DSC Resource Kit Release October 2019

Michael Greene

DSC Resource Kit Release

We just released the DSC Resource Kit!

This release includes updates to 9 DSC resource modules. In the past 6 weeks, 91 pull requests have been merged and 41 issues have been closed, all thanks to our amazing community!

Special thanks to everyone who contributed to the Hacktoberfest effort to update xWebAdministration!!! This accounted for 26 of the pull requests closed this month.

The modules updated in this release are:

  • ActiveDirectoryDsc 4.2.0.0
  • ComputerManagementDsc 7.1.0.0
  • SharePointDsc 3.7.0.0
  • StorageDsc 4.9.0.0
  • xDnsServer .16.0.0
  • xDscResourceDesigner .13.0.0
  • xExchange .30.0.0
  • xHyper-V .17.0.0
  • xWebAdministration 3.0.0.0

For a detailed list of the resource modules and fixes in this release, see the Included in this Release section below.

Our latest community call for the DSC Resource Kit was last Wednesday, October 23. A recording of the call is posted on the PowerShell YouTube channel. You can join us for the next call at 12PM (Pacific time) on August 28th to ask questions and give feedback about your experience with the DSC Resource Kit.

Following this resource kit release, maintainers will begin publishing as soon as they are ready rather than holding 6 weeks to do a group release. In the next community call we will discuss progress and whether we need to do a November release or not. Be sure to follow the DSC Community on Twitter for live updates as modules release.

You can find more information about our progress as a community on the DSC Community page.

We strongly encourage you to update to the newest version of all modules using the PowerShell Gallery, and don’t forget to give us your feedback in the comments below, on GitHub, or on Twitter (@PowerShell_Team)!

Please see our documentation here for information on the support of these resource modules.

Included in this Release

You can see a detailed summary of all changes included in this release in the table below. For past release notes, go to the README.md or CHANGELOG.md file on the GitHub repository page for a specific module (see the How to Find DSC Resource Modules on GitHub section below for details on finding the GitHub page for a specific module).

Module Name Version Release Notes
ActiveDirectoryDsc 4.2.0.0
  • Changes to ActiveDirectoryDsc
    • Resolved custom Script Analyzer rules that was added to the test framework.
    • Resolve style guideline violations for hashtables (issue 516).
  • Changes to ADReplicationSite
    • Added “Description” attribute parameter (issue 500).
    • Added Integration testing (issue 355).
    • Correct value returned for RenameDefaultFirstSiteName (issue 502).
  • Changes to ADReplicationSubnet
    • Added “Description” attribute parameter (issue 503)
    • Added Integration testing (issue 357)
  • Changes to ADReplicationSiteLink
    • Added Integration testing (issue 356).
    • Added ability to set “Options” such as Change Notification Replication (issue 504).
  • Changes to ActiveDirectoryDsc.Common
    • Fix Test-DscPropertyState Failing when Comparing $Null and Arrays. (issue 513)
ComputerManagementDsc 7.1.0.0
  • ComputerManagementDsc:
    • Update psd1 description – Fixes Issue 269.
  • Fix minor style issues with missing spaces between param statements and “(“.
  • SmbServerConfiguration:
    • New resource for configuring the SMB Server settings.
    • Added examples for SMB Server Configuration.
  • Minor corrections to CHANGELOG.MD.
  • ScheduledTask:
    • Fixed bug when description has any form of whitespace at beginning or end the resource would not go into state – Fixes Issue 258.
  • SmbShare:
    • Removal of duplicate code in Add-SmbShareAccessPermission helper function fixes Issue 226.
SharePointDsc 3.7.0.0
        • SPConfigWizard
          • Fixed issue with incorrect check for upgrade status of server
        • SPDistributedCacheService
          • Improved error message for inclusion of server name into ServerProvisionOrder parameters when Present or change to Ensure Absent
        • SPFarm
          • Removed SingleServer as ServerRole, since this is an invalid role.
          • Handle case where null or empty CentralAdministrationUrl is passed in
          • Move CentralAdministrationPort validation into parameter definition to work with ReverseDsc
          • Add NotNullOrEmpty parameter validation to CentralAdministrationUrl
          • Fixed error when changing developer dashboard display level.
          • Add support for updating Central Admin Authentication Method
        • SPFarmSolution
          • Fix for Web Application scoped solutions.
        • SPInstall
          • Fixes a terminating error for sources in weird file shares
          • Corrected issue with incorrectly detecting SharePoint after it has been uninstalled
          • Corrected issue with detecting a paused installation
        • SPInstallLanguagePack
          • Fixes a terminating error for sources in weird file shares
        • SPInstallPrereqs
          • Fixes a terminating error for sources in weird file shares
        • SPProductUpdate
          • Fixes a terminating error for sources in weird file shares
          • Corrected incorrect farm detection, added in earlier bugfix
        • SPSite
          • Fixed issue with incorrectly updating site OwnerAlias and SecondaryOwnerAlias
        • SPWebAppAuthentication
          • Fixes issue where Test method return false on NON-US OS.
StorageDsc 4.9.0.0
  • Disk:
    • Added Location as a possible value for DiskIdType. This will select the disk based on the Location property returned by Get-Disk
    • Maximum size calculation now uses workaround so that Test-TargetResource works properly – workaround for Issue 181.
  • DiskAccessPath:
    • Added Location as a possible value for DiskIdType. This will select the disk based on the Location property returned by Get-Disk
  • WaitForDisk:
    • Added Location as a possible value for DiskIdType. This will select the disk based on the Location property returned by Get-Disk
xDnsServer 1.16.0.0
  • Changes to XDnsServerADZone
    • Raise an exception if DirectoryPartitionName is specified and ReplicationScope is not Custom. (issue 110).
    • Enforce the ReplicationScope parameter being passed to Set-DnsServerPrimaryZone if DirectoryPartitionName has changed.
  • xDnsServer:
    • OptIn to the following Dsc Resource Meta Tests:
      • Common Tests – Relative Path Length
      • Common Tests – Validate Markdown Links
      • Common Tests – Custom Script Analyzer Rules
      • Common Tests – Required Script Analyzer Rules
      • Common Tests – Flagged Script Analyzer Rules
xDscResourceDesigner 1.13.0.0
  • Fix Parameter Blocks to conform to Dsc Style Guidlelines issue 79.
  • Fix README.md MarkDownLint Errors and Formatting Issues
xExchange 1.30.0.0
  • Resolved custom Script Analyzer rules that was added to the test framework.
  • Added xExchAcceptedDomain resource
  • Resolved hashtable styling issues
  • Added xExchRemoteDomain resource
xHyper-V 3.17.0.0
  • MSFT_xVMNetworkAdapter:
    • Added NetworkSettings to be able to statically set IPAddress.
    • Added option for Vlan tagging. You can now setup a Network Adapeter as an access switch on a specific Vlan.
xWebAdministration 3.0.0.0
  • Changes to xWebAdministration
    • Changes to PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
      • Improving descriptive text around the CHANGELOG.md entry.
      • Adding note that entry in CHANGELOG.md is mandatory for all PRs.
    • Resolved custom Script Analyzer rules that was added to the test framework.
    • Moved change log from README.md to a separate CHANGELOG.md (issue 446).
    • Remove example “Creating the default website using configuration data” from README.md (issue 488).
    • Removed examples README.md as it was obsolete (issue 482).
    • Updated Ensure property description for xIisHandler resource to match schema.mof
    • Moved examples from Readme.md to respective /Examples/Resources/ folders (issue 486).
    • Created new folder structure for examples so that examples will be placed in /Examples/Resources/$resourceName (issue 483).
    • Added a table of contents for the resource list (issue 450).
    • Alphabetized the resource list in the README.md (issue 449).
    • Optimized exporting in the module manifest for best performance (issue 448).
    • Updated hashtables in the repo to adhere to the style guidelines described at https://github.com/PowerShell/DscResources/blob/master/StyleGuidelines.mdcorrect-format-for-hashtables-or-objects (issue 524)
    • Moved example Sample_EndToEndxWebAdministration from readme.md to a separate .ps1 in /examples/ (issue 491)
    • Removed example “Create and configure an application pool” from README.md (issue 489).
  • Changes to xIisHandler
    • Updated schema.mof to include descriptions for each property (issue 453).
    • Moved MSFT_xIisHandler localization strings to strings.psd1 (issue 463).
  • Changes to xWebSite
    • Fix Get-TargetResource so that LogFlags are returned as expected array of strings (one for each flag) rather than an array containing a single comma-separated string of flags” (issue 332).
    • Moved localization strings to strings.psd1 file (issue 475)
    • Updated schema.mof so that each property has an appropriate description (issue 456).
    • Updated schema.mof and README so that SourceType and SourceName properties for MSFT_xLogCustomFieldInformation are associated with the appropriate descriptions and valuemaps/values (issue 456).
    • Move examples from README.md to resource examples folder (issue 487).
    • Fix case of resource name from xWebsite to xWebSite (issue 535).
  • Changes to xIISLogging
    • Fix Get-TargetResource so that LogFlags are returned as expected array of strings (one for each flag) rather than an array containing a single comma-separated string of flags (issue 332).
    • Moved MSFT_xIisLogging localization strings to strings.psd1 (issue 464).
  • Changes to xSslSettings
    • Updated casing of xSslSettings in all file names, folder names, schema, and documentation (issue 461).
    • Updated casing of xSslSettings in all file names, folder names, schema, and documentation (issue 536).
    • Moved MSFT_xSslSettings localization strings to strings.psd1 (issue 467).
  • Changes to xWebConfigKeyValue
    • Updated schema.mof to include a description for the Ensure property (issue 455).
    • Move localization strings to strings.psd1 file (issue 472).
  • Changes to xWebAppPoolDefaults
    • Move localization strings to strings.psd1 file (issue 470).
    • BREAKING CHANGE: Changed ApplyTo key parameter to IsSingleInstance to bring the resource into compliance with published best practices (issue 462).
  • Changes to xWebApplication
    • Move localization strings to strings.psd1 file (issue 468)
    • Add description on class MSFT_xWebApplicationAuthenticationInformation (issue 454).
  • Changes to xIisModule entry
    • Moved xIisModule localization strings to strings.psd1 (issue 466).
  • Changes to xIisMimeTypeMapping
    • Moved MSFT_xIisMimeTypeMapping localization strings to strings.psd1 (issue 465).
  • Changes to xWebVirtualDirectory
    • Moved MSFT_xWebVirtualDirectory localization strings to strings.psd1 (issue 477).
  • Changes to xWebSiteDefaults
    • Move localization strings to strings.psd1 file (issue 475).
    • BREAKING CHANGE: Changed ApplyTo key parameter to IsSingleInstance to bring the resource into compliance with published best practices (issue 457).
    • Fix case of resource name from xWebsiteDefaults to xWebSiteDefaults (issue 535).
  • Changes to xWebConfigProperty
    • Move localization strings to strings.psd1 file (issue 473).
  • Changes to xWebConfigPropertyCollection
    • Move localization strings to strings.psd1 file (issue 474).
  • Changes to xIisFeatureDelegation
    • Moved MSFT_xIisFeatureDelegation localization strings to strings.psd1 (issue 459).
  • Changes to xWebAppPool
    • Moved MSFT_xWebAppPool localization strings to strings.psd1 (issue 469).

How to Find Released DSC Resource Modules

To see a list of all released DSC Resource Kit modules, go to the PowerShell Gallery and display all modules tagged as DSCResourceKit. You can also enter a module’s name in the search box in the upper right corner of the PowerShell Gallery to find a specific module.

Of course, you can also always use PowerShellGet (available starting in WMF 5.0) to find modules with DSC Resources:

# To list all modules that tagged as DSCResourceKit
Find-Module -Tag DSCResourceKit 
# To list all DSC resources from all sources 
Find-DscResource

Please note only those modules released by the PowerShell Team are currently considered part of the ‘DSC Resource Kit’ regardless of the presence of the ‘DSC Resource Kit’ tag in the PowerShell Gallery.

To find a specific module, go directly to its URL on the PowerShell Gallery: http://www.powershellgallery.com/packages/< module name > For example: http://www.powershellgallery.com/packages/xWebAdministration

How to Install DSC Resource Modules From the PowerShell Gallery

We recommend that you use PowerShellGet to install DSC resource modules:

Install-Module -Name < module name >

For example:

Install-Module -Name xWebAdministration

To update all previously installed modules at once, open an elevated PowerShell prompt and use this command:

Update-Module

After installing modules, you can discover all DSC resources available to your local system with this command:

Get-DscResource

How to Find DSC Resource Modules on GitHub

All resource modules in the DSC Resource Kit are available open-source on GitHub. You can see the most recent state of a resource module by visiting its GitHub page at: https://github.com/PowerShell/< module name > For example, for the CertificateDsc module, go to: https://github.com/PowerShell/CertificateDsc.

All DSC modules are also listed as submodules of the DscResources repository in the DscResources folder and the xDscResources folder.

How to Contribute

You are more than welcome to contribute to the development of the DSC Resource Kit! There are several different ways you can help. You can create new DSC resources or modules, add test automation, improve documentation, fix existing issues, or open new ones. See our contributing guide for more info on how to become a DSC Resource Kit contributor.

If you would like to help, please take a look at the list of open issues for the DscResources repository. You can also check issues for specific resource modules by going to: https://github.com/PowerShell/< module name >/issues For example: https://github.com/PowerShell/xPSDesiredStateConfiguration/issues

Your help in developing the DSC Resource Kit is invaluable to us!

Questions, comments?

If you’re looking into using PowerShell DSC, have questions or issues with a current resource, or would like a new resource, let us know in the comments below, on Twitter (@PowerShell_Team), or by creating an issue on GitHub.

Michael Greene Principal Program Manager PowerShell DSC Team @migreene (Twitter) @mgreenegit (GitHub)

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