Performing networking tasks
This sample only applies to Windows platforms.
Because TCP/IP is the most commonly used network protocol, most low-level network protocol administration tasks involve TCP/IP. In this section, we use PowerShell and WMI to do these tasks.
Listing IP addresses for a computer
To get all IP addresses in use on the local computer, use the following command:
Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration -Filter IPEnabled=$true |
Select-Object -ExpandProperty IPAddress
Since the IPAddress property of a Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration object is an array, you
must use the ExpandProperty parameter of Select-Object to see the entire list of addresses.
10.0.0.1
fe80::60ea:29a7:a233:7cb7
2601:600:a27f:a470:f532:6451:5630:ec8b
2601:600:a27f:a470:e167:477d:6c5c:342d
2601:600:a27f:a470:b021:7f0d:eab9:6299
2601:600:a27f:a470:a40e:ebce:1a8c:a2f3
2601:600:a27f:a470:613c:12a2:e0e0:bd89
2601:600:a27f:a470:444f:17ec:b463:7edd
2601:600:a27f:a470:10fd:7063:28e9:c9f3
2601:600:a27f:a470:60ea:29a7:a233:7cb7
2601:600:a27f:a470::2ec1
Using the Get-Member cmdlet, you can see that the IPAddress property is an array:
Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration -Filter IPEnabled=$true |
Get-Member -Name IPAddress
TypeName: Microsoft.Management.Infrastructure.CimInstance#root/cimv2/Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration
Name MemberType Definition
---- ---------- ----------
IPAddress Property string[] IPAddress {get;}
The IPAddress property for each network adapter is actually an array. The braces in the definition indicate that IPAddress isn't a System.String value, but an array of System.String values.
Listing IP configuration data
To display detailed IP configuration data for each network adapter, use the following command:
Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration -Filter IPEnabled=$true
The default display for the network adapter configuration object is a very reduced set of the
available information. For in-depth inspection and troubleshooting, use Select-Object or a
formatting cmdlet, such as Format-List, to specify the properties to be displayed.
In modern TCP/IP networks you are probably not interested in IPX or WINS properties. You can use the
ExcludeProperty parameter of Select-Object to hide properties with names that begin with
"WINS" or "IPX".
Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration -Filter IPEnabled=$true |
Select-Object -ExcludeProperty IPX*,WINS*
This command returns detailed information about DHCP, DNS, routing, and other minor IP configuration properties.
Pinging computers
You can perform a simple ping against a computer using by Win32_PingStatus. The following command performs the ping, but returns lengthy output:
Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_PingStatus -Filter "Address='127.0.0.1'"
A more useful form for summary information a display of the Address, ResponseTime, and StatusCode
properties, as generated by the following command. The Autosize parameter of Format-Table
resizes the table columns so that they display properly in PowerShell.
Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_PingStatus -Filter "Address='127.0.0.1'" |
Format-Table -Property Address,ResponseTime,StatusCode -Autosize
Address ResponseTime StatusCode
------- ------------ ----------
127.0.0.1 0 0
A StatusCode of 0 indicates a successful ping.
You can use an array to ping multiple computers with a single command. Because there is more than
one address, use the ForEach-Object to ping each address separately:
'127.0.0.1','localhost','bing.com' |
ForEach-Object -Process {
Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_PingStatus -Filter ("Address='$_'") |
Select-Object -Property Address,ResponseTime,StatusCode
}
You can use the same command format to ping all the addresses on a subnet, such as a private network that uses network number 192.168.1.0 and a standard Class C subnet mask (255.255.255.0)., Only addresses in the range of 192.168.1.1 through 192.168.1.254 are legitimate local addresses (0 is always reserved for the network number and 255 is a subnet broadcast address).
To represent an array of the numbers from 1 through 254 in PowerShell, use the expression 1..254.
A complete subnet ping can be performed by adding each value in the range to a partial address in
the ping statement:
1..254| ForEach-Object -Process {
Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_PingStatus -Filter ("Address='192.168.1.$_'") } |
Select-Object -Property Address,ResponseTime,StatusCode
Note that this technique for generating a range of addresses can be used elsewhere as well. You can generate a complete set of addresses in this way:
$ips = 1..254 | ForEach-Object -Process {'192.168.1.' + $_}
Retrieving network adapter properties
Earlier, we mentioned that you could retrieve general configuration properties using the Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration class. Although not strictly TCP/IP information, network adapter information such as MAC addresses and adapter types can be useful for understanding what's going on with a computer. To get a summary of this information, use the following command:
Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_NetworkAdapter -ComputerName .
Assigning the DNS domain for a network adapter
To assign the DNS domain for automatic name resolution, use the SetDNSDomain method of the
Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration. The Query parameter of Invoke-CimMethod takes a WQL
query string. The cmdlet calls the method specified on each instance returned by the query.
$wql = 'SELECT * FROM Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration WHERE IPEnabled=True'
$args = @{ DnsDomain = 'fabrikam.com'}
Invoke-CimMethod -MethodName SetDNSDomain -Arguments $args -Query $wql
Filtering on IPEnabled=True is necessary, because even on a network that uses only TCP/IP, several
of the network adapter configurations on a computer aren't true TCP/IP adapters. they're general
software elements supporting RAS, VPN, QoS, and other services for all adapters and thus don't have
an address of their own.
Performing DHCP configuration tasks
Modifying DHCP details involves working with a set of network adapters, just as the DNS configuration does. There are several distinct actions you can perform using WMI.
Finding DHCP-enabled adapters
To find the DHCP-enabled adapters on a computer, use the following command:
Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration -Filter "DHCPEnabled=$true"
To exclude adapters with IP configuration problems, you can retrieve only IP-enabled adapters:
Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration -Filter "IPEnabled=$true and DHCPEnabled=$true"
Retrieving DHCP properties
Because DHCP-related properties for an adapter generally begin with DHCP, you can use the Property
parameter of Format-Table to display only those properties:
Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration -Filter "IPEnabled=$true and DHCPEnabled=$true" |
Format-Table -Property DHCP*
Enabling DHCP on each adapter
To enable DHCP on all adapters, use the following command:
$wql = 'SELECT * from Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration WHERE IPEnabled=True and DHCPEnabled=False'
Invoke-CimMethod -MethodName ReleaseDHCPLease -Query $wql
Using the filter statement IPEnabled=True and DHCPEnabled=False avoids enabling DHCP where it's
already enabled.
Releasing and renewing DHCP leases on specific adapters
Instances of the Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration class has ReleaseDHCPLease and
RenewDHCPLease methods. Both are used in the same way. In general, use these methods if you only
need to release or renew addresses for an adapter on a specific subnet. The easiest way to filter
adapters on a subnet is to choose only the adapter configurations that use the gateway for that
subnet. For example, the following command releases all DHCP leases on adapters on the local
computer that are obtaining DHCP leases from 192.168.1.254:
$wql = 'SELECT * from Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration WHERE DHCPServer="192.168.1.1"'
Invoke-CimMethod -MethodName ReleaseDHCPLease -Query $wql
The only change for renewing a DHCP lease is to use the RenewDHCPLease method instead of the
ReleaseDHCPLease method:
$wql = 'SELECT * from Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration WHERE DHCPServer="192.168.1.1"'
Invoke-CimMethod -MethodName RenewDHCPLease -Query $wql
Note
When using these methods on a remote computer, be aware that you can lose access to the remote system if you are connected to it through the adapter with the released or renewed lease.
Releasing and renewing DHCP leases on all adapters
You can perform global DHCP address releases or renewals on all adapters by using the
Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration methods, ReleaseDHCPLeaseAll and RenewDHCPLeaseAll.
However, the command must apply to the WMI class, rather than a particular adapter, because
releasing and renewing leases globally is performed on the class, not on a specific adapter. The
Invoke-CimMethod cmdlet can call the methods of a class.
Invoke-CimMethod -ClassName Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration -MethodName ReleaseDHCPLeaseAll
You can use the same command format to invoke the RenewDHCPLeaseAll method:
Invoke-CimMethod -ClassName Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration -MethodName RenewDHCPLeaseAll
Creating a network share
To create a network share, use the Create method of Win32_Share:
Invoke-CimMethod -ClassName Win32_Share -MethodName Create -Arguments @{
Path = 'C:\temp'
Name = 'TempShare'
Type = [uint32]0 #Disk Drive
MaximumAllowed = [uint32]25
Description = 'test share of the temp folder'
}
This is equivalent to the following net share command on Windows:
net share tempshare=c:\temp /users:25 /remark:"test share of the temp folder"
To call a method of a WMI class that takes parameters you must know what parameters are available and the types of those parameters. For example, you can list the methods of the Win32_Class with the following commands:
(Get-CimClass -ClassName Win32_Share).CimClassMethods
Name ReturnType Parameters Qualifiers
---- ---------- ---------- ----------
Create UInt32 {Access, Description, MaximumAllowed, Name…} {Constructor, Implemented, MappingStrings, Stati…
SetShareInfo UInt32 {Access, Description, MaximumAllowed} {Implemented, MappingStrings}
GetAccessMask UInt32 {} {Implemented, MappingStrings}
Delete UInt32 {} {Destructor, Implemented, MappingStrings}
Use the following command to list the parameters of the Create method.
(Get-CimClass -ClassName Win32_Share).CimClassMethods['Create'].Parameters
Name CimType Qualifiers ReferenceClassName
---- ------- ---------- ------------------
Access Instance {EmbeddedInstance, ID, In, MappingStrings…}
Description String {ID, In, MappingStrings, Optional}
MaximumAllowed UInt32 {ID, In, MappingStrings, Optional}
Name String {ID, In, MappingStrings}
Password String {ID, In, MappingStrings, Optional}
Path String {ID, In, MappingStrings}
Type UInt32 {ID, In, MappingStrings}
You can also read the documentation for Create method of the Win32_Share class.
Removing a network share
You can remove a network share with Win32_Share, but the process is slightly different from creating a share, because you need to retrieve the specific instance to be removed, rather than the Win32_Share class. The following example deletes the share TempShare:
$wql = 'SELECT * from Win32_Share WHERE Name="TempShare"'
Invoke-CimMethod -MethodName Delete -Query $wql
Connecting a Windows-accessible network drive
The New-PSDrive cmdlet can create a PowerShell drive that's mapped to a network share.
New-PSDrive -Name "X" -PSProvider "FileSystem" -Root "\\Server01\Public"
However, drives created this way are only available to PowerShell session where they're created. To map a drive that's available outside of PowerShell (or to other PowerShell sessions), you must use the Persist parameter.
New-PSDrive -Persist -Name "X" -PSProvider "FileSystem" -Root "\\Server01\Public"
Note
Persistently mapped drives may not be available when running in an elevated context. This is the default behavior of Windows UAC. For more information, see the following article:
