strComputer = objSysInfo.ComputerName\n<\/pre>\nAs it turns out, the ComputerName property actually returns the distinguished name of the computer; that means you\u2019re going to get back a value similar to this:<\/p>\n
CN=ATL-WS-01,OU=Accounting,OU=Finance,DC=fabrikam,DC=com\n<\/pre>\nAs you can see, the computer\u2019s OU \u2013 Accounting \u2013 happens to be embedded within the distinguished name. All we have to do now is figure out how to extract the OU name.<\/p>\n
To be honest, there are several different ways to go about extracting the OU name. After giving this a tiny bit of thought we decided to start the process by using this line of code to connect to the computer account in Active Directory:<\/p>\n
Set objComputer = GetObject(\"LDAP:\/\/\" & strComputer)\n<\/pre>\nThat, in turn, brings us to this portion of the script:<\/p>\n
arrOUs = Split(objComputer.Parent, \",\")\n<\/pre>\nWhat the heck is going on here<\/i>? What we\u2019re doing is using the Split function to split the value of the computer\u2019s Parent<\/b> attribute into an array. What\u2019s the Parent attribute? In this case, it\u2019s going to be the ADsPath of the container in which the computer object resides. In other words, it\u2019s equal to this:<\/p>\nLDAP:\/\/OU=Accounting,OU=Finance,DC=fabrikam,DC=com\n<\/pre>\nWhen we split the value of the Parent attribute on the comma, we end up with an array (named arrOUs) that contains the following elements:<\/p>\n
LDAP:\/\/OU=Accounting\nOU=Finance\nDC=fabrikam\nDC=com\n<\/pre>\nAs you can see, we\u2019re getting closer; in fact, the first element in our array (element 0) is exactly what we need, assuming we can get rid of the LDAP:\/\/OU=,<\/b> that is. So then why don\u2019t<\/i> we get rid of the LDAP:\/\/OU=<\/b>? The following line of code takes element 0 in the array arrOUs \u2013 LDAP:\/\/OU=Accounting<\/b> \u2013 and splits that<\/i> value on the equals sign (=):<\/p>\narrMainOU = Split(arrOUs(0), \"=\")\n<\/pre>\nThe net result? Another array (arrMainOU) containing these two elements:<\/p>\n
LDAP:\/\/OU\nAccounting\n<\/pre>\nAll we have to do now is echo back the second item in the array (element 1) and we\u2019re done:<\/p>\n
Wscript.Echo arrMainOU(1)\n<\/pre>\nLike we said, it\u2019s a roundabout way of getting the computer OU but, for better or worse, there\u2019s nothing but<\/i> a roundabout way of getting the computer OU. But hey, as long as it works, right?<\/p>\n
Now, before we go, is there anything else that the Scripting Guys know that you need to know as well? Maybe, say, the story of Cupid and Psyche, complete with deranged man-killing sheep, talking towers, and a box full of eternal sleep?<\/p>\n
Oh. Well, OK; guess we\u2019ll save that story for a future column. Hey, what are you guys doing tomorrow?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hey, Scripting Guy! In a logon script, which attribute do I use to determine the OU that the local computer belongs to? — JP Hey, JP. Most people are familiar with Cupid, the Roman god of love. In fact, you\u2019d be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn\u2019t know that Cupid carries with him a quiver […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":595,"featured_media":87096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[7,9,43,3,4,5],"class_list":["post-65903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-scripting","tag-active-directory","tag-adsi","tag-ous","tag-scripting-guy","tag-scripting-techniques","tag-vbscript"],"acf":[],"blog_post_summary":"
Hey, Scripting Guy! In a logon script, which attribute do I use to determine the OU that the local computer belongs to? — JP Hey, JP. Most people are familiar with Cupid, the Roman god of love. In fact, you\u2019d be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn\u2019t know that Cupid carries with him a quiver […]<\/p>\n","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65903","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\/595"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65903\/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=65903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Hey,](\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2019\/02\/q-for-powertip.jpg\" "\\"Hey,")
<\/p>\n![\"Spacer\"](\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2019\/05\/spacer.gif\")
![\"Hey,](\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2019\/02\/a-for-powertip.jpg\" "\\"Hey,")
![\"Script](\"http:\/\/img.microsoft.com\/library\/media\/1033\/technet\/images\/scriptcenter\/ad.jpg\" "\\"Script")
<\/a><\/p>\n