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Automatically Assign Availability Set Names to VMs with Powershell

This blog-post is about using System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) Availability Sets to spread similar VM’s to different Hyper-V Hosts to increase reliability both when using Failover Clustering, and when using stand-alone Hyper-V hosts.

First of all, what is Availability Sets?
In SCVMM 2012 SP1, Microsoft added Availability Sets. Failover Cluster Manager users are probably familiar with AntiAffinityClassNames, and Availability Sets are a very similar concept. This allow the user to specify a set of VMs which they would prefer to keep on separate hosts, and the Intelligent Placement engine works hard to make sure that all our features respect that preference.

Attempting to place multiple VMs with the same Availability Set onto a single host will generate a placement warning, meaning that the host will be prioritized last in the placement dialog

When placing a VM with an Availability Set into a cloud placement or as part of a service will avoid hosts with another VM from the same Availability Set, and warn the user if that was the only choice.
Dynamic Optimization will never move 2 VMs from the same Availability Set onto the same host. It will also actively attempt to separate any VMs with the same Availability Set that are on the same host.
Power Optimization will never power off a host that would lead to 2 VMs with the same Availability Set sharing a host.
Putting a host in maintenance mode will attempt to spread VMs with the same availability set to different target hosts.
If your VMs are highly available and hosted on a Hyper-V failover cluster, VMM will create AntiAffinityClassNames on the VMs with an Availability Set, so that even during cluster failover, SCVMM opt to failover to different hosts, if possible.

You can manually create Availability Sets through SCVMM by selecting Properties on a VM.
Just click Create to make a new Name and assign it to the VM’s you want to keep on separate Hosts. When a Availability Set is not assigned to a VM any longer, the Availability Set will be deleted automatically, thus cleaning up the list for you.

For example, for your SQL Server Cluster, you may want to create a Availability Set name called SQL and assign it to your SQL Server Nodes. Easy!
Also, if you are using Service Templates, you can opt in to automatically create Availability Set names for your services.

Though I like to control things like that automatically. Depending on your naming convention for your Virtual Servers, this might or might not be possible for you.
In our case we have a strict naming policy to name servers with:
PREFIX FUNCTION NUMBER as seen in this picture:

Which makes it very easy for me to define that all servers called CLAZSQ* are similar and should be kept on different servers.

But, if all servers were called SRV0001-SRV9999 it would not be possible to utilize the ServerName for setting Availability Set names, and you would have to query the CMDB for info first.

Also, in our environment we have multiple Tenants, who could each have servers called DomainController01 and DomainController02. So just having a availability set called DomainController, would not be enough. I have to make it DomainController_TenantName or something similar.

I wrote this quick and short Powershell script to automatically assign a Availability Set to all VM’s. It will remove Numbers from the VM Name, and use the VMName + UserID (Tenant Subscription id) as the Availability Set Name. Clean, simple and easy, just schedule it to run regularly, or even make a SMA Job to trigger when a VM is created through AzurePack.

$VMMServer = "SCVMM.SERVER.FQDN" 

$VMS = Get-SCVirtualMachine -VMMServer $VMMServer 

foreach ($vm in $VMS) { 
  $AvailabilitySetName = ($VM.Name.ToUpper() -creplace '[0-9]', '') + "_" + $VM.UserRoleID
  Set-SCVirtualMachine -VM $VM -AvailabilitySetNames $AvailabilitySetName -RunAsynchronously 
}

$VMMServer = "SCVMM.SERVER.FQDN"

$VMS = Get-SCVirtualMachine -VMMServer $VMMServer

foreach ($vm in $VMS) {

$AvailabilitySetName = ($VM.Name.ToUpper() -creplace '[0-9]', '') + "_" + $VM.UserRoleID

Set-SCVirtualMachine -VM $VM -AvailabilitySetNames $AvailabilitySetName -RunAsynchronously

}

And then trigger an Host Cluster Optimization of all Clusters in the Environment if you don’t want to wait for the normal one.

$VMMServer = "SCVMM.SERVER.FQDN" 

$VMHOSTCLUSTERS = Get-SCVMHostCluster -VMMServer $VMMServer 
foreach ($VMHOSTCLUSTER in $VMHOSTCLUSTERS) { 
  Start-SCDynamicOptimization -VMHostCluster $VMHOSTCLUSTER -VMMServer $VMMServer 
}

$VMMServer = "SCVMM.SERVER.FQDN"

$VMHOSTCLUSTERS = Get-SCVMHostCluster -VMMServer $VMMServer

foreach ($VMHOSTCLUSTER in $VMHOSTCLUSTERS) {

Start-SCDynamicOptimization -VMHostCluster $VMHOSTCLUSTER -VMMServer $VMMServer

}

Uninstall old SCDPM Agents with Powershell on all Servers

When you want to add a server to Microsoft Data Protection manager to be managed (backup), it might already contain an old DPM Agent, which prevents the installation from going through. SCDPM will tell you to manually use Add/Remove Programs on each server and uninstall the old agent.

To find all servers in the environment with an old SCDPM Version run this script;

Invoke-Command -ComputerName (get-adcomputer -LDAPFilter "(&(objectCategory=computer)(operatingSystem=Windows Server*)(!serviceprincipalname=*MSClusterVirtualServer*)(!(userAccountControl:1.2.840.113556.1.4.803:=2)))" -Property name,dnshostname,description | sort-object Name).Name -Command {
  (Get-WmiObject -Class win32_product | where {$_.Name -like "Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 DPM Protection Agent" -and $_.Version -lt "4.2.1338.0"} )
  }

Invoke-Command -ComputerName (get-adcomputer -LDAPFilter "(&(objectCategory=computer)(operatingSystem=Windows Server*)(!serviceprincipalname=*MSClusterVirtualServer*)(!(userAccountControl:1.2.840.113556.1.4.803:=2)))" -Property name,dnshostname,description | sort-object Name).Name -Command {

(Get-WmiObject -Class win32_product | where {$_.Name -like "Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 DPM Protection Agent" -and $_.Version -lt "4.2.1338.0"} )

}

Of course, update the Version number to the latest current version of SCDPM Agent if it’s newer than 4.2.1338.0.
The get-adcomputer command will find all servers that are not disabled or Cluster Objects. So it should only give you the “real” servernames.
And here is a script that will uninstall all old versions of SCDPM Agent on all servers in the environment, so you can add the server through the SCDPM Management Console and get the new agent installed automatically.

Invoke-Command -ComputerName (get-adcomputer -LDAPFilter "(&(objectCategory=computer)(operatingSystem=Windows Server*)(!serviceprincipalname=*MSClusterVirtualServer*)(!(userAccountControl:1.2.840.113556.1.4.803:=2)))" -Property name,dnshostname,description | sort-object Name).Name -ScriptBlock {
    $old = (Get-WmiObject -Class win32_product | where {$_.Name -like "Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 DPM Protection Agent" -and $_.Version -lt "4.2.1338.0"})

        if (($old.Version).Count -eq 1) {
            $version = $old.version
            $name = $old.Name
             Write-Output "Found old version of $Name $version on $env:COMPUTERNAME. Uninstalling it."
        ($old).Uninstall()
       Write-Output "Done Uninstalling"
        }
}

$old = (Get-WmiObject -Class win32_product | where {$_.Name -like "Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 DPM Protection Agent" -and $_.Version -lt "4.2.1338.0"})

if (($old.Version).Count -eq 1) {

$version = $old.version

$name = $old.Name

Write-Output "Found old version of $Name $version on $env:COMPUTERNAME. Uninstalling it."

($old).Uninstall()

Write-Output "Done Uninstalling"

}

Once again, change Version (4.2.1338.0) to the correct version you want to keep. It will uninstall all older versions.

Yay! You can now add the servers to SCDPM Successfully.

Update SCVMM Agent with Powershell

I just updated our System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 R2 Environment to Update Release 7. SCVMM would then report that the SCVMM Managed Computers has an Out-of-Date Agent which need to be upgraded.

It’s possible to do it manually by right clicking on each server and choose “Update Agent” or use this short powershell script to do it on all machines at the same time.

# Change name to the RunAs Admin Account specified in SCVMM
$SCVMMADMIN = 'SCVMM_Admin'
$credential = Get-SCRunAsAccount -Name "$SCVMMADMIN" 
Get-SCVMMManagedComputer | where VersionState -ne UpToDate | Update-SCVMMManagedComputer -Credential $credential -RunAsynchronously

# Change name to the RunAs Admin Account specified in SCVMM

$SCVMMADMIN = 'SCVMM_Admin'

$credential = Get-SCRunAsAccount -Name "$SCVMMADMIN"

Get-SCVMMManagedComputer | where VersionState -ne UpToDate | Update-SCVMMManagedComputer -Credential $credential -RunAsynchronously

It will Update the Agent on all Managed Servers for you (no restart needed in my case).

Microsoft Fabric (datacenter and private cloud) related Hotfixes

Here is the list of Hotfixes I’m deploying in our production environment and that I deploy regularly at customers. Those production environments are a Fabric (Private Cloud) running Hyper-V, Storage Spaces, SOFS, ADFS, Domain Controllers, Azure Pack, System Center, SQL Servers, and more, yes everything you need in a Fabric. Though not Exchange, Lync or Sharepoint etc. So this list might not be complete for your system.
And as always, use your own judgement which hotfixes you would like to deploy in your environment or not. Hotfixes are not tested as much as ServicePacks used to be, and Update Rollups are, so it’s possible there are problems with them.

My philosophy is that I like to have everything updated and reduce the risk of having a problem. The number of times I have had issues with a hotfix are, as far as I can remember one (1), including the several years I worked at Microsoft Premier support and were assisting customers with problems and now and then provided a hotfix for an issue. So I rather install hotfixes I know of and are relevant to reduce the risk of hitting a real problem than wait for that issue to actually happen and then find a hotfix or open a case with Microsoft.

A hotfix included all previous fixes for that module too, so when troubleshooting a problem, it’s common that Microsoft Support asks you to install hotfix X, Y and Z to get the components involved in the problem to the latest revision. Thus, it might look like some of the KB Articles and hotfixes below does not apply to you, or you don’t have that problem in your environment. But if it’s related to Cluster, Hyper-V or any other component that you do use, it might be wise to install it anyway as it could fix 10 other problems that you are not aware of.

I’ll always import the updates directly into WSUS and deploy them, so I can use approval rules and see reporting of which updates has been installed where. Here is a good guide for how to do it; http://www.thirdtier.net/2013/03/how-to-manually-add-a-hotfix-to-wsus/

There is as far as I know (and I’ve also asked Premier Support) no way to script the import of updates into WSUS directly from Windows Catalog. You will have to manually use a Web Browser to import them. Click, Click, Click, wait, Click, Click….

The list is ordered by release date so the latest hotfixes are at the top. And looking at a fresh Fabric deployment, it looks like most hotfixes older than 10/14/2014 has been superseded, except for KB2965733 which was still needed by a couple of servers in this new fresh environment. But things might be different for you.

I’ve also written a Powershell Script for SCVMM to create Baselines and import all Updates and Hotfixes there. So it’s easy to use compliance scans and use remediation from SCVMM to keep the Fabric updated.
You can find it here; https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/SCVMM-Automatic-Baseline-8779597b

It’s not that easy to find new hotfixes or to know which ones are mandatory. Luckily, there is a blogpost to help you out. I’ve collected all sources from Microsoft product teams, where they list the hotfixes they recommend.
You can find the lists here: http://www.isolation.se/list-of-resources-to-find-hotfixes-and-updates-for-windows-server-2012-r2/

Anyway, here is the long list of fixes for possible problems in your environments. Updated: 7/22/2015

Hyper-V cluster unnecessarily recovers the virtual machine resources in Windows Server 2012 R2

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3072380 Released: 7/14/2015

Virtual machines that host on Windows Server 2012 R2 may crash or restart unexpectedly
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3068445 Released: 7/14/2015

Added 07/22/2015 “0xc0000017” error when you restart a UEFI-based computer in Windows
https://support.microsoft.com/kb/3072381 Released: 7/13/2015

Interrupts to the Intelligent Platform Management Interface driver are missed in Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3061460 Released: 6/9/2015

Unexpected ASP.Net application shutdown after many App_Data file changes occur on a server that is running Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3052480 Released: 6/9/2015

Update adds support for compound ID claims in AD FS tokens in Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3052122 Released: 6/9/2015

Update to improve the backup of Hyper-V Integrated components in Hyper-V Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3063283 Released: 6/9/2015

Stop error code 0xD1, 0x139, or 0x3B and random crashes in Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3055343 Released: 5/12/2015

Backup application that calls the VSS service becomes unresponsive when the DFSR service is running in Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3054249 Released: 5/12/2015

Resolution of external DNS records on a Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V guest cluster fails through a Hyper-V Network Virtualization Gateway
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3049448 Released: 5/12/2015

Shared Hyper-V virtual disk is inaccessible when it’s located in Storage Spaces on a Windows Server 2012 R2-based computer
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3025091 Released: 5/12/2015

“The URL cannot be resolved” error in DirectAccess and routing failure on HNV gateway cluster in Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3047280 Released: 5/12/2015

Hyper-V host crashes and has errors when you perform a VM live migration in Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3031598 Released: 4/14/2015

Hotfix enables AD FS token replay protection for Web Application Proxy authentication tokens in Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3042121 Released: 4/14/2015

“HTTP 400 – Bad Request” error when you open a shared mailbox through WAP in Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3042127 Released: 4/14/2015

Files cannot be copied when drive redirection is enabled in Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3042841 Released: 4/14/2015

“STATUS_PURGE_FAILED” error when you perform VM replications by using SCVMM in Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3044457 Released: 4/14/2015

You cannot upgrade Hyper-V integration components or back up Windows virtual machines
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3046826 Released: 4/14/2015

RDP session becomes unresponsive when you connect to a Windows Server 2012 R2-based computer
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3047296 Released: 4/14/2015

“Your computer can’t connect to the remote computer” error because RD Gateway service freezes in Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3042843 Released: 4/14/2015

A SQL Server that is running in a Hyper-V virtual machine takes a long time to restore a database to a dynamic VHD
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2970653 Released: 3/10/2015

DNS server does not try the second forwarder and other DNS improvements in Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3038024 Released: 3/10/2015

“0x000000D1” Stop error when you fail over a cluster group in Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3036614 Released: 3/10/2015

Hotfix for update password feature so that users are not required to use registered device in Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3035025 Released: 3/10/2015

AD FS cannot process SAML response in Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3033917 Released: 3/10/2015

Added 7/18/2015 “0x0000003B” or “0x0000007E” Stop error on a Windows-based computer that has 4K sector disks
https://support.microsoft.com/kb/3027108 Released: 2/10/2015

Custom values for various MPIO timers in Windows Server 2012 R2 may not be honored
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3027115 Released: 2/10/2015

System may freeze if a reserved disk is mounted accidentally in Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3027110 Released: 2/10/2015

RemoteApp window is too large or too small when you use RDP to run a RemoteApp application in Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3026738 Released: 2/10/2015

Operation fails when you try to save an Office file through Web Application Proxy in Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3025080 Released: 2/10/2015

You are not prompted for username again when you use an incorrect username to log on to Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3025078 Released: 2/10/2015

Hotfix to avoid a deadlock situation on a CSV file system volume on Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3022333 Released: 2/10/2015

You are prompted for authentication when you run a web application in Windows Server 2012 R2 AD FS
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3020813 Released: 2/10/2015

Time-out failures after initial deployment of Device Registration service in Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3020773 Released: 2/10/2015

You are prompted for a username and password two times when you access Windows Server 2012 R2 AD FS server from intranet
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3018886 Released: 2/10/2015

Cluster fixes for deadlock and resource time-out issues in Windows Server 2012 R2 Update 1
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3023894 Released: 2/10/2015

RDS License Manager shows no issued free or temporary client access licenses in Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3013108 Released: 12/9/2014

iSCSI SAN server that’s running Windows Server 2012 R2 restarts unexpectedly on a high-speed network
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3000123 Released: 11/11/2014

TRIM and UNMAP activities for thin provisioning on one volume block all activities on other volumes
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2996802 Released: 11/11/2014

SMBv1 named pipe requests do not time out when the remote server hangs in Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2995054 Released: 10/14/2014

SMB 3.0 Transparent Failover feature does not work after you disconnect a drive cable in Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2991247 Released: 10/14/2014

WTSQuerySessionInformation API function always returns zero bytes for WTSIncomingBytes and WTSOutgoingBytes
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2981330 Released: 10/14/2014

A network printer is deleted unexpectedly in Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2967077 Released: 8/12/2014

“0x00000018” Stop error when volumes are mounted in Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows Server 2012
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2973052 Released: 8/12/2014

Updates to improve the compatibility of Azure RemoteApp in Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2977219 Released: 8/12/2014

Error 58 when an application calls BackupRead function to back up files that are shared by using SMB in Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2973055 Released: 7/8/2014

2965733 The guest cluster is not available to service users after failover in a Hyper-V Network Virtualization environment
https://support.microsoft.com/kb/2965733 Released: 6/10/2014

NFS version 4.1 and version 3 work unexpectedly in Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows Server 2012
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2934249 Released: 4/8/2014

CSV snapshot file is corrupted when you create some files on the live volume in Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2929869 Released: 4/8/2014

On-demand virus scan freezes in Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2904100 Released: 3/11/2014

Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows 8.1 crashes when virtual volumes are exposed to hyper-v virtual machines
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2925766 Released: 2/11/2014

iSCSI Target stops responding to requests in Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2919740 Released: 2/11/2014

Memory and deadlock issues for the RD Virtualization Host and RD Connection Broker role services in Windows 8.1
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2908810 Released: 2/11/2014

Hotfix improves storage enclosure management for Storage Spaces in Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2913766 Released: 1/14/2014

OffloadWrite is doing PrepareForCriticalIo for the whole VHD in a Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V host
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2913695 Released: 1/14/2014

Set or change Owner on a VMM for SCVMM and Azure Pack

Here is a updated script for modifying the owner of a VM, and/or to make it show up in Azure Pack. For a VM that’s been created in VMM to show up in AzurePack, it has to be assigned to a (not part of these scripts) Cloud and a subscription has to be added as owner to the VM (this is done by the scripts below).

Here is the original post: http://www.isolation.se/script-for-importing-existing-vms-into-azure-pack/

And here are the updated scripts:

#####
#
# Set Owner for one specific VM. 
#
$SCVMMSERVER = Get-SCVMMServer -ComputerName $ENV:COMPUTERNAME -ForOnBehalfOf 

$SCCloud = Get-SCCloud -Name (Get-SCCloud | select Name | where Name -notlike "*Tenants*" | Out-GridView -Title "Select Cloud" -PassThru).Name
$SCUser = (Get-SCUserRole | Where-Object Cloud -Match $SCCloud).Name  | Out-GridView -PassThru -Title "Select User" 
$SCAdmin = Get-SCUserRole -Name Administrator
$vmselfserviceuserrole = Get-SCUserRole | Where-Object Cloud -Match $SCCloud | Where-Object Name -Like $SCUser* 
$SCVM = (get-scvirtualmachine ($SCCloud | Get-SCVirtualMachine | select Name, Owner, UserRole | Out-GridView -Title "Select VM" -PassThru).Name)

Set-SCVirtualMachine -VM $SCVM –UserRole $vmselfserviceuserrole –Owner $SCAdmin

#####

# Set Owner for one specific VM.

$SCVMMSERVER = Get-SCVMMServer -ComputerName $ENV:COMPUTERNAME -ForOnBehalfOf

$SCCloud = Get-SCCloud -Name (Get-SCCloud | select Name | where Name -notlike "*Tenants*" | Out-GridView -Title "Select Cloud" -PassThru).Name

$SCUser = (Get-SCUserRole | Where-Object Cloud -Match $SCCloud).Name | Out-GridView -PassThru -Title "Select User"

$SCAdmin = Get-SCUserRole -Name Administrator

$vmselfserviceuserrole = Get-SCUserRole | Where-Object Cloud -Match $SCCloud | Where-Object Name -Like $SCUser*

$SCVM = (get-scvirtualmachine ($SCCloud | Get-SCVirtualMachine | select Name, Owner, UserRole | Out-GridView -Title "Select VM" -PassThru).Name)

Set-SCVirtualMachine -VM $SCVM –UserRole $vmselfserviceuserrole –Owner $SCAdmin

The script will ask you for a Cloud and list the subscriptions you can choose from, and then ask which VM to set the Owner on.

The difference here is that it will also set the VMM Administrators as an Owner so you can do maintenance tasks on the VM from VMM without modifying ownership back and forth.

And then a second script that will just set the same Owner on all VMs in a cloud. It’s nice when you have a lot of existing VM’s in an environment and would like to assign them to one specific user/subscription in one go.

#####
#
# Set same Owner for all VMs in a specific Cloud. 
#
$SCVMMSERVER = Get-SCVMMServer -ComputerName $ENV:COMPUTERNAME -ForOnBehalfOf 

$SCCloud = Get-SCCloud -Name (Get-SCCloud | select Name | where Name -notlike "*Tenants*" | Out-GridView -Title "Select Cloud" -PassThru).Name
$SCUser = (Get-SCUserRole | Where-Object Cloud -Match $SCCloud).Name | Out-GridView -PassThru -Title "Select User" 
$SCAdmin = Get-SCUserRole -Name Administrator
$vmselfserviceuserrole = Get-SCUserRole | Where-Object Cloud -Match $SCCloud | Where-Object Name -Like $SCUser* 
# $SCVM = (get-scvirtualmachine ($SCCloud | Get-SCVirtualMachine | select Name, Owner, UserRole | Out-GridView -Title "Select VM" -PassThru).Name)

Get-SCCloud $SCCloud | Get-SCVirtualMachine | Set-SCVirtualMachine –UserRole $vmselfserviceuserrole –Owner $SCAdmin

#####

# Set same Owner for all VMs in a specific Cloud.

$SCVMMSERVER = Get-SCVMMServer -ComputerName $ENV:COMPUTERNAME -ForOnBehalfOf

$SCCloud = Get-SCCloud -Name (Get-SCCloud | select Name | where Name -notlike "*Tenants*" | Out-GridView -Title "Select Cloud" -PassThru).Name

$SCUser = (Get-SCUserRole | Where-Object Cloud -Match $SCCloud).Name | Out-GridView -PassThru -Title "Select User"

$SCAdmin = Get-SCUserRole -Name Administrator

$vmselfserviceuserrole = Get-SCUserRole | Where-Object Cloud -Match $SCCloud | Where-Object Name -Like $SCUser*

# $SCVM = (get-scvirtualmachine ($SCCloud | Get-SCVirtualMachine | select Name, Owner, UserRole | Out-GridView -Title "Select VM" -PassThru).Name)

Get-SCCloud $SCCloud | Get-SCVirtualMachine | Set-SCVirtualMachine –UserRole $vmselfserviceuserrole –Owner $SCAdmin

Both of the script are written to be executed on the VMM Server, though you can probably change the $ENV:COMPUTERNAME to point to your VMM Server and then execute the script remotely.

Migrate VMs to another Hostgroup via SCVMM and Powershell

Earlier this week I had a need to move a lot of VM’s from a couple of Hosts to another cluster. And instead of doing it one by one in VMM (Virtual Machine Manager), I wrote a small quick and dirty script that I had not really planned on publishing. Though a customer had a need for that script today, so I figured more people might need it.

Enter the name of the current Host where the VM’s are running.
Enter the name of the destination Hostgroup (seen in VMM). Start script.

$VMHost = "FAHOST11"   #Name of current Host where VMs are running 
$HostGroup = "Workload"  #Name Hostgroup of Destination Servers 
$SleepTime = "10"  #Seconds to wait between each move. To give the Move time to complete before next start. Else all server might end up on the same Host. 
 
################
$SCHostGroup = Get-SCVMHostGroup -Name $HostGroup
$VMs = Get-SCVirtualMachine -VMHost $VMHost
 
foreach ($vm in $VMs) {
 
  $BestHost = Get-SCVMHostRating -HighlyAvailable $true -VMHostGroup $SCHostGroup -VM $VM | where VMHost -notlike $VMHost | Sort-Object Rating -Descending | select -first 1 
  Write-Host $vm $BestHost
  Move-SCVirtualMachine -VM $vm -VMHost $BestHost.VMHost -HighlyAvailable $true -RunAsynchronously 
  sleep -Seconds $SleepTime   
}

$VMHost = "FAHOST11" #Name of current Host where VMs are running

$HostGroup = "Workload" #Name Hostgroup of Destination Servers

$SleepTime = "10" #Seconds to wait between each move. To give the Move time to complete before next start. Else all server might end up on the same Host.

################

$SCHostGroup = Get-SCVMHostGroup -Name $HostGroup

$VMs = Get-SCVirtualMachine -VMHost $VMHost

foreach ($vm in $VMs) {

$BestHost = Get-SCVMHostRating -HighlyAvailable $true -VMHostGroup $SCHostGroup -VM $VM | where VMHost -notlike $VMHost | Sort-Object Rating -Descending | select -first 1

Write-Host $vm $BestHost

Move-SCVirtualMachine -VM $vm -VMHost $BestHost.VMHost -HighlyAvailable $true -RunAsynchronously

sleep -Seconds $SleepTime

}

The script will calculate the best possible host to move the VM too and then move it there and make it HighAvailable.

I didn’t initially have the sleep line in my script, though I did notice while it was executing that it tried to move too many at the same time (I think the default limit is 2) so some failed. And another issue is that the HostRating may get wrong if its doing a lot of calculations while there are no VMs on the destination host, and then suddenly lots of VMs end up there at the same time. So a sleep should hopefully take care of both those problems at the same time.

Automatically generate RDCMan connection files with a script

RDCMan has to be my favorite tool. It’s a free program from Microsoft, where you can store all RemoteDesktop connections to your own servers and to your customers servers. I’m using each day, and I’m probably spending more time in that program than even Web Browsing and Outlook combined.

When I’m building new Private Clouds (datacenters) for customers, we deploy 20+ servers in a short time, and it’s quite a lot of work to add each server manually to RDCMan even though I’m of course using inherit on most settings, so all that needs to be done is add the servername and displayname. Though repetetive! So, lets use powershell!

RDCman is using a XML file for all the information, which it’s possible to create via powershell. I was lucky and found an almost perfect script done by powershell guru and MVP Jan Egil Ring.

I’ve modified that script a bit to be more in line with what I need, and updated it for RDCman 2.7 (no big deal, the old file worked in 2.7 too).

Version 2.0 of the script released 15/07/2015:

Updated for RDCMan 2.7
Only including ComputerObjects (no ClusterNames, Cluster Resources etc)
Only including Enabled Computer objects
Adds Computer Description as Comment
Not using a Group. I felt no need for that as there is just one environment in each RDG File
Support for Providing a RDGateway Address
Changed file name to reflect FQDN of Domain (we have several customers with the same Netbios name)
Sort servers alphabetically in the list.

Just run the script on a server with powershell and AD module installed, and it will create a brand new RDG file for you in your profile.
Note that it’s possible to provide a RDGateway Address and if it’s should be enabled by default.

The script gets scrambled when I’m publishing it on my blog, so please download the script from TechNet Gallery here: https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/Automatically-generate-da1d502b

Please let me know if you have any issues or suggestions for making the script even better.
Thanks!

Set MPIO Policy via PowerShell for Storage Spaces

Here is a small script to set the MPIO Policy via Powershell according to Microsofts Best Practices for Storage Spaces as seen here https://technet.microsoft.com/library/0923b851-eb0a-48ee-bfcb-d584363be668

It will set the Global MPIO policy to Least Block and then change the MPIO Policy for all SSD’s to Round Robin. Though, it’s possible that mpclaim.exe will use a different DiskID from what Powershell/Device Manager is using.
So the script has a built-in feature to adjust the DiskId if needed, though you have to verify and set the value manually before running the script!

# As you can see in the ForEach section I had to subtract -1 from the DiskID to make the DiskIDs right. 
# It's because mpclaim can only see MPIO Disks, and will not see the OS Disk (that Powershell lists) 
# You need to verify this manually before running the script like this: 
#
# 1. Open DeviceManager 
# 2. Locate one random SSD 
# 3. Manually change MPIO Policy to Round Robin 
#    Select Details Tab
#    Select "Physical Device Object Name" in the dropdrown list. 
#    Take note of the DiskId 
#    Click OK
# 4. Run this command line: 
#    mpclaim -s -d | findstr /i /c:RR
#    Take note of the DiskId 
# 5. Compare the Numbers from #3 and #4. How much do they differ? 
# 
# When I wrote this script, the numbers in this environment differed -1 (mpclaim was 24 and DeviceManger was 25). 
# So I adjusted the script below to reduce the number by -1. 
# 
# While in another environment the Numbers between DeviceManager and mpclaim matched. So no need to subract. 
# Adjust $subtract below accordingly to the test above. 

#################
# 
# Set Global MPIO Policy to Least Blocks according to Microsoft Best Practices 
Set-MSDSMGlobalDefaultLoadBalancePolicy –policy LB 

# Get all SSD Drives 
$ssds = Get-PhysicalDisk | where MediaType -EQ SSD

foreach ($ssd in $ssds) { 
 
 $subtract = "1"    # set to 0 if numbers match in the test above. 
 $id = (($ssd.DeviceId) -$subtract).ToString()
 # Set Policy to Round Robin = 2 
 start-process "c:\windows\system32\mpclaim.exe" -ArgumentList "-l -d $id 2" -Wait  
 }

Write-Output "Show all Drives with Round Robin MPIO Policy"
c:\windows\system32\mpclaim.exe -s -d | findstr /i /c:RR

# As you can see in the ForEach section I had to subtract -1 from the DiskID to make the DiskIDs right.

# It's because mpclaim can only see MPIO Disks, and will not see the OS Disk (that Powershell lists)

# You need to verify this manually before running the script like this:

# 1. Open DeviceManager

# 2. Locate one random SSD

# 3. Manually change MPIO Policy to Round Robin

# Select Details Tab

# Select "Physical Device Object Name" in the dropdrown list.

# Take note of the DiskId

# Click OK

# 4. Run this command line:

# mpclaim -s -d | findstr /i /c:RR

# Take note of the DiskId

# 5. Compare the Numbers from #3 and #4. How much do they differ?

# When I wrote this script, the numbers in this environment differed -1 (mpclaim was 24 and DeviceManger was 25).

# So I adjusted the script below to reduce the number by -1.

# While in another environment the Numbers between DeviceManager and mpclaim matched. So no need to subract.

# Adjust $subtract below accordingly to the test above.

#################

# Set Global MPIO Policy to Least Blocks according to Microsoft Best Practices

Set-MSDSMGlobalDefaultLoadBalancePolicy –policy LB

# Get all SSD Drives

$ssds = Get-PhysicalDisk | where MediaType -EQ SSD

foreach ($ssd in $ssds) {

$subtract = "1" # set to 0 if numbers match in the test above.

$id = (($ssd.DeviceId) -$subtract).ToString()

# Set Policy to Round Robin = 2

start-process "c:\windows\system32\mpclaim.exe" -ArgumentList "-l -d $id 2" -Wait

}

Write-Output "Show all Drives with Round Robin MPIO Policy"

c:\windows\system32\mpclaim.exe -s -d | findstr /i /c:RR

Update VMM Agent via PowerShell

PowerShell script to update VMM Agent on all VMM Managed Computers after Update Rollup is installed on VMM Server.

You can find the AgentVersion here: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/15361.list-of-build-numbers-for-system-center-virtual-machine-manager-vmm.aspx

$credential = Get-SCRunAsAccount -Name "VMMAdminAccount" 
$managedComputer = Get-SCVMMManagedComputer | where -Property VersionState -eq "UpgradeAvailable" 
foreach ($server in $managedComputer) { 
Update-SCVMMManagedComputer -Credential $credential -RunAsynchronously -VMMManagedComputer $server 
 }

$credential = Get-SCRunAsAccount -Name "VMMAdminAccount"

$managedComputer = Get-SCVMMManagedComputer | where -Property VersionState -eq "UpgradeAvailable"

foreach ($server in $managedComputer) {

Update-SCVMMManagedComputer -Credential $credential -RunAsynchronously -VMMManagedComputer $server

}

Update AD-Users with new Phone-number and Pager via Powershell

Had a quick question from a customer about how one can automatically update the phone number and pager of a lot of AD users. The customer was changing switchboard and had to add 1 number in front of the current number. Adding it in the middle of the string is also possible, but slightly more complicated as you have to split the string.

This is possible to do in a few different ways, but I chose the quickest way for me, via Powershell.

# Verify how it looks like before executing the script. 
# It's easy to add a Export-CSV at the end of this line to have a backup. 
Get-ADUser -SearchBase "OU=Test,DC=dreamhouse,DC=local" -Filter * -properties *| select Name, telephoneNumber, Pager 

# Add a "2" infront of Pager 
# Add a "8" infront of TelephoneNumber 
Get-ADUser -SearchBase "OU=Test,DC=dreamhouse,DC=local" -Filter * -properties * |            
 ForEach-Object {
 Set-ADObject -Identity $_.DistinguishedName -Replace @{Pager="2$($_.Pager)"}
 Set-ADObject -Identity $_.DistinguishedName -Replace @{telephoneNumber="8$($_.telephoneNumber)"}
 }     

# And Verify it went well. 
 Get-ADUser -SearchBase "OU=Test,DC=dreamhouse,DC=local" -Filter * -properties *| select Name, telephoneNumber, Pager

# Verify how it looks like before executing the script.

# It's easy to add a Export-CSV at the end of this line to have a backup.

Get-ADUser -SearchBase "OU=Test,DC=dreamhouse,DC=local" -Filter * -properties *| select Name, telephoneNumber, Pager

# Add a "2" infront of Pager

# Add a "8" infront of TelephoneNumber

Get-ADUser -SearchBase "OU=Test,DC=dreamhouse,DC=local" -Filter * -properties * |

ForEach-Object {

Set-ADObject -Identity $_.DistinguishedName -Replace @{Pager="2$($_.Pager)"}

Set-ADObject -Identity $_.DistinguishedName -Replace @{telephoneNumber="8$($_.telephoneNumber)"}

}

# And Verify it went well.

Get-ADUser -SearchBase "OU=Test,DC=dreamhouse,DC=local" -Filter * -properties *| select Name, telephoneNumber, Pager

End Result: