Year: 2015
If you have ever managed a VMware environment that contains virtual machines with RDM (Raw Device Mapping) disks then you will know it is a pain to track and manage RDMs, especially when trying to distinguish which VM has a specific RDM disk attached or if the RDM is still attached to a VM. You will also know that it is nearly impossible to find an RDM (and the corresponding VM) based on RDM’s LUN ID.
To ease the management burden of RDMs, I have written a script to search for a specific RDM by LUN ID or alternatively to get a list of all RDMs, their LUN ID, Capacity, Disk Identifier and the VM they are attached to. Below is the script and all of the details you need to get it up and running in your environment…
Today we will be discussing a topic that I believe is very important and should be at the forefront of consideration for all medium and large IT shops. The topic I am talking about is Automating User Account Provisioning.
In this article we will be making a case for automation by highlighting the common problems IT teams face when tackling account provisioning manually. We then discuss some of the solutions that are available to IT professionals when looking at automating user account provisioning. These solutions range from the do-it-yourself style all the way through to off-the-shelf products that will take care of all of the hard work for you.
For more information, keep on reading…
To coincide with my new PowerShell Logging Module, I have also updated my PowerCLI Script Template to now use the PSLogging module as opposed to my original PowerShell_Logging function library.
This template is based on my PowerShell Script Template Version 2, but has been modified for use with PowerCLI so that you can easily create scripts and solutions to automate your VMware world!
Below is everything you need to know on the PowerCLI template, as well as the template itself…
To coincide with my new PowerShell Logging Module, I have updated my PowerShell Script Template to now use the PSLogging module as opposed to my original PowerShell_Logging function library.
The article below introduces you to the new PowerShell Script Template version 2 and shows you how to implement it in your scripts and how to create PowerShell log files.
Sometime back in 2011 when I first started using PowerShell, I developed some standard functions to handle the creating and management of log files for my PowerShell scripts. These functions were stored in a file called Logging_Functions.ps1 and I would simply dot source them into my script to be able to use them.
I posted them on 9to5IT PowerShell: How to easily create log files for your scripts and since then, to my surprise, they have been well received by many people, and hence the post has become quite a popular one. Recently one of the users emailed me and made a suggestion to convert them into a PowerShell Module.
That got me thinking…. so I have made a number of improvements to the PowerShell logging functions and have now made them available as a PowerShell Logging module. Available right here, below….
At some point during your PowerShelling career you will need to test if “something” is found (or not found) within a certain object. I find that I am usually faced with this situation when I am testing if a string “contains” a value or not.
At this point, I am always confused as to which comparison operator to use. From a logical language perspective I always feel like -contains is the way to go, but then I remember that might not be the correct choice.
To put this issue to bed once and for all (at least for myself), here is a summary of when to use -like and when to use -contains.
So Windows 10 is a pretty awesome operating system and generally (so far at least) well received by the majority of users. There is one thing that might not be so awesome… by default Windows 10 is stealing your internet bandwidth.
Why? Because Windows Update are now peer-to-peer shared. In other words, the updates you download are automatically “seeded” so that others can download them directly from you, instead of the Microsoft web servers. It works in the same as torrents do; you download and at the same time seed the file for others to download.
You maybe thinking, who cares? But the problem is that it is using your internet bandwidth without you knowing, and therefore slowing your internet speeds. Also, if your uploads are counted towards your download limit (like in Australia) then they are eating away at your download limit as well!!
So how do you stop Windows 10 from stealing your internet? Easy… follow the steps in the article below.