Jonathan Medd’s Blog

PowerShell 2.0: One Cmdlet at a Time #58 Export-PSSession

Continuing the series looking at new cmdlets available in PowerShell 2.0. This time we look at the Export-PSSession cmdlet.

What can I do with it?

Export commands from a remote PowerShell session into a module saved on the local system.

Example:

Establish a remote session with Test01 using New-PSSession. Use Invoke-Command to initiate the use of the BITSTransfer module. Export the commands from the BITSTransfer module into a module  saved on the local system and called BITSCommands.

$session1 = New-PSSession -ComputerName Test01
Invoke-Command -Session $session1 -ScriptBlock {Import-Module BITSTransfer}
Export-PSSession -Session $session1 -Module BITSTransfer 
-OutputModule BITSCommands -AllowClobber

The exported files are stored within your PowerShell profile folder.

The contents of the BITSCommands.psd1 file are below:

You could make use of this module at a later date with:

Import-Module BITSCommands

Extras:

Ravikanth Chaganti has an excellent post covering this cmdlet in more detail here.

How could I have done this in PowerShell 1.0?

Remoting did not exist in PowerShell 1.0, you would have needed to use Remote Desktop to run an interactive session on a remote server.

1000 things 1% better!

PowerShell 2.0: One Cmdlet at a Time #57 Import-PSSession

Continuing the series looking at new cmdlets available in PowerShell 2.0. This time we look at the Import-PSSession cmdlet.

What can I do with it?

Import commands from a Remote PowerShell session into the current session, for instance from a remote session on another computer.

Example:

Establish a remote session with Test01 using New-PSSession. Use Invoke-Command to initiate the use of the BITSTransfer module. Use Import-PSSession to make the contents of the BITSTransfer module available in the local session even though the BITSTransfer module has not been imported on the local computer.

Note: Technically I could just have imported the BITSTransfer module on the local machine, however this example is to demonstrate that potentially any module could be brought across to the local session.

$session1 = New-PSSession -ComputerName Test01
Invoke-Command -Session $session1 -ScriptBlock {Import-Module BITSTransfer}
Import-PSSession -Session $session1 -Module BITSTransfer

Confirm the contents of the BITSTransfer module is now available in the local session.

Get-Command *Bits* -CommandType Function

Extras:

Ravikanth Chaganti has an excellent post covering this cmdlet in more detail here.

How could I have done this in PowerShell 1.0?

Remoting did not exist in PowerShell 1.0, you would have needed to use Remote Desktop to run an interactive session on a remote server.

1000 things 1% better!

PowerShell 2.0: One Cmdlet at a Time #56 Disconnect-WSMan

Continuing the series looking at new cmdlets available in PowerShell 2.0. This time we look at the Disconnect-WSMan cmdlet.

What can I do with it?

Disconnect a connection previously made to a remote computer using WS-Management with the Connect-WSMan cmdlet.

Example:

Disconnect from the remote server Test01 using WS-Management .

Disconnect-WSMan -ComputerName Test01

How could I have done this in PowerShell 1.0?

Support for the use of WS-Management in PowerShell is provided as part of the 2.0 release.

1000 things 1% better!

PowerShell 2.0: One Cmdlet at a Time #55 Disable-WSManCredSSP

Continuing the series looking at new cmdlets available in PowerShell 2.0. This time we look at the Disable-WSManCredSSP cmdlet.

What can I do with it?

Disable  CredSSP configuration on a computer. Note: this cmdlet requires running from an elevated PowerShell session.

Example:

Disable the  CredSSP configuration on the local computer which has previously been enabled for client CredSSP via Enable-WSManCredSSP. Confirm this has been successful with Get-WSManCredSSP.

Disable-WSManCredSSP -Role client
Get-WSManCredSSP

You will notice that the computer is no longer configured for CredSSP authentication.

How could I have done this in PowerShell 1.0?

Support for the use of WS-Management in PowerShell is provided as part of the 2.0 release.

1000 things 1% better!

PowerShell 2.0: One Cmdlet at a Time #54 Get-WSManCredSSP

Continuing the series looking at new cmdlets available in PowerShell 2.0. This time we look at the Get-WSManCredSSP cmdlet.

What can I do with it?

View the  CredSSP configuration on the local computer. Note: this cmdlet requires running from an elevated PowerShell session.

Example:

View the  CredSSP configuration on the local computer which has previously been enabled for client CredSSP via Enable-WSManCredSSP.

Get-WSManCredSSP

You will notice the client part has been enabled, but not the server.

How could I have done this in PowerShell 1.0?

Support for the use of WS-Management in PowerShell is provided as part of the 2.0 release.

1000 things 1% better!

PowerShell 2.0: One Cmdlet at a Time #53 Enable-WSManCredSSP

Continuing the series looking at new cmdlets available in PowerShell 2.0. This time we look at the Enable-WSManCredSSP cmdlet.

What can I do with it?

Enable CredSSP authentication on a computer allowing a user’s credentials to be passed to a remote computer for authentication. (Think authentication for background jobs on remote computers.) Note: this cmdlet requires running from an elevated PowerShell session.

Example:

Enable user credentials on the local computer to be sent to the remote computer Test02.

Enable-WSManCredSSP -Role client -DelegateComputer Test02.test.local

You will notice that you are prompted to confirm and given a warning that making this change will allow the remote computer to have access to your username and password.

How could I have done this in PowerShell 1.0?

Support for the use of WS-Management in PowerShell is provided as part of the 2.0 release.

1000 things 1% better!

PowerShell 2.0: One Cmdlet at a Time #52 New-WSManSessionOption

Continuing the series looking at new cmdlets available in PowerShell 2.0. This time we look at the New-WSManSessionOption cmdlet.

What can I do with it?

Create a session option hash table for use with the WS-Management cmdlets Get-WSManInstance, Set-WSManInstance, Invoke-WSManAction and Connect-WSMan.

Example:

Create a session option hash table for use with the Set-WSManInstance cmdlet to update the HTTPS listener created with New-WSManInstance .

$options = New-WSManSessionOption -OperationTimeout 1000
-SkipRevocationCheck
Set-WSManInstance winrm/config/listener 
-SelectorSet @{address="*";transport="https"}
-SessionOption $options

How could I have done this in PowerShell 1.0?

Support for the use of WS-Management in PowerShell is provided as part of the 2.0 release.

1000 things 1% better!

PowerShell 2.0: One Cmdlet at a Time #51 Remove-WSManInstance

Continuing the series looking at new cmdlets available in PowerShell 2.0. This time we look at the Remove-WSManInstance cmdlet.

What can I do with it?

Remove a management resource that has been previously created for use with WS-Management.

Example:

Check for existing HTTPS Listeners. Remove the existing HTTPS listener created with New-WSManInstance . Check again to confirm its removal.

Get-WSManInstance winrm/config/listener
-selectorset @{Address="*";Transport="https"}
Remove-WSManInstance winrm/config/listener 
-SelectorSet @{address="*";transport="https"}
Get-WSManInstance winrm/config/listener 
-selectorset @{Address="*";Transport="https"}

You will notice that you recieve a nasty red error when trying to retrieve it after it has been removed.

How could I have done this in PowerShell 1.0?

Support for the use of WS-Management in PowerShell is provided as part of the 2.0 release.

1000 things 1% better!

PowerShell 2.0: One Cmdlet at a Time #50 Set-WSManInstance

Continuing the series looking at new cmdlets available in PowerShell 2.0. This time we look at the Set-WSManInstance cmdlet.

What can I do with it?

Change the properties of a management resource for use with WS-Management.

Example:

Set the Enabled property of the HTTPS listener created with New-WSManInstance to false, effectively disabling it. Tip: watch out for case sensitivity in ValueSet

Set-WSManInstance winrm/config/listener 
-SelectorSet @{address="*";transport="https"}
-ValueSet @{Enabled="false"}

How could I have done this in PowerShell 1.0?

Support for the use of WS-Management in PowerShell is provided as part of the 2.0 release.

1000 things 1% better!

PowerShell 2.0: One Cmdlet at a Time #49 New-WSManInstance

Continuing the series looking at new cmdlets available in PowerShell 2.0. This time we look at the New-WSManInstance cmdlet.

What can I do with it?

Create an instance of a management resource for use with WS-Management.

Example:

Create an instance of a management resource for use with WS-Management using HTTPS.

You need to specify a certificate for use with this listener since it is HTTPS. For testing purposes it is possible to create a self-signed certificate within IIS. Open the Create Self-Signed Certificate Wizard and enter a name.

Export it to C:\Temp

Import the pfx file into the Personal Certificate Store

For the New-WSManInstance cmdlet you will require the thumprint of this certificate, you can find this using PowerShell and the Certificate Provider.

Get-Childitem -path cert:\CurrentUser\My | Format-List FriendlyName,Thumbprint

Creation of the new WSManInstance using HTTPS is as follows:

New-WSManInstance winrm/config/Listener 
-SelectorSet @{Address="*";Transport="HTTPS"} 
-ValueSet @{Hostname="Test01";CertificateThumbprint="01F7EB07A4531750D920CE6A588BF5"}

You can verify this remotely using the Get-WSManInstance cmdlet.

Get-WSManInstance winrm/config/listener 
-selectorset @{Address="*";Transport="https"} -computername Test01

How could I have done this in PowerShell 1.0?

Support for the use of WS-Management in PowerShell is provided as part of the 2.0 release.

1000 things 1% better!