Connect-WSMan

Article
04/20/2010

Applies To: Windows PowerShell 2.0

Connects to the WinRM service on a remote computer.

Syntax

Connect-WSMan [-ApplicationName <string>] [-Authentication <Authentication>] [-CertificateThumbprint <string>] [-ComputerName <string>] [-ComputerName <string>] [-Credential <PSCredential>] [-OptionSet <hashtable>] [-Port <int>] [-Port <int>] [-SessionOption <hashtable>] [-UseSSL] [<CommonParameters>]

Connect-WSMan [-Authentication <Authentication>] [-CertificateThumbprint <string>] [-ComputerName <string>] [-ConnectionURI <Uri>] [-Credential <PSCredential>] [-OptionSet <hashtable>] [-Port <int>] [-SessionOption <hashtable>] [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Connect-WSMan cmdlet connects to the WinRM service on a remote computer, and it establishes a persistent connection to the remote computer. You can use this cmdlet within the context of the WSMan provider to connect to the WinRM service on a remote computer. However, you can also use this cmdlet to connect to the WinRM service on a remote computer before you change to the WSMan provider. The remote computer will appear in the root directory of the WSMan provider.

Note: Explicit credentials are required when the client and server computers are in different domains or workgroups.

For information about how to disconnect from the WinRM service on a remote computer, see Disconnect-WSMan.

Parameters

-ApplicationName <string>

Specifies the application name in the connection. The default value of the ApplicationName parameter is "WSMAN". The complete identifier for the remote endpoint is in the following format:

For example:

https://server01:8080/WSMAN

Internet Information Services (IIS), which hosts the session, forwards requests with this endpoint to the specified application. This default setting of "WSMAN" is appropriate for most uses. This parameter is designed to be used when numerous computers establish remote connections to one computer that is running Windows PowerShell. In this case, IIS hosts Web Services for Management (WS-Management) for efficiency.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value	wsman
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-Authentication <Authentication>

Specifies the authentication mechanism to be used at the server. Possible values are:

- Basic: Basic is a scheme in which the user name and password are sent in clear text to the server or proxy.

- Default : Use the authentication method implemented by the WS-Management protocol. This is the default.

- Digest: Digest is a challenge-response scheme that uses a server-specified data string for the challenge.

- Kerberos: The client computer and the server mutually authenticate by using Kerberos certificates.

- Negotiate: Negotiate is a challenge-response scheme that negotiates with the server or proxy to determine the scheme to use for authentication. For example, this parameter value allows negotiation to determine whether the Kerberos protocol or NTLM is used.

- CredSSP: Use Credential Security Service Provider (CredSSP) authentication, which allows the user to delegate credentials. This option is designed for commands that run on one remote computer but collect data from or run additional commands on other remote computers.

Caution: CredSSP delegates the user's credentials from the local computer to a remote computer. This practice increases the security risk of the remote operation. If the remote computer is compromised, when credentials are passed to it, the credentials can be used to control the network session.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value	Default
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-CertificateThumbprint <string>

Specifies the digital public key certificate (X509) of a user account that has permission to perform this action. Enter the certificate thumbprint of the certificate.

Certificates are used in client certificate-based authentication. They can be mapped only to local user accounts; they do not work with domain accounts.

To get a certificate thumbprint, use the Get-Item or Get-ChildItem command in the Windows PowerShell Cert: drive.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-ComputerName <string>

Specifies the computer against which you want to run the management operation. The value can be a fully qualified domain name, a NetBIOS name, or an IP address. Use the local computer name, use localhost, or use a dot (.) to specify the local computer. The local computer is the default. When the remote computer is in a different domain from the user, you must use a fully qualified domain name must be used. You can pipe a value for this parameter to the cmdlet.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value	localhost
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-ConnectionURI <Uri>

Specifies the connection endpoint. The format of this string is:

<Transport>://<Server>:<Port>/<ApplicationName>.

The following string is a properly formatted value for this parameter:

https://Server01:8080/WSMAN. The URI must be fully qualified .

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-Credential <PSCredential>

Specifies a user account that has permission to perform this action. The default is the current user. Type a user name, such as "User01", "Domain01\User01", or "User@Domain.com". Or, enter a PSCredential object, such as one returned by the Get-Credential cmdlet. When you type a user name, you will be prompted for a password.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-OptionSet <hashtable>

Passes a set of switches to the service to modify or refine the nature of the request. These are similar to switches used in command-line shells in that they are service specific. Any number of options can be specified.

The following example demonstrates the syntax that passes the values 1, 2, and 3 for the a, b, and c parameters:

-OptionSet @{a=1;b=2;c=3}

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-Port <int>

Specifies the port to use when the client connects to the WinRM service. When the transport is HTTP, the default port is 80. When the transport is HTTPS, the default port is 443. When you use HTTPS as the transport, the value of the ComputerName parameter must match the server's certificate common name (CN). However, if the SkipCNCheck parameter is specified as part of the SessionOption parameter, then the certificate common name of the server does not have to match the host name of the server. The SkipCNCheck parameter should be used only for trusted computers.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-SessionOption <hashtable>

Defines a set of extended options for the WS-Management session. Enter a SessionOption object that you create by using the New-WSManSessionOption cmdlet. For more information about the options that are available, see New-WSManSessionOption.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-UseSSL

Specifies that the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol should be used to establish a connection to the remote computer. By default, SSL is not used.

WS-Management encrypts all the Windows PowerShell content that is transmitted over the network. The UseSSL parameter lets you specify the additional protection of HTTPS instead of HTTP. If SSL is not available on the port that is used for the connection and you specify this parameter, the command fails.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

<CommonParameters>

This cmdlet supports the common parameters: Verbose, Debug, ErrorAction, ErrorVariable, OutBuffer, OutVariable, WarningAction, and WarningVariable. For more information, see about_CommonParameters.

Inputs and Outputs

The input type is the type of the objects that you can pipe to the cmdlet. The return type is the type of the objects that the cmdlet returns.

Inputs

None

This cmdlet does not accept any input.

Outputs

None

This cmdlet does not generate any output.

Notes

You can run management commands or query management data on a remote computer without creating a WS-Management session. You can do this by using the ComputerName parameters of Invoke-WSManAction and Get-WSManInstance. When you use the ComputerName parameter, Windows PowerShell creates a temporary connection that is used for the single command. After the command runs, the connection is closed.

Example 1

C:\PS>Connect-WSMan -computer server01

PS C:\Users\testuser> cd wsman:
PS WSMan:\> 
PS WSMan:\> dir


   WSManConfig: Microsoft.WSMan.Management\WSMan::WSMan

ComputerName                                  Type
------------                                  ----
localhost                                     Container
server01                                      Container

Description
-----------
This command creates a connection to the remote server01 computer.

The Connect-WSMan cmdlet is generally used within the context of the WSMan provider to connect to a remote computer, in this case the server01 computer. However, you can use the cmdlet to establish connections to remote computers before you change to the WSMan provider. Those connections will appear in the ComputerName list.

Example 2

C:\PS>$cred = Get-Credential Administrator
Connect-WSMan -computer server01 -credential $cred

PS C:\Users\testuser> cd wsman:
PS WSMan:\>
PS WSMan:\> dir


   WSManConfig: Microsoft.WSMan.Management\WSMan::WSMan

ComputerName                                  Type
------------                                  ----
localhost                                     Container
server01                                      Container

Description
-----------
This command creates a connection to the remote system server01 using the Administrator account credentials.

The first command uses the Get-Credential cmdlet to get the Administrator credentials and then stores them in the $cred variable.  The Get-Credential cmdlet prompts the user for a password of username and password. Users are prompted throught a dialog box
or at the command line, depending on system registry settings.

The second command uses the Credential parameter to pass the credentials stored in $cred to Connect-WSMan. Connect-WSMan then connects to the remote system server01 using the Administrator credentials.

The Connect-WSMan cmdlet is generally used within the context of the WSMan provider to connect to a remote computer, in this case server01. However, the cmdlet can be used establish connections to remote computers before changing to the WSMan provider and those connections will show up in the ComputerName list.

Example 3

C:\PS>Connect-WSMan -computer server01 -port 80

PS C:\Users\testuser> cd wsman:
PS WSMan:\> 
PS WSMan:\> dir


   WSManConfig: Microsoft.WSMan.Management\WSMan::WSMan

ComputerName                                  Type
------------                                  ----
localhost                                     Container
server01                                      Container

Description
-----------
This command creates a connection to the remote server01 computer over port 80.

The Connect-WSMan cmdlet is generally used within the context of the WSMan provider to connect to a remote computer, in this case the server01 computer. However, you can use the cmdlet to establish connections to remote computers before you change to the WSMan provider. Those connections will appear in the ComputerName list.

Example 4

C:\PS>$a = New-WSManSessionOption -operationtimeout 30000
Connect-WSMan -computer server01 -sessionoption $a

PS C:\Users\testuser> cd wsman:
PS WSMan:\> 
PS WSMan:\> dir


   WSManConfig: Microsoft.WSMan.Management\WSMan::WSMan

ComputerName                                  Type
------------                                  ----
localhost                                     Container
server01                                      Container

Description
-----------
This command creates a connection to the remote server01 computer by using the connection options that are defined in the New-WSManSessionOption command.

The first command uses the New-WSManSessionOption cmdlet to store a set of connection setting options in the $a variable. In this case, the session options set a connection time out of 30 seconds (30,000 milliseconds).

The second command uses the SessionOption parameter to pass the credentials that are stored in the $a variable to Connect-WSMan. Then, Connect-WSMan connects to the remote server01 computer by using the specified session options.

The Connect-WSMan cmdlet is generally used within the context of the WSMan provider to connect to a remote computer, in this case the server01 computer. However, you can use the cmdlet to establish connections to remote computers before you change to the WSMan provider. Those connections will appear in the ComputerName list.

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