Obtain a listing of servers to query<\/h2>\n
There are numerous ways to obtain a listing of servers. The different methodologies appear here.<\/p>\n
- \n
- Read a Text file (or a CSV file) containing a list of all the servers.<\/li>\n
- Read a SQL Server database (or an Excel spreadsheet) containing a list of all the servers.<\/li>\n
- Use ADO to query Active Directory to obtain a list of all the servers.<\/li>\n
- Use the [ADSISearcher] type accelerator to query Active Directory and obtain a list of all the servers.<\/li>\n
- Use a Windows PowerShell cmdlet to query Active Directory.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
I have talked about all of these technologies in previous years. You can use the search function or the blog tags to find these articles. Actually, each of the approaches has advantages and disadvantages. Reading a text file is very simple, but then, so is using a Windows PowerShell cmdlet to query Active Directory. The problem with a text file is that you have to always have access to it, and you also have to maintain it. With Active Directory, it will always be up to date, and maintenance is not, in fact, an issue. Most of the time, nowadays, I tend to query Active Directory. It is fast, easy, and accurate. The easiest way to get a computer listing is to use the Get-ADComputer<\/b> cmdlet from the AD DS Windows PowerShell tools. For my Windows 8 laptop, I downloaded them from this link<\/a>. Keep in mind that the RSAT tools are both operating system-specific as well as processor-specific.<\/p>\n
Note<\/b> I have written a number of articles that deal with the RSAT tools for Windows 7<\/a>. I have not yet written about the RSAT tools for Windows 8.<\/p>\n
The first thing I do is import the ActiveDirectory module. I use the command appearing here (ipmo<\/b> is the alias for Import-Module<\/b>, and *active* is a wild card pattern that finds the ActiveDirectory module).<\/p>\n
ipmo *active*<\/p>\n
Note<\/b> In Windows PowerShell 3.0, you do not need to import a module prior to using it, but if I know that I am going to use a module, I go ahead and import it, because it is faster.<\/p>\n
Next, I use the Get-ADComputer<\/b> cmdlet and use a filter that returns everything. I store the results in a $cn variable. This command appears here.<\/p>\n
$cn = Get-ADComputer -Filter *<\/p>\n
Obtaining the directory listings<\/h2>\n
Now, I create a credential object to permit me to run a remote command on the remote servers. To do this, I use the Get-Credential<\/b> cmdlet as shown here.<\/p>\n
$cred = Get-Credential -Credential iammred\\administrator<\/p>\n
Note<\/b> The account I am using does not have admin rights on the remote computers, but it does have permission to query Active Directory. If your account does not have rights to query Active Directory, you would need to use the credentials earlier when you query Active Directory. The command would be something like this: Get-ADComputer -Filter * -Credential $cred<\/p>\n
Once I have a credential object, I need to use the Invoke-Command<\/b> cmdlet to run the command on the remote servers. This command appears here (icm<\/b> is an alias for the Invoke-Command<\/b> cmdlet).<\/p>\n
icm -Credential $cred -Cn $cn.name -ScriptBlock {dir}<\/p>\n
Note<\/b> This command takes advantage of Windows PowerShell 3.0 automatic enumeration of collections that permit me to access a single property from a collection of objects. If you are not using Windows PowerShell 3.0, you will need to do something like this: $a = $cn | foreach {$_.name}<\/p>\n
Write to a CSV file<\/h2>\n
To write to a CSV file, I use the Export-CSV<\/b> cmdlet and specify a local path. Because I am not using a shared storage mechanism, but rather using a CSV file on my local system, I add the Export-CSV<\/b> command after the Invoke-Command<\/b> cmdlet and use a local path. The command appears here.<\/p>\n
| export-csv -path c:\\fso\\serverDir.csv –Append<\/p>\n
Putting it all together<\/h2>\n
The complete sequence of commands is shown here.<\/p>\n
ipmo *active*<\/p>\n
$cn = Get-ADComputer -Filter *<\/p>\n
$cred = Get-Credential -Credential iammred\\administrator<\/p>\n
icm -Credential $cred -Cn $cn.name -ScriptBlock {dir} | export-csv -path c:\\fso\\serverDir.csv –Append<\/p>\n
Four commands. That is it. Now, I did not do any error checking, and, as a result, I got a bunch of errors in the Windows PowerShell console when I ran the command. This was due to servers being offline on my home network. Here are the errors.<\/p>\n
![\"Image](\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2019\/02\/0702.hsg-10-27-12-01.png\" "\\"Image")
<\/a><\/p>\nWhen I double-click on the CSV file, it opens automatically in Microsoft Excel. This is shown here.<\/p>\n
![\"Image](\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2019\/02\/1447.hsg-10-27-12-02.png\" "\\"Image")
<\/a><\/p>\nOne thing to notice is that I did not make any changes to the output. If I am not interested in all this information, I can use the Select-Object<\/b> cmdlet to choose what to write to the CSV file.<\/p>\n
Note<\/b> I have written quite a bit about working with CSV files<\/a> from within Windows PowerShell.<\/p>\n
That should get you started collecting directory inventories from your servers. Have a great weekend, and I will see you tomorrow.<\/p>\n
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
Ed Wilson, Microsoft Scripting Guy<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Summary: Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, shows how to get a directory listing from remote servers by using Windows PowerShell and how to write results to an CSV file. Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, is here. It is here: Windows PowerShell Saturday #003 in Atlanta, Georgia (Alpharetta). The speaker’s dinner last night was great, and […]<\/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":[7,3,303,61,45],"class_list":["post-4762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-scripting","tag-active-directory","tag-scripting-guy","tag-searching","tag-weekend-scripter","tag-windows-powershell"],"acf":[],"blog_post_summary":"
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