for questions please contact danny@denbraver.com

[CmdletBinding(SupportsShouldProcess=$true)]

param([array][Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]$Server,

[array][Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]$KBnumbers)

ForEach ($Server_ in $Server){

#Test Connection availability and continue if $true

$testconnection = Test-Connection $Server_ -Quiet

if ($testconnection -eq $true){

Write-Verbose -Message "Scanning: KB Article for server $Server_"

foreach ($kbnumber in $KBnumbers){

$kba = $null

$kbnumbersmall = ($kbnumber.split(" "))[0]

$kba = Get-WmiObject -ComputerName $Server_ -query 'select * from win32_quickfixengineering' | ? {$_.hotfixid -contains $kbnumbersmall}

if ($kba -eq $null){

$Server_ | select @{Name="Computername"; Expression={$Server_}},

@{Name="Productionlevel"; Expression={(Get-WmiObject Win32_environment -computername $server_ | ? {$_.name -eq "Productionlevel"}).variablevalue}},

@{Name="Not Installed"; Expression={$kbnumber}}

}

else {Write-Warning "Cannot connect to $Server_"}

}

Now you only need to add your results to an email message using “send-MailMessage”

SCOM Maintenance Mode

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Danny den Braver

Have you ever had the hassle of needing to put multiple servers into SCOM maintenance mode, yet you dont have the Powershell commandlets installed, or you are using an older version of SCOM that just does not do what you would like it to do.

I ran into the same issue with a customer, that was using SCOM 2007R2, while at some days it would really come in handly to place servers into maintenance mode scripted.

The script below can be your answer to this problem. Simply use the function SCOMMaintenanceMode -servername “server” -maintenancemodeminutes “minutes” or even push an array of servers against it. It will first check if maintenance mode is already set and if the current duration is not longer then what you just told the script.

Function SCOMMaintenanceMode {
<#
.SYNOPSIS
Sets or Stops SCOM Maintenance Mode for one or multiple Computers/Servers.
.DESCRIPTION
The SCOMMaintenanceMode function uses the PowerShell Snapin Microsoft.EnterpriseManagement.OperationsManager.Client to read the current maintenance duration (if set). If Maintenance is not set fot a computer for a duration that lasts longer then the user defined setting, it will try to place it into SCOM Maintenance mode with the reason Planned (Other).
Please make use of the -verbose switch to see information of what the script is handling.
.PARAMETER Servername 
A single computer name, or an array of computernames, this field is mandatory.
.PARAMETER Comment
The comment that is giving to the SCOM Maintenance mode, by Default: "Maintenance Mode Job" is given.
.PARAMETER MaintenanceModeMinutes 
The number of minutes the server or servers will be placed into maintenance mode.
.PARAMETER StopMaintenancemode
A switch that is given to the script to stop maintenance mode, instead of setting it.
.EXAMPLE
Place 1 server into maintenance mode.
SCOMMaintenanceMode -servername "Server01" -MaintenanceModeMinutes "60"
.EXAMPLE
Place multiple servers into maintenance mode.
$computernames = "server1","server2","server3"
SCOMMaintenanceMode -servername $computernames -MaintenanceModeMinutes "60"
.EXAMPLE
Give your personal comment to the maintenance mode.
SCOMMaintenanceMode -servername "Server01" -Comment "Because I can" -MaintenanceModeMinutes "60"
.EXAMPLE
Stop Maintenance Mode.
SCOMMaintenanceMode -servername "Server01" -Stop
.NOTES
It is required to have access to the computer account in SCOM to be able to place this server into maintenance mode. In older versions of Microsoft Powershell© it may be possible to receive a warning/alert when a server is not placed in maintenance mode. This is related to a check to see if the current maintenance mode has been set for a longer period, and the try/catch filter not applying propperly.
This script was written by Danny den Braver @2014, for questions please contact danny@denbraver.com
#>
[CmdletBinding(SupportsShouldProcess=$true)]

param( [array][Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]$Servername,
       [string]$Comment="Maintenance Mode Job",
       [int]$MaintenanceModeMinutes=60,
       [switch]$Stop)

#Load Snapin
Add-PSSnapin Microsoft.EnterpriseManagement.OperationsManager.Client

foreach ($server_ in $servername){

    $computerPrincipalName=(Get-ADComputer $server_).dnshostname
    $startTime=[System.DateTime]::Now
    $OpsMgrScriptName="OpsMgrScript"
    $OpsMgrScriptCount=(Get-PSDrive|where {$_.Name -eq $OpsMgrScriptName}|Measure-Object).Count
    
    if ($OpsMgrScriptCount -ne 1) {
	$tmp = New-PSDrive -Name:$OpsMgrScriptName -PSProvider:OperationsManagerMonitoring -Root:\
    }
    $tmp = New-ManagementGroupConnection OperationsManager
    $computerCriteria="PrincipalName='" + $computerPrincipalName + "'"
    $computerClass=get-monitoringclass -name:Microsoft.Windows.Computer -Path:"$($OpsMgrScriptName):\OperationsManager"
    $computerObject=get-monitoringobject -monitoringclass:$computerClass -criteria:$computerCriteria -Path:"$($OpsMgrScriptName):\OperationsManager"

    if ($Stop) {
        try{
            $endTime=([System.DateTime]::Now).AddSeconds(5)
            Set-MaintenanceWindow -endTime:$endTime -comment:"Stopping Maintenance Mode" -monitoringObject:$computerObject -Reason PlannedOther -ErrorAction "Stop"
            Write-Verbose -Message "Maintenance Mode stopped for server: '$server_'"
        }
        catch{
        Write-Warning "Failed to stop Maintenance mode for server '$server_' $(($_.Exception.Message).substring(0,71))"
        }
    } 
    else {    
    try{
        $endTime=([System.DateTime]::Now).AddMinutes($MaintenanceModeMinutes)
        $currentendtime=(Get-MaintenanceWindow -MonitoringObject:$computerObject).scheduledendtime
        if ($currentendtime -gt $endTime){
            Write-Warning "Maintenance Mode not set for server: '$server_' (Current Maintenance window is set for a longer period: $currentendtime)" -verbose
            break
        }
        New-MaintenanceWindow -startTime:$startTime -endTime:$endTime -monitoringObject:$computerObject -comment:$comment -ErrorAction "Stop"
        Write-Verbose -Message "Maintenance Mode set for server: '$server_'" -verbose
        }
        catch{
            Write-Warning "Failed to set Maintenance mode for server '$server_' $(($_.Exception.Message).substring(0,71))"
        }
    }

}
}

Function SCOMMaintenanceMode {

.SYNOPSIS

Sets or Stops SCOM Maintenance Mode for one or multiple Computers/Servers.

.DESCRIPTION

The SCOMMaintenanceMode function uses the PowerShell Snapin Microsoft.EnterpriseManagement.OperationsManager.Client to read the current maintenance duration (if set). If Maintenance is not set fot a computer for a duration that lasts longer then the user defined setting, it will try to place it into SCOM Maintenance mode with the reason Planned (Other).

Please make use of the -verbose switch to see information of what the script is handling.

.PARAMETER Servername

A single computer name, or an array of computernames, this field is mandatory.

.PARAMETER Comment

The comment that is giving to the SCOM Maintenance mode, by Default: "Maintenance Mode Job" is given.

.PARAMETER MaintenanceModeMinutes

The number of minutes the server or servers will be placed into maintenance mode.

.PARAMETER StopMaintenancemode

A switch that is given to the script to stop maintenance mode, instead of setting it.

.EXAMPLE

Place 1 server into maintenance mode.

SCOMMaintenanceMode -servername "Server01" -MaintenanceModeMinutes "60"

.EXAMPLE

Place multiple servers into maintenance mode.

$computernames = "server1","server2","server3"

SCOMMaintenanceMode -servername $computernames -MaintenanceModeMinutes "60"

.EXAMPLE

Give your personal comment to the maintenance mode.

SCOMMaintenanceMode -servername "Server01" -Comment "Because I can" -MaintenanceModeMinutes "60"

.EXAMPLE

Stop Maintenance Mode.

SCOMMaintenanceMode -servername "Server01" -Stop

.NOTES

It is required to have access to the computer account in SCOM to be able to place this server into maintenance mode. In older versions of Microsoft Powershell© it may be possible to receive a warning/alert when a server is not placed in maintenance mode. This is related to a check to see if the current maintenance mode has been set for a longer period, and the try/catch filter not applying propperly.

This script was written by Danny den Braver @2014, for questions please contact danny@denbraver.com

[CmdletBinding(SupportsShouldProcess=$true)]

param( [array][Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]$Servername,

[string]$Comment="Maintenance Mode Job",

[int]$MaintenanceModeMinutes=60,

[switch]$Stop)

#Load Snapin

Add-PSSnapin Microsoft.EnterpriseManagement.OperationsManager.Client

foreach ($server_ in $servername){

$computerPrincipalName=(Get-ADComputer $server_).dnshostname

$startTime=[System.DateTime]::Now

$OpsMgrScriptName="OpsMgrScript"

$OpsMgrScriptCount=(Get-PSDrive|where {$_.Name -eq $OpsMgrScriptName}|Measure-Object).Count

if ($OpsMgrScriptCount -ne 1) {

$tmp = New-PSDrive -Name:$OpsMgrScriptName -PSProvider:OperationsManagerMonitoring -Root:\

}

$tmp = New-ManagementGroupConnection OperationsManager

$computerCriteria="PrincipalName='" + $computerPrincipalName + "'"

$computerClass=get-monitoringclass -name:Microsoft.Windows.Computer -Path:"$($OpsMgrScriptName):\OperationsManager"

$computerObject=get-monitoringobject -monitoringclass:$computerClass -criteria:$computerCriteria -Path:"$($OpsMgrScriptName):\OperationsManager"

if ($Stop) {

try{

$endTime=([System.DateTime]::Now).AddSeconds(5)

Set-MaintenanceWindow -endTime:$endTime -comment:"Stopping Maintenance Mode" -monitoringObject:$computerObject -Reason PlannedOther -ErrorAction "Stop"

Write-Verbose -Message "Maintenance Mode stopped for server: '$server_'"

}

catch{

Write-Warning "Failed to stop Maintenance mode for server '$server_' $(($_.Exception.Message).substring(0,71))"

}

else {

try{

$endTime=([System.DateTime]::Now).AddMinutes($MaintenanceModeMinutes)

$currentendtime=(Get-MaintenanceWindow -MonitoringObject:$computerObject).scheduledendtime

if ($currentendtime -gt $endTime){

Write-Warning "Maintenance Mode not set for server: '$server_' (Current Maintenance window is set for a longer period: $currentendtime)" -verbose

break

}

New-MaintenanceWindow -startTime:$startTime -endTime:$endTime -monitoringObject:$computerObject -comment:$comment -ErrorAction "Stop"

Write-Verbose -Message "Maintenance Mode set for server: '$server_'" -verbose

}

catch{

Write-Warning "Failed to set Maintenance mode for server '$server_' $(($_.Exception.Message).substring(0,71))"

}

denBraver.com

an IT blog by Danny den braver

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