Skip to main content

Renaming Remote Clients

By

So I am finally getting around to posting some of the code from this weeks PowerShell class.  As always, I’m listening to my class and I am not afraid to deviate from the lessons when someone comes up with a good idea.  While teaching about PowerShell remoting, I was asked if it is possible to rename remote clients.  Sure it is!

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

$Cred = Get-Credential -Credential MCTExpert\AdminAccount

$OldName = "CL1"

$NewName = "Client1"

 

Invoke-Command -ComputerName $OldName -ScriptBlock {

    Param($C, $NN)

    $Name = HostName

    $Splat = @{

        "NewName" = $NN

        "Restart" = $True

        "Force" = $True

        "PassThru" = $True

        "DomainCredential" = $C

    }

        Rename-Computer @Splat

 

} -ArgumentList $Cred, $NewName

Line Details
1 Ask for the domain credentials of someone who has the rights to rename the computer object in Active Directory
2 and 3 The new and old computer name. 
5 Creates a remote session with the client using the old name.
6 This is used to pass information from your client, to the remote client.  The first variable $C maps to the $Cred being passing in line 17.  The variable $NN maps to $NewName, also being passed in line 17.
7 Gets the host machine name for the Rename-Computer cmdlet.
8 This is where we create a splat for all the parameters that we will feed Rename-Computer.  If you go through the help file for Rename-Computer, you will see what each one does.
15 This is where we apply the splat and actually rename the computer.
17 This is where we pass information from your client, to the remote one.  The information is passed to the Param block on line 6.

This is very basic.  In practice, I would consider a CSV file containing one column with the old computer name, and another with the new name.  I would then pipe this CSV into a more advanced version of this code so I can make things happen a little faster and less manually.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sticky Key problem between Windows Server 2012 and LogMeIn

By
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 .
6 comments
Read more

Where did a User’s Account Get Locked Out?

By
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...
18 comments
Read more

How to run GPResult on a remote client with PowerShell

By
In the past, to run the GPResult command, you would need to either physically visit this client, have the user do it, or use and RDP connection.  In all cases, this will disrupt the user.  First, you need PowerShell remoting enabled on the target machine.  You can do this via Group Policy . Open PowerShell and type this command. Invoke-Command –ScriptBlock {GPResult /r} –ComputerName <ComputerName> Replace <ComputerName> with the name of the target.  Remember, the target needs to be online and accessible to you.
Post a Comment
Read more