How to access remote computers with PowerShell?

Windows PowerShell V2 allows you to access remote computers and execute PowerShell commands on those remote clients. The following steps illustrate how to create a session with a single client.

For every client that we will be remotely accessing, we need to run the command:

Winrm quickconfig
Press Y at all prompts.

This will open the ports on the firewall that we need open for remote management.

Now, on the copmuter that will be making the remote connection, type:

Enter-PSSession –computerName ComputerName

In my case, the ComputerName parameter is MCT-1. Once the session is established, your prompt will look like this:

[MCT-1]: PS C:\Users\Administrator\Documentss>

Go ahead and type Get-Service. You should notice that what is returned is the services from the remote client.

Type Exit to return to your local client.

Now what about multiple sessions?

Once you have run WinRM QuickConfig on multiple clients, you can set up multiple sessions.

My current setup has me on a computer named MCT-Win7-1 I want to set up a session to two other clients, MCT-1 and MCT-Win7-2. I type in this command:

New-PSSession MCT1, MCT-Win7-2

What comes back are the session numbers. With this method, you can only have on session open at a time. To access one one of the sessions, type Enter-PSSession –ID and then the session number.

Once you have comleted your work with that client, type Exit.

You can get a list of all open sessions by typing Get-PSSession.

So how do you run a command in all sessions? First lets save the current sessions in a variable.

$PSList = Get-PSSession

Now, we are going to use the Invoke-Command commandlet.

Invoke-Command –session $PSList –scriptblock {Get-Service}

From here you will receive a list of the data returned.

You can close the sessions in one of two ways.

Remove-PSSession – ID SessionNumber

Remove-PSSession –session $PSList

Comments

Sticky Key problem between Windows Server 2012 and LogMeIn

This week I instructed my first class using Windows Server 2012 accessed via LogMeIn and discovered a Sticky Key problem every time you press the Shift key. Here is my solution to resolve this. First off, in the Preferences of LogMeIn for the connection to the Windows Server, click General . Change the Keyboard and mouse priority to Host side user and click Apply at the bottom. On the Windows 2012 server, open the Control Panel – Ease of Access – Change how your keyboard works . Uncheck Turn on Sticky Keys . Click Set up Sticky Keys . Uncheck Turn on Sticky Keys when SHIFT is pressed five times . Click OK twice. If you are using Windows Server 2012 as a Hyper-V host, you will need to redo the Easy of Use settings on each guest operating system in order to avoid the Sticky Key Problem. Updated Information: March 20, 2013 If you continue to have problems, Uncheck Turn on Filter Keys .

With the AD Recycle Bin Turned on, What Happens when you Create a User Account with a Password that does not meet the Password Policy?

This was an interesting observation from one of my Windows Server 2012 classes. While working with the AD Recycle bin in a lab, one of my students discovered some interesting accounts that were created. When he created user accounts that did not meet password complexity requirements, an account is temporarily made and then deleted. When a new password is provided that meets the password requirements, then a new account is made. We discovered this in two places. First off in the Active Directory Administrative Center. This is what caused the initial confusion. Take a look. This is in the Deleted Objects OU. You can see multiple deleted accounts for Test2 and one for Test3. Test3 is a valid, functioning user account. Using the PowerShell command Get-ADObject –IncludeDeletedObjects –Filter * –Properties ObjectSID we can see that indeed, two accounts were created, with one of them deleted. Notice the RID portion of the SID is different. ...

Where did a User’s Account Get Locked Out?

Updated: May 15, 2015 When this article was originally published, two extra carriage returns were add causing the code to malfunction. The code below is correct. My client for this week’s PowerShell class had a really interesting question. They needed to know where an account is being locked out at. OK, interesting. Apparently users hop around clients and forget to log off, leading to eventual lock out of their accounts. The accounts can be unlocked, but are then relocked after Active Directory replication. This problem is solved in two parts. The first one is to modify the event auditing on the network. The second part is resolved with PowerShell. The first part involves creating a group policy that will encompass your Domain Controllers. In this GPO, make these changes. Expand Computer Configuration \ Policies \ Windows Settings \ Security Settings \ Advanced Audit Policy Configuration \ Audit Policies \ Account Management Double click User Account Management C...

Jason Yoder, MCT

Search This Blog