Category: Operating System

PowerShell Function to Determine the Hyper-V Host for a VM

Mike F Robbins March 30, 2017March 30, 2017 5

This week, I thought I would share a PowerShell function that I wrote to determine what Hyper-V host server a VM (virtual machine) resides on. In this scenario, you have no idea which Hyper-V host a VM resides on.

#Requires -Version 3.0
function Get-MrVmHost {
<#
.SYNOPSIS
    Determines the HyperV host virtualization server for the specified virtual machines.
.DESCRIPTION
    Get-MrVmHost is an advanced function for determining the HyperV host virtualiztion server for one
    or more VMs (virtual machines).
.PARAMETER ComputerName
    The name of the VM (virtual machine) to determine the HyperV host for.
.PARAMETER Credential
    Specifies a user account that has permission to perform this action. The default is the current user.
    Type a user name, such as User01 or Domain01\User01. Or, enter a PSCredential object, such as one generated by the
    Get-Credential cmdlet. If you type a user name, this cmdlet prompts you for a password.
.EXAMPLE
     Get-MrVmHost -ComputerName Server01, Server02, Server03
.EXAMPLE
     Get-MrVmHost -ComputerName Server01, Server02, Server03 -Credential (Get-Credential)
.INPUTS
    None
.OUTPUTS
    PSCustomObject
.NOTES
    Author:  Mike F Robbins
    Website: http://mikefrobbins.com
    Twitter: @mikefrobbins
#>
    [CmdletBinding()]
    param (
        [Parameter(Mandatory)]
        [Alias('VMName')]
        [string[]]$ComputerName,
        [System.Management.Automation.Credential()]$Credential = [System.Management.Automation.PSCredential]::Empty
    )
    $Params = @{
        ComputerName = $ComputerName
        ScriptBlock = {Get-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Virtual Machine\Guest\Parameters'}
        ErrorAction = 'SilentlyContinue'
        ErrorVariable = 'Problem'
    }
    if ($PSBoundParameters.Credential) {
        $Params.Credential = $Credential
    }
    Invoke-Command @Params |
    Select-Object -Property VirtualMachineName, HostName
    foreach ($p in $Problem) {
        if ($p.origininfo.pscomputername) {
            Write-Warning -Message "Unable to read registry key on $($p.origininfo.pscomputername)"
        }
        elseif ($p.targetobject) {
            Write-Warning -Message "Unable to connect to $($p.targetobject)"
        }
    }
}

#Requires -Version 3.0

function Get-MrVmHost {

.SYNOPSIS

Determines the HyperV host virtualization server for the specified virtual machines.

.DESCRIPTION

Get-MrVmHost is an advanced function for determining the HyperV host virtualiztion server for one

or more VMs (virtual machines).

.PARAMETER ComputerName

The name of the VM (virtual machine) to determine the HyperV host for.

.PARAMETER Credential

Specifies a user account that has permission to perform this action. The default is the current user.

Type a user name, such as User01 or Domain01\User01. Or, enter a PSCredential object, such as one generated by the

Get-Credential cmdlet. If you type a user name, this cmdlet prompts you for a password.

.EXAMPLE

Get-MrVmHost -ComputerName Server01, Server02, Server03

.EXAMPLE

Get-MrVmHost -ComputerName Server01, Server02, Server03 -Credential (Get-Credential)

.INPUTS

None

.OUTPUTS

PSCustomObject

.NOTES

Author: Mike F Robbins

Website: http://mikefrobbins.com

Twitter: @mikefrobbins

[CmdletBinding()]

param (

[Parameter(Mandatory)]

[Alias('VMName')]

[string[]]$ComputerName,

[System.Management.Automation.Credential()]$Credential = [System.Management.Automation.PSCredential]::Empty

)

$Params = @{

ComputerName = $ComputerName

ScriptBlock = {Get-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Virtual Machine\Guest\Parameters'}

ErrorAction = 'SilentlyContinue'

ErrorVariable = 'Problem'

}

if ($PSBoundParameters.Credential) {

$Params.Credential = $Credential

}

Invoke-Command @Params |

Select-Object -Property VirtualMachineName, HostName

foreach ($p in $Problem) {

if ($p.origininfo.pscomputername) {

Write-Warning -Message "Unable to read registry key on $($p.origininfo.pscomputername)"

}

elseif ($p.targetobject) {

Write-Warning -Message "Unable to connect to $($p.targetobject)"

}

First off, let me say that this function is written a bit unorthodox. Typically you'll see functions written where each item in the ComputerName array is iterated through one at a time. Since this function uses the PowerShell remoting Invoke-Command Read more [...]

Categories Hyper-V, PowerShell Tags Hyper-V, PowerShell

Convert, Resize, and Optimize VHD and VHDX files with PowerShell

Mike F Robbins March 23, 2017March 23, 2017 1

I recently received an email from someone who attended one of my presentations asking if I had a blog article on using PowerShell to compact and optimize VHD files. Since I didn't have a blog article on that subject, I decided to create one. The process itself is fairly simple. The examples shown in this blog article are being run on a Windows 10 computer which has Hyper-V enabled on it. Only specific SKU's of Windows 10 are capable of running Hyper-V. The same process can be used on servers running Read more [...]

Categories Hyper-V, PowerShell, Virtualization, Windows 10, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016 Tags Hyper-V, PowerShell

Solving DSC Problems on Windows 10 & Writing PowerShell Code that writes PowerShell Code for you

Mike F Robbins November 5, 2015November 6, 2015 3

I recently ran into a problem with DSC on Windows 10 when trying to create MOF files with DSC configurations that work on other operating systems. An error is generated when the friendly name for a DSC resource contains a dash and that friendly name is specified as a dependency for another resource. I know that only certain characters are allowed in the name that's specified for DependsOn and I've run into similar problems with things such as IP addresses due to the dot or period, but the dash works Read more [...]

Categories Desired State Configuration, PowerShell, Windows 10 Tags Desired State Configuration, DSC, PowerShell, Windows 10

#PowerShell: DelayedAutoStart Property added to the Win32_Service WMI Class in Windows 10 RTM

Mike F Robbins September 4, 2015September 4, 2015 3

I recently discovered that Windows 10 adds a DelayedAutoStart property to the Win32_Service WMI Class:

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Service -Filter "Name = 'MapsBroker'" | Format-List -Property *

1	Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Service -Filter "Name = 'MapsBroker'" \| Format-List -Property *

I've verified that this property does not exist on prior operating systems such as Windows 8.1 even when they're updated to the production preview version of PowerShell version 5. I had written a Hey, Scripting Guy! Blog article on how to query the registry of remote machines to "Exclude Delayed Start Services when Checking Status with PowerShell" that shows Read more [...]

Categories PowerShell, Windows 10 Tags PowerShell, Windows 10, WMI

Remove App Packages from Windows 10 Enterprise Edition

Mike F Robbins August 20, 2015August 20, 2015 13

So you've installed Windows 10 enterprise edition only to find applications that you would consider to be consumer type apps such as Bing Finance, News, and Sports which is not what you would normally expect to find in an enterprise edition operating system version: You can obtain a list of these app packages for the current user with the Get-AppxPackage PowerShell cmdlet. I've sorted the list of app packages by name in the following results:

Get-AppxPackage | Sort-Object -Property Name | Select-Object -Property Name

1	Get-AppxPackage \| Sort-Object -Property Name \| Select-Object -Property Name

I've determined Read more [...]

Categories PowerShell, Windows 10

Use caution when updating to Windows 10 RTM with data deduplication enabled volumes

Mike F Robbins July 30, 2015July 31, 2015 5

I recently decided to reload my computer, moving from Windows 8.1 Enterprise Edition to Windows 10 Enterprise Edition. I had previously enabled the data deduplication feature on my Windows 8.1 installation with an unsupported hack by using the source files from Server 2012 R2. Deduplication was enabled on my SSD drive for the VHDX files that I use for my test and demonstration environment that runs via Hyper-V VM's. In my opinion, Microsoft should support data deduplication on enterprise edition Read more [...]

Categories Hyper-V Tags Deduplication, Hyper-V, Windows 10

Creating Hyper-V VM’s with Desired State Configuration

Mike F Robbins January 22, 2015January 28, 2015 2

I'm looking to automate the build of my test environment that runs as Hyper-V virtual machines on my Windows 8.1 Laptop computer. To get started, I thought I would take a look at the xHyper-V DSC resource to create the actual VM's. There's also no reason this shouldn't work on a Windows Server that's running the Hyper-V role. The Hyper-V role has already been added to my Windows 8.1 computer. I also have a previously created virtual hard drive (vhdx) file that has been loaded with the Windows Read more [...]

Categories Desired State Configuration, Hyper-V, PowerShell, Windows 8.1 Tags Desired State Configuration, DSC, Hyper-V, PowerShell, Windows 8.1

Mount an ISO on a Physical Server running Server Core

Mike F Robbins December 25, 2014December 25, 2014 2

So you need to mount an ISO on a physical server that is running Windows Server 2012 R2 Server Core? If so, how would you accomplish that task without a graphical user interface? With PowerShell of course, specifically the Mount-DiskImage PowerShell cmdlet:

Mount-DiskImage -ImagePath 'D:\ISO\Windows Server 2012 Trial\9200.16384.WIN8_RTM.120725-1247_X64FRE_SERVER_EVAL_EN-US-HRM_SSS_X64FREE_EN-US_DV5.ISO' -StorageType ISO -PassThru

1	Mount-DiskImage -ImagePath 'D:\ISO\Windows Server 2012 Trial\9200.16384.WIN8_RTM.120725-1247_X64FRE_SERVER_EVAL_EN-US-HRM_SSS_X64FREE_EN-US_DV5.ISO' -StorageType ISO -PassThru

By default nothing is returned when using the Mount-DiskImage cmdlet and the ISO is mounted using the next available drive letter. The -PassThru parameter was specified in the previous example but notice Read more [...]

Categories PowerShell, Windows Server 2012 R2 Tags PowerShell, Windows Server 2012 R2

PowerShell One-Liner: Create a new Hyper-V VM

Mike F Robbins December 18, 2014December 17, 2014 0

My test environment resides on a workstation that runs Windows 8.1 Enterprise Edition with the Hyper-V role enabled. I need to create a new VM that will be used as a second domain controller in my test environment. I'll use a PowerShell one-liner to create this new VM which will use a differencing disk based on a Windows Server 2012 R2 vhdx that has been fully patched and syspreped:

New-VM -Name 'DC02' -VHDPath (
New-VHD -Differencing -ParentPath 'D:\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks\template\Server2012R2Core-Template.vhdx' -Path 'D:\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks\dc02.vhdx' -SizeBytes 127GB
).Path -MemoryStartupBytes 512MB -SwitchName 'Internal Virtual Switch' |
Set-VM -ProcessorCount 2 -DynamicMemory -MemoryMinimumBytes 512MB -MemoryMaximumBytes 2GB -Passthru |
Start-VM -Passthru

New-VM -Name 'DC02' -VHDPath (

New-VHD -Differencing -ParentPath 'D:\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks\template\Server2012R2Core-Template.vhdx' -Path 'D:\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks\dc02.vhdx' -SizeBytes 127GB

).Path -MemoryStartupBytes 512MB -SwitchName 'Internal Virtual Switch' |

Set-VM -ProcessorCount 2 -DynamicMemory -MemoryMinimumBytes 512MB -MemoryMaximumBytes 2GB -Passthru |

Start-VM -Passthru

µ Read more [...]

Categories Hyper-V, PowerShell Tags Hyper-V, PowerShell

PowerShell Function to Prevent Starting Hyper-V VM’s that are Connected to an External Network

Mike F Robbins June 20, 2014June 19, 2014 0

Beginning with Windows 8 (Professional and Enterprise Edition), Hyper-V is available on workstations that have a processor that supports SLAT (Second Level Address Translation). For specifics about the requirements, see the Client Hyper-V blog article on Microsoft TechNet. That means you have a Hypervisor running right on your desktop or laptop computer for free. With the price of hardware these days, your regular everyday computer can be spec'd out with an i7 processor, 16 gigabytes of memory, and Read more [...]

Categories Hyper-V, PowerShell Tags Hyper-V, PowerShell

Use PowerShell to Resolve the Error: “Not Enough Server Storage is Available to Process this Command”

Mike F Robbins November 25, 2013November 25, 2013 0

Recently after updating the antivirus solution at one of my customer sites they started receiving the following error when attempting to access their old Windows 2003 servers: "\\Server\Share is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access permissions. Not enough server storage is available to process this command." The solution was to increase the IRPStackSize on the remote server as Read more [...]

Categories PowerShell, Windows Server 2003 R2 Tags PowerShell, Windows Server 2003 R2

Use PowerShell to Determine the Chain of VHD’s for a Virtual Machine on Hyper-V

Mike F Robbins July 18, 2013February 10, 2014 2

You want to determine what VHD's exist for the virtual machines (VM's) that are virtualized on your Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V virtualization host. This may sound simple, but what if you have a base image or template that has been configured and then multiple VM's have been created using differencing disks that reference that single base image? If that weren't difficult enough to keep track of, you may also have snapshots of those VM's which are also classified as differencing disks Read more [...]

Categories Hyper-V, PowerShell Tags Hyper-V, PowerShell

Use PowerShell to add an additional Domain Controller to an existing Windows Server 2012 Active Directory Domain

Mike F Robbins March 14, 2013August 21, 2013 11

Recently, I decided to add a second domain controller to my mikefrobbins.com domain. The existing server and this new server that will become a domain controller both run the Microsoft Windows Server 2012 operating system and both were installed with the default installation type of server core (no GUI). Even though the GUI can be turned on and off in Windows Server 2012 (unlike in Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2), I prefer not to add the GUI unless absolutely necessary. You've already loaded Read more [...]

Categories Active Directory, PowerShell, Server Core, Windows Server 2012 Tags Active Directory, PowerShell, Server Core, Windows Server 2012

Use PowerShell to Remotely Enable Firewall Exceptions on Windows Server 2012

Mike F Robbins February 28, 2013August 21, 2013 5

You're attempting to view the event logs of a couple of remote Windows Server 2012 servers that have been installed with the default installation type of server core (No GUI). You receive the following error when attempting to connect to these servers using the Event Viewer snapin in an MMC console: "Computer 'DC01.MIKEFROBBINS.COM' cannot be connected. Verify that the network path is correct, the computer is available on the network, and that the appropriate Windows Firewall rules Read more [...]

Categories PowerShell, Windows Server 2012 Tags PowerShell, Windows Server 2012

PowerShell Version 3 Installation Failure on Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Core Installation (no-GUI)

Mike F Robbins November 29, 2012 1

You have a server which runs the Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1 operating system that was installed using the "Server Core Installation" option (no-GUI): You've given this server a name, added it to the domain, configured the IP address settings, and configured options 1 -3 in the "Configure Remote Management" portion of sconfig as shown in the following image: PowerShell version 2 works fine on the server, but you've been tasked with loading PowerShell version 3 on it. You've downloaded and Read more [...]

Categories PowerShell, Server Core, Windows Server 2008 R2 Tags PowerShell, Server Core, Windows Server 2008 R2