{"id":4008,"date":"2013-03-18T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2013-03-18T00:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.technet.microsoft.com\/heyscriptingguy\/2013\/03\/18\/playing-with-the-ad-drive-for-fun-and-profit\/"},"modified":"2013-03-18T00:01:00","modified_gmt":"2013-03-18T00:01:00","slug":"playing-with-the-ad-drive-for-fun-and-profit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/playing-with-the-ad-drive-for-fun-and-profit\/","title":{"rendered":"Playing with the AD: Drive for Fun and Profit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary<\/strong>: Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, talks about using the AD: drive to explore Active Directory Domain Services.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Hey, Hey, Scripting Guy! I will confess that I love using the Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell. I love the way I can use Windows PowerShell to create new users or to easily search for and find users and other stuff. What I do not get is the drive that the Active Directory module creates. I mean, what good is it? Every time I try to change to my domain “folder,” all I get is an error. I guess that it is used under the covers for something, but it seems a shame that I cannot use it too. Not sure if there is a question here other than, “Can I actually use the AD: drive?” If the answer here is, “Yes,” I need a follow up question, “How?” Thanks for listening and for all the good work you do.<\/p>\n

—RR<\/p>\n

\"Hey, Hello RR,<\/p>\n

Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, is here. This morning I am sipping a cup of English Breakfast tea and listening to Abba<\/a>. I was looking at some of the pictures Teresa and I took while we were in Stockholm, and for some reason Abba songs kept coming to my mind. When this happens, it seems that all I can do to extinguish the tune is to flood it. I am also thinking about, “I am your Scripting King…” Hmm…<\/p>\n

Understanding the AD: drive<\/h2>\n

You get the Active Directory module as part of the Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 8<\/a>. One of the cool features in Windows PowerShell 3.0 is when I use a cmdlet, Windows PowerShell automatically loads the module that contains the cmdlet if it is not already present. Autoloading is great.<\/p>\n

Therefore, when I use Get-ADComputer<\/strong>, Windows PowerShell automatically loads the Active Directory module. However, if the Active Directory module is not already loaded, attempting to set my working location to the AD: drive generates an error. This is shown here.<\/p>\n

PS C:\\> sl ad:<\/p>\n

sl : Cannot find drive. A drive with the name ‘ad’ does not exist.<\/p>\n

At line:1 char:1<\/p>\n

+ sl ad:<\/p>\n

+ ~~~~~~<\/p>\n

    + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (ad:String) [Set-Location], DriveNotFoundException<\/p>\n

    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : DriveNotFound,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.SetLocationCommand<\/p>\n

Load the Active Directory module to use the drive<\/h2>\n

After you import the Active Directory module, the AD: drive becomes available. I can then set my working location to the AD: drive. I can also use Get-ChildItem<\/strong> to retrieve the contents. This is shown here.<\/p>\n

PS C:\\> sl ad:<\/p>\n

PS AD:\\> dir<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Name                 ObjectClass          DistinguishedName<\/p>\n

—-                 ———–          —————–<\/p>\n

iammred              domainDNS            DC=iammred,DC=net<\/p>\n

Configuration        configuration        CN=Configuration,DC=iammred,DC=net<\/p>\n

Schema               dMD                  CN=Schema,CN=Configuration,DC=iammred,D..<\/p>\n

DomainDnsZones       domainDNS            DC=DomainDnsZones,DC=iammred,DC=net<\/p>\n

ForestDnsZones       domainDNS            DC=ForestDnsZones,DC=iammred,DC=net<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, what I see on the AD: drive is not what you need to use to actually interact with the drive. This leads to confusion. Therefore, when I attempt to set my location to the iammred<\/em> container, an error arises. This is shown here.<\/p>\n

PS AD:\\> sl iammred<\/p>\n

sl : Cannot find path ‘AD:\\iammred’ because it does not exist.<\/p>\n

At line:1 char:1<\/p>\n

+ sl iammred<\/p>\n

+ ~~~~~~~~~~<\/p>\n

    + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (AD:\\iammred:String) [Set-Location],ItemNotFoundException<\/p>\n

    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : PathNotFound,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.SetLocationCommand<\/p>\n

The error is a bit misleading because obviously iammred <\/em>does exist. I can prove that it exists by piping the object to the Where-Object<\/strong> as shown here.<\/p>\n

PS AD:\\> dir | ? name -eq ‘iammred’<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Name                 ObjectClass          DistinguishedName<\/p>\n

—-                 ———–          —————–<\/p>\n

iammred              domainDNS            DC=iammred,DC=net<\/p>\n

I use the up arrow, and send the output to the Format-List<\/strong> cmdlet to view all of the information in my search for a hint. The output from the command is shown here.<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a><\/p>\n

Change my working location to the domain<\/h2>\n

I decide to use the Set-Location<\/strong> cmdlet to change my working location to the actual domain. To do this, I specify the DistinguishedName<\/strong> <\/em>attribute. Because the components of the name separate via commas, I place the string in quotation marks. When I have my working location on the domain drive, I use the Get-ChildItem<\/strong> cmdlet to produce an output. These commands are shown here.<\/p>\n

PS AD:\\> sl “dc=iammred,dc=net”<\/p>\n

PS AD:\\dc=iammred,dc=net> dir<\/p>\n

The commands and the output associated with the commands are represented in the image that follows.<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a><\/p>\n

To change location to the child containers, the first portion of the distinguished name is required. Therefore attempting to set the location to the Users<\/strong> container fails when attempted as follows.<\/p>\n

sl users<\/p>\n

It also fails when I attempt to connect to OU=Users<\/strong> as seen here. This is understandable because Users<\/strong> <\/em>is a container and not an organizational unit (OU).<\/p>\n

sl “ou=users”<\/p>\n

When I use Set-Location<\/strong> to change the working location to cn=users<\/strong>, <\/em>does the command work? This is shown here.<\/p>\n

PS AD:\\dc=iammred,dc=net> sl “cn=users”<\/p>\n

PS AD:\\cn=users,dc=iammred,dc=net><\/p>\n

I can use the .. <\/strong>shortcut to move up a level in the hierarchy as shown here.<\/p>\n

PS AD:\\cn=users,dc=iammred,dc=net> sl ..<\/p>\n

PS AD:\\dc=iammred,dc=net> dir<\/p>\n

I use the same technique to change to the Charlotte OU. This command is shown here.<\/p>\n

PS AD:\\dc=iammred,dc=net> sl “ou=charlotte”<\/p>\n

PS AD:\\ou=charlotte,dc=iammred,dc=net><\/p>\n

To move to the root of the C: drive from the AD: drive, use the Set-Location<\/strong> cmdlet and specify the C: drive. This technique is shown here.<\/p>\n

PS AD:\\ou=charlotte,dc=iammred,dc=net> sl c:\\<\/p>\n

PS C:\\><\/p>\n

From the root of the C: drive, to go back to the Charlotte OU, I use the full path as shown here.<\/p>\n

PS C:\\> sl “AD:\\ou=charlotte,dc=iammred,dc=net”<\/p>\n

PS AD:\\ou=charlotte,dc=iammred,dc=net><\/p>\n

When I navigate, I like to use Push<\/strong> and Pop<\/strong>. So, from the Charlotte OU, I use the Push-Location<\/strong> cmdlet to store the path to my current location, and then I change to the C: drive This is shown here.<\/p>\n

PS AD:\\ou=charlotte,dc=iammred,dc=net> push-location<\/p>\n

PS AD:\\ou=charlotte,dc=iammred,dc=net> sl c:<\/p>\n

PS C:\\><\/p>\n

Next, I use Pop-Location<\/strong> to return me to the Charlotte OU. This technique is shown here.<\/p>\n

PS C:\\> Pop-Location<\/p>\n

PS AD:\\ou=charlotte,dc=iammred,dc=net><\/p>\n

Create a new Windows PowerShell drive for a favorite OU<\/h2>\n

If I find myself spending a lot of time in the Charlotte OU, I do not want to deal with a lot of typing to change to the OU. So I can create a new Windows PowerShell Drive only for Charlotte. First, I need to know the name of the provider. I get this by using the Get-PSProvider<\/strong> cmdlet. This is shown here.<\/p>\n

PS C:\\> Get-PSProvider<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Name                 Capabilities                    Drives<\/p>\n

—-                 ————                    ——<\/p>\n

Alias                ShouldProcess                   {Alias}<\/p>\n

Environment          ShouldProcess                   {Env}<\/p>\n

FileSystem           Filter, ShouldProcess, Crede… {C, D, E}<\/p>\n

Function             ShouldProcess                   {Function}<\/p>\n

Registry             ShouldProcess, Transactions     {HKLM, HKCU, HKCR}<\/p>\n

Variable             ShouldProcess                   {Variable}<\/p>\n

ActiveDirectory      Include, Exclude, Filter, Sh… {AD}<\/p>\n

It is as I suspected. Now I create my new Windows PowerShell drive by using the New-PSDrive<\/strong> cmdlet. The only thing that is tricky is the value for Root<\/strong>. <\/em>I copied the string that I used earlier with Set-Location<\/strong>, and it worked perfectly here.<\/p>\n

PS C:\\> New-PSDrive -Name Charlotte -PSProvider ActiveDirectory -Root “AD:\\ou=charlot<\/p>\n

te,dc=iammred,dc=net”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Name           Used (GB)     Free (GB) Provider      Root<\/p>\n

—-           ———     ——— ——–      —-<\/p>\n

Charlotte                              ActiveDire… \/\/RootDSE\/ou=charlotte,dc=ia…<\/p>\n

Remember, I now have a Windows PowerShell drive, so I need the colon at the end of the drive name to navigate there. This is shown here.<\/p>\n

PS C:\\> sl charlotte:<\/p>\n

PS Charlotte:\\><\/p>\n

When I am on the drive, I can use standard cmdlets to work with the data. Here I use dir<\/strong> <\/em>(alias for Get-ChildItem<\/strong>) to obtain a list of all members of the Charlotte OU.<\/p>\n

PS Charlotte:\\> dir<\/p>\n

Name                 ObjectClass          DistinguishedName<\/p>\n

—-                 ———–          —————–<\/p>\n

ED-PC                computer             CN=ED-PC,OU=Charlotte,DC=iammred,DC=net<\/p>\n

ed wilson            user                 CN=ed wilson,OU=Charlotte,DC=iammred,DC…<\/p>\n

EDLT                 computer             CN=EDLT,OU=Charlotte,DC=iammred,DC=net<\/p>\n

HYPERV2              computer             CN=HYPERV2,OU=Charlotte,DC=iammred,DC=net<\/p>\n

Regular User         user                 CN=Regular User,OU=Charlotte,DC=iammred…<\/p>\n

Sample User          user                 CN=Sample User,OU=Charlotte,DC=iammred,…<\/p>\n

SQL                  user                 CN=SQL,OU=Charlotte,DC=iammred,DC=net<\/p>\n

Teresa Wilson        user                 CN=Teresa Wilson,OU=Charlotte,DC=iammre…<\/p>\n

RR, that is all there is to using the AD: drive. Active Directory Week will continue tomorrow when I will talk about searching Active Directory by using the AD: drive.<\/p>\n

Ed Wilson, Microsoft Scripting Guy<\/strong> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary: Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, talks about using the AD: drive to explore Active Directory Domain Services.  Hey, Scripting Guy! I will confess that I love using the Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell. I love the way I can use Windows PowerShell to create new users or to easily search for and find […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":596,"featured_media":87096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[7,3,4,8,45],"class_list":["post-4008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-scripting","tag-active-directory","tag-scripting-guy","tag-scripting-techniques","tag-searching-active-directory","tag-windows-powershell"],"acf":[],"blog_post_summary":"

Summary: Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, talks about using the AD: drive to explore Active Directory Domain Services.  Hey, Scripting Guy! I will confess that I love using the Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell. I love the way I can use Windows PowerShell to create new users or to easily search for and find […]<\/p>\n","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/596"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

I invite you to follow me on Twitter<\/a> and Facebook<\/a>. If you have any questions, send email to me at scripter@microsoft.com<\/a>, or post your questions on the Official Scripting Guys Forum<\/a>. See you tomorrow. Until then, peace.<\/p>\n