What is Azure DNS? And how do I get started?

One of the new Azure services announced at Ignite was Azure DNS. A globally replicated and highly available DNS service leveraging Anycast for fast DNS responses from anywhere around the globe. Wow. Since it’s using well known management tools (Powershell) and integration interfaces (REST and C#) Azure DNS is really easy to build upon and maximize on the investment.

The only thing I’m missing (for obvious reasons) is the ability to register and manage domains at a registrar level. Hopefully a <insert domain registrar name here> Resource Provider is only a matter of time.

I’m very excited about this since I am wasting was wasting a boatload of money on two A0 VMs in an availability set hosting DNS. Since I had a small boat it only fit about $30/month.. 😉
With Azure DNS I’m only paying $0.25 per zone and $0.20 per 1 billion queries. So I basically cut my DNS cost by 99% and reduced my management cost by about the same amount.

Gettings started with Azure DNS

To sign up for Azure DNS, which is currently in preview, you’ll have to use Powershell. Be sure you have at least version 0.9.1 installed. Even tho DNS Cmdlets have been hiding since November 26th, 2014.
You easily can download and install the latest version with the help of this post.

Add-AzureAccount
Switch-AzureMode -Name AzureResourceManager
# Had to re-register the Microsoft.Network provider for the DNS feature to ever become Registered
Register-AzureProvider -ProviderNamespace Microsoft.Network
Register-AzureProviderFeature -ProviderNamespace Microsoft.Network -FeatureName azurednspreview

Wait until RegistrationState turns into Registered. It should happen almost instantly.

Get-AzureProviderFeature -ProviderNamespace Microsoft.Network -FeatureName azurednspreview | fl *

FeatureName : azurednspreview
ProviderName : Microsoft.Network
RegistrationState : Registered

Next we’ll create our first DNS Zone. All zones must be placed inside a Resource Group.

New-AzureResourceGroup -Name WE-DMZ-DNS -Location westeurope
New-AzureDnsZone -Name runbookautomation.se -ResourceGroupName WE-DMZ-DNS
# Get DNS zone name server
(Get-AzureDnsRecordSet -ZoneName runbookautomation.se -ResourceGroupName WE-DMZ-DNS -Name '@' -RecordType NS).Records

Next up is the slow and tricky part. The last row in the previous snippet expands the name servers of your newly created zone. These name servers need to be configured at your domain registrar.

This is how it looked like at my registrar:

Once the DNS changes have replicated and Resolve-DnsName returns something like this you are good to go. The key property here is PrimaryServer.

Lastly we’ll create a CNAME record:

# Get the target Zone
$Zone = Get-AzureDnsZone -Name runbookautomation.se -ResourceGroupName WE-DMZ-DNS
# Create the DNS Record Set
$RecordSet = New-AzureDnsRecordSet -Name blog -RecordType CNAME -Ttl 3600 -Zone $Zone
# Add the CNAME value to the DNS Record Set
Add-AzureDnsRecordConfig -RecordSet $RecordSet -Cname blog-runbookautomation-se.azurewebsites.net
# Apply changes to Record Set in Azure
Set-AzureDnsRecordSet -RecordSet $RecordSet

Below is the complete code using variables for easier use.

	$ZoneName = ""
	$ResourceGroupName = ""
	$AzureLocation = "westeurope"
	$CnameKey = "blog"
	$CnameValue = ".azurewebsites.net"
	# Add Azure Account
	Add-AzureAccount
	# Switch to ARM mode
	Switch-AzureMode -Name AzureResourceManager
	# Had to re-register the Microsoft.Network provider for the DNS feature to ever become Registered
	Register-AzureProvider -ProviderNamespace Microsoft.Network
	# Register for Azure DNS preview
	Register-AzureProviderFeature -ProviderNamespace Microsoft.Network -FeatureName azurednspreview
	# Check providerFeature registration status. Wait until registrationStatus=Registered
	Get-AzureProviderFeature -ProviderNamespace Microsoft.Network -FeatureName azurednspreview
	# Create Resource Group for DNS resources
	$ResourceGroup = New-AzureResourceGroup -Name $ResourceGroupName -Location $AzureLocation
	# Create DNS Zone
	$Zone = New-AzureDnsZone -Name $ZoneName -ResourceGroupName $ResourceGroup.ResourceGroupName
	# Get DNS zone name server
	(Get-AzureDnsRecordSet -ZoneName $Zone.Name -ResourceGroupName $ResourceGroup.ResourceGroupName -Name '@' -RecordType NS).Records
	# Check if name server settings has replicated. Property PrimaryServer.
	Resolve-DnsName $ZoneName
	# Create the DNS Record Set
	$RecordSet = New-AzureDnsRecordSet -Name $CnameKey -RecordType CNAME -Ttl 3600 -Zone $Zone
	# Add the CNAME value to the DNS Record Set
	Add-AzureDnsRecordConfig -RecordSet $RecordSet -Cname $CnameValue
	# Apply changes to Record Set in Azure
	Set-AzureDnsRecordSet -RecordSet $RecordSet

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AzureDnsPreview.ps1

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Update Azure Powershell module with Powershell

A couple of months ago I shared a script that downloaded and installed the latest version of the Azure Powershell module. Since that time a lot of things have changed.

The module has moved from azure-sdk-tools to azure-powershell on GitHub!
The module has been updated from version 0.8.6 to version 0.9.1 with the help of over 3000 commits!
The module has gone from 434 cmdlets up to 761 cmdlets!

Below is a new snippet that leverages the GitHub API to download and install the latest Azure Powershell module:

	# Get latest azure-powershell
	$AzureModule = Get-Module -Name Azure* -ListAvailable
	$LatestRelease = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri https://api.github.com/repos/Azure/azure-powershell/releases/latest -Method GET
	If (-not($AzureModule) -or $AzureModule.Version.ToString() -ne $LatestRelease.name)
	{
	$Asset = $LatestRelease.assets | Where-Object {$_.name -like "*.msi"}
	$OutFile = "{0}\{1}" -f $env:TEMP, $Asset.name
	Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $Asset.browser_download_url -OutFile $Outfile -Method Get
	Start-Process -FilePath msiexec.exe -ArgumentList @("/i $OutFile /qb") -Wait -PassThru
	}
	else
	{
	Write-Host "Azure Powershell module is up to date."
	}

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Update-AzurePowershell.ps1

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Download and invoke the script to update. Or just run this one-liner:

iex (Invoke-RestMethod -Uri https://api.github.com/gists/dfe515f4ef0b14e6be15).files.'Update-AzurePowershell.ps1'.content

view raw

Update Azure Powershell one liner.ps1

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Getting an accurate last logon date of Active Directory users

Sometimes the LastLogonTimeStamp attribute just doesn’t cut it and other times LastLogon just isn’t accurate on the Domain Controller you’re querying.

This attribute is not replicated and is maintained separately on each domain controller in the domain. To get an accurate value for the user’s last logon in the domain, the Last-Logon attribute for the user must be retrieved from every domain controller in the domain. The largest value that is retrieved is the true last logon time for that user.

Manually checking each DC and determinating the largest datetime value of LastLogon is clearly out the question so we’ll use Powershell instead!

To maintain as much flexibility as possible, ease of use and respect already established methods of working against AD with Powershell I’ve created a function that allows pipeline input from Get-ADUser and SamAccountName arrays (read: Import-CSV and Get-Content).

Per usual you’ll find the script at TechNet Gallery!

<#
.Synopsis
   Gets the newest LastLogon date based on data from all Domain Controllers in the Forest.
.DESCRIPTION
   Get the newest LastLogon attribute for the specified user by iterating through all Domain Controllers in the forest.
   Output is structured and enables sorting, CSV export and further processing.
.EXAMPLE
    # Get LastLogon date for one username:
    C:\PS> Get-ADUserLastLogon -SamAccountName username

    DomainController : dc01.contoso.com
    Enabled          : True
    Name             : User Name
    SamAccountName   : username
    LastLogon        : 2015-03-30 15:11:06

.EXAMPLE
    # Get LastLogon date for multiple usernames and output as table:
    C:\PS> "username","nameuser" | Get-ADUserLastLogon | Format-Table -AutoSize

    DomainController     Enabled Name        SamAccountName LastLogon
    ----------------     ------- ----        -------------- ---------
    dc01.contoso.com        True User Name   username       2015-03-30 15:11:06
    dc02.contoso.com        True Name User   nameuser       2015-03-30 13:58:38
.EXAMPLE
    # Get LastLogon date for all users under an Organizational Unit:
    C:\PS> $OU = "OU=ServiceAccounts,DC=contoso,DC=com"
    C:\PS> $ADUsers = Get-ADUsers -Filter * -SearchBase $OU
    C:\PS> $ADUsers | Get-ADUserLastLogon -Properties Title
.EXAMPLE
    # Get LastLogon date for the first 50 users of a remote forest and remote credentials:
    C:\PS> $Cred = Get-Credential
    C:\PS> Get-ADUserLastLogon -All -Count 50 -Forest contoso.org -Credential $Cred
.EXAMPLE
    # Get LastLogon date for the first 5 users and output the AD User object of the first users:
    C:\PS> $Result = Get-ADUserLastLogon -All -Count 5 -Passthru
    C:\PS> $Result[0].TargetObject
.INPUTS
   [System.String]
   [Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADUser]
.OUTPUTS
   [System.Management.Automation.PSObject]
.PARAMETER SamAccountName
    Account name, as a string, to get LastLogon date.
.PARAMETER ADUser
    Account, from Get-ADUser cmdlet, to get LastLogon date.
.PARAMETER All
    Gets all AD users of the specified domain.
    Use together with -Count parameter to restrict amount of results.
.PARAMETER Count
    Max amount of results when using -All parameter.
.PARAMETER Forest
    Name of the remote forest. Needs to be resolvable.
.PARAMETER Properties
    Adds AD attributes to the output.
.PARAMETER Passthru
    Adds the Get-ADUser cmdlet output object into the TargetObject property.
.PARAMETER Credential
    Credentials to use with Get-ADUser and/or connecting to a remote forest.
.NOTES
    Version: 20150330.1
    Author: Daniel Grenemark
    Email: daniel@grenemark.se
    Twitter: @desek
    Blog: https://runbookautomation.wordpress.com/
.LINK
    https://runbookautomation.wordpress.com
    
Tweets by desek
#>

TechNet Gallery URL: https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Get-AD-User-Last-Logon-4c6b6fa6

Publishing SCSM Request Offerings like an engineer!

Ever had the great idea that you’d create an enumeration list that you’ll use on several RO’s to maximize data quality and ensure successful automation?

I’ve had it. Several times in fact.

However, for obvious reasons I don’t want to relate this enumeration to any class. I want it to be stand-alone and only be used with one or several RO(s). As all “centrally managed lists” I want a change in the list to reflect on all RO(s). And as most of you know you have to map every prompt to a property of a class that is defined in the template related to the RO to be able to publish it.
There’s actually a requirement for this on the data layer and not just in the GUI, which I tought at first.

So how do you map an enumeration that is not a property of any class?

Since all configuration of RO’s are saved in a Management Pack and in XML format we should start by reading the Management Pack XML Schema Reference.
After a few clicks we should notice that the <Extension> element (which contains the RO definition) isn’t documented on MSDN. Thank you very much!

Working with schedules in Azure Automation (and SMA)

The few of us that have started working with Azure Automation and/or SMA have probably noticed the lack of functionality that would equal a monitoring activity in Orchestrator.

I’ve seen some solutions which consist of a Runbook being set in an infinite loop with a sleep timer at the bottom.
In practice this method would replicated the desired functionality, that is, until the Runbook hits the maximum runtime value and kills the process. If you’re using Azure Automation this would also mean that you’ll be consuming Automation Minutes. 24/7.

What you’ll want to do with Azure Automation and SMA is to work with schedules to mimic a monitoring activity. And this can be a hassle to manage… Unless you’re using the right tools! 🙂
(Hint: Powershell.)

First we’ll want to create the required schedules. In 99% of the cases I work with hourly schedules at different minute intervals and I create them with the following script found at Technet Gallery.

If you use the “-Verbose” parameter you’ll get output on the schedule creation process.

	PS C:\> GenerateAzureAutomationSchedules -AutomationAccount $AzureAutomationAccount -Verbose
	VERBOSE: Found 35 Azure Automation Schedule(s) with same Hour Interval.
	VERBOSE: Creted Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 0".
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 2" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 4" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 5" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 6" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 8" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 10" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 12" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 14" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 15" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 16" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 18" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 20" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 22" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 24" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 25" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 26" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 28" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 30" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 32" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 34" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 35" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 36" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 38" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 40" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 42" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 44" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 45" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 46" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 48" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 50" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 52" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 54" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 55" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 56" already exists.
	VERBOSE: Azure Automation Schedule for "Every 1 Hour(s) at minute 58" already exists.

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GAASoutput.txt

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And lastly we’ll want to assign Runbooks to the required schedules so the Runbook executes at the right time with the following script:

	# Set Azure Automation Account Name
	$PSDefaultParameterValues += @{"*-AzureAutomation*:AutomationAccountName"=$AzureAutomationAccount.AutomationAccountName}
	# Select one Runbook
	$Runbook = Get-AzureAutomationRunbook | Out-GridView -PassThru
	# Select one/multiple Schedule(s)
	$Schedules = Get-AzureAutomationSchedule | Out-GridView -PassThru
	# Assign Schedules to Runbook
	$Schedules | ForEach-Object { Register-AzureAutomationScheduledRunbook -Name $Runbook.Name -ScheduleName $_.Name -Verbose }

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assignSchedulesToRunbook.ps1

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By piping to “Out-Gridview -Passthru” I can easily filter all the schedules and select the ones I want. Oh, and they script writes the intervals into the Description property of the schedules. This makes life a bit easier if you want the Runbook to execute, for example, every 5 minutes.

The result would look something like this in the Azure Management Portal:

I hope this helps you to manage your Automation Runbooks in a more efficient way and lower your Azure bill!

Again, the script can be found at: https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Generate-Azure-Automation-1dab9193

Cleaning up Management Pack XML after SCSM Authoring Tool

For those of you working with System Center Service Manager (SCSM) and have created or edited forms in the Authoring Tool have probably noticed that Management Pack can easily become a couple of hundred rows! And that’s just the inside the <Forms> node!

This is happening due to the fact that the Authoring Tool is basically writing 3 lines of XML for every change you make. This includes changing values, moving controls etc.

There’s also some rumors that the excess amount of rows causes performance issues when loading the form in SCSM. It sounds reasonable to me, but I haven’t personally done any testing in this matter.

But fear not! The below script will remove the unnecessary XML!

I’ve included functionality for piping several XML-files, ie.

Get-ChildItem *.xml | Invoke-SCSMAuthoringToolCleanup

You can define where to save the processed XML with the parameter -OutputPath. If omitting this parameter the script will overwrite the existing Management Pack.

If you want the XML object as output for further processing, use the parameter -Passthru.

If you’re using fixed position and control sizes (which you shouldn’t!) you can omit processing of these nodes by setting the parameters -ProcessResize and -ProcessMove to $false.

You can download the script from TechNet Gallery at:
https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/SCSM-Form-Customization-8ebe8dd7

Workaround for SMA Runbook build failure

Building a robust master SMA Runbook for your automation solutions will have a high chance of ending up with at least a couple of hundreds of lines of code (and magic!). This runbook will most likely consist of runbook nesting, modular workflows, error-handling and fault tolerance which can make things quite complex. Even for the Powershell Engine itself..

One master Runbook I authored ran into a Workflow compilation error when executing the runbook. This because of the sandboxing technology used in SMA and the error appeared because the sandboxed instance could not find the required assemblies.

The workaround is simple;

Identify and find the missing assemblies, which I did at:

C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\assembly\GAC_MSIL\System.Management.Automation\v4.0_3.0.0.0__31bf3856ad364e35\System.Management.Automation.dll
C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\assembly\GAC_MSIL\Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.Utility\v4.0_3.0.0.0__31bf3856ad364e35\Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.Utility.dll

And copy them to on all SMA Runbook Workers:

%windir%\System32\WindowsPowershell\v1.0

 

Below is the complete error message found in the Event Log on the SMA Runbook Worker:

Build started 2014-10-16 13:06:31.
__________________________________________________
Project "C:\Users\<SMARunbookWorkerAccount>\AppData\Local\Temp\PSWorkflowCompilation\Workflow_f8de811dc1ff4612b48fe9cc0c69d546\Project\RuntimeProject.csproj" (default targets):

Target GetReferenceAssemblyPaths:
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\Microsoft.Common.targets(983,5): warning MSB3644: The reference assemblies for framework ".NETFramework,Version=v4.5" were not found. To resolve this, install the SDK or Targeting Pack for this framework version or retarget your application to a version of the framework for which you have the SDK or Targeting Pack installed. Note that assemblies will be resolved from the Global Assembly Cache (GAC) and will be used in place of reference assemblies. Therefore your assembly may not be correctly targeted for the framework you intend.
Done building target "GetReferenceAssemblyPaths" in project "RuntimeProject.csproj".
Target PrepareForBuild:
Creating directory "bin\Release\".
Creating directory "obj\Release\".
Target ResolveAssemblyReferences:
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\Microsoft.Common.targets(1605,5): warning MSB3106: Assembly strong name "C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.Utility.dll" is either a path which could not be found or it is a full assembly name which is badly formed. If it is a full assembly name it may contain characters that need to be escaped with backslash(\). Those characters are Equals(=), Comma(,), Quote("), Apostrophe('), Backslash(\).
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\Microsoft.Common.targets(1605,5): warning MSB3106: Assembly strong name "C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\System.Management.Automation.dll" is either a path which could not be found or it is a full assembly name which is badly formed. If it is a full assembly name it may contain characters that need to be escaped with backslash(\). Those characters are Equals(=), Comma(,), Quote("), Apostrophe('), Backslash(\).
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\Microsoft.Common.targets(1605,5): warning MSB3106: Assembly strong name "C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.Utility.dll" is either a path which could not be found or it is a full assembly name which is badly formed. If it is a full assembly name it may contain characters that need to be escaped with backslash(\). Those characters are Equals(=), Comma(,), Quote("), Apostrophe('), Backslash(\).
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\Microsoft.Common.targets(1605,5): warning MSB3106: Assembly strong name "C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\System.Management.Automation.dll" is either a path which could not be found or it is a full assembly name which is badly formed. If it is a full assembly name it may contain characters that need to be escaped with backslash(\). Those characters are Equals(=), Comma(,), Quote("), Apostrophe('), Backslash(\).
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\Microsoft.Common.targets(1605,5): warning MSB3270: There was a mismatch between the processor architecture of the project being built "MSIL" and the processor architecture of the reference "mscorlib", "AMD64". This mismatch may cause runtime failures. Please consider changing the targeted processor architecture of your project through the Configuration Manager so as to align the processor architectures between your project and references, or take a dependency on references with a processor architecture that matches the targeted processor architecture of your project.
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\Microsoft.Common.targets(1605,5): warning MSB3270: There was a mismatch between the processor architecture of the project being built "MSIL" and the processor architecture of the reference "System.Data", "AMD64". This mismatch may cause runtime failures. Please consider changing the targeted processor architecture of your project through the Configuration Manager so as to align the processor architectures between your project and references, or take a dependency on references with a processor architecture that matches the targeted processor architecture of your project.
Done building target "ResolveAssemblyReferences" in project "RuntimeProject.csproj".
Target XamlMarkupCompilePass1:
C:\Users\<SMARunbookWorkerAccount>\AppData\Local\Temp\PSWorkflowCompilation\Workflow_f8de811dc1ff4612b48fe9cc0c69d546\Project\ho5coutk.gts.xaml : error XC1014: Assembly 'Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.Utility, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35' can not be resolved. Please add a reference to this assembly in the project that is being built.
C:\Users\<SMARunbookWorkerAccount>\AppData\Local\Temp\PSWorkflowCompilation\Workflow_f8de811dc1ff4612b48fe9cc0c69d546\Project\onhtvslm.qxx.xaml : error XC1014: Assembly 'Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.Utility, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35' can not be resolved. Please add a reference to this assembly in the project that is being built.
C:\Users\<SMARunbookWorkerAccount>\AppData\Local\Temp\PSWorkflowCompilation\Workflow_f8de811dc1ff4612b48fe9cc0c69d546\Project\rl5vmykt.eca.xaml : error XC1014: Assembly 'Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.Utility, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35' can not be resolved. Please add a reference to this assembly in the project that is being built.
Done building target "XamlMarkupCompilePass1" in project "RuntimeProject.csproj" -- FAILED.

Done building project "RuntimeProject.csproj" -- FAILED.

Build FAILED.

C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\Microsoft.Common.targets(983,5): warning MSB3644: The reference assemblies for framework ".NETFramework,Version=v4.5" were not found. To resolve this, install the SDK or Targeting Pack for this framework version or retarget your application to a version of the framework for which you have the SDK or Targeting Pack installed. Note that assemblies will be resolved from the Global Assembly Cache (GAC) and will be used in place of reference assemblies. Therefore your assembly may not be correctly targeted for the framework you intend.
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\Microsoft.Common.targets(1605,5): warning MSB3106: Assembly strong name "C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.Utility.dll" is either a path which could not be found or it is a full assembly name which is badly formed. If it is a full assembly name it may contain characters that need to be escaped with backslash(\). Those characters are Equals(=), Comma(,), Quote("), Apostrophe('), Backslash(\).
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\Microsoft.Common.targets(1605,5): warning MSB3106: Assembly strong name "C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\System.Management.Automation.dll" is either a path which could not be found or it is a full assembly name which is badly formed. If it is a full assembly name it may contain characters that need to be escaped with backslash(\). Those characters are Equals(=), Comma(,), Quote("), Apostrophe('), Backslash(\).
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\Microsoft.Common.targets(1605,5): warning MSB3106: Assembly strong name "C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.Utility.dll" is either a path which could not be found or it is a full assembly name which is badly formed. If it is a full assembly name it may contain characters that need to be escaped with backslash(\). Those characters are Equals(=), Comma(,), Quote("), Apostrophe('), Backslash(\).
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\Microsoft.Common.targets(1605,5): warning MSB3106: Assembly strong name "C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\System.Management.Automation.dll" is either a path which could not be found or it is a full assembly name which is badly formed. If it is a full assembly name it may contain characters that need to be escaped with backslash(\). Those characters are Equals(=), Comma(,), Quote("), Apostrophe('), Backslash(\).
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\Microsoft.Common.targets(1605,5): warning MSB3270: There was a mismatch between the processor architecture of the project being built "MSIL" and the processor architecture of the reference "mscorlib", "AMD64". This mismatch may cause runtime failures. Please consider changing the targeted processor architecture of your project through the Configuration Manager so as to align the processor architectures between your project and references, or take a dependency on references with a processor architecture that matches the targeted processor architecture of your project.
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\Microsoft.Common.targets(1605,5): warning MSB3270: There was a mismatch between the processor architecture of the project being built "MSIL" and the processor architecture of the reference "System.Data", "AMD64". This mismatch may cause runtime failures. Please consider changing the targeted processor architecture of your project through the Configuration Manager so as to align the processor architectures between your project and references, or take a dependency on references with a processor architecture that matches the targeted processor architecture of your project.
C:\Users\<SMARunbookWorkerAccount>\AppData\Local\Temp\PSWorkflowCompilation\Workflow_f8de811dc1ff4612b48fe9cc0c69d546\Project\ho5coutk.gts.xaml : error XC1014: Assembly 'Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.Utility, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35' can not be resolved. Please add a reference to this assembly in the project that is being built.
C:\Users\<SMARunbookWorkerAccount>\AppData\Local\Temp\PSWorkflowCompilation\Workflow_f8de811dc1ff4612b48fe9cc0c69d546\Project\onhtvslm.qxx.xaml : error XC1014: Assembly 'Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.Utility, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35' can not be resolved. Please add a reference to this assembly in the project that is being built.
C:\Users\<SMARunbookWorkerAccount>\AppData\Local\Temp\PSWorkflowCompilation\Workflow_f8de811dc1ff4612b48fe9cc0c69d546\Project\rl5vmykt.eca.xaml : error XC1014: Assembly 'Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.Utility, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35' can not be resolved. Please add a reference to this assembly in the project that is being built.
7 Warning(s)
3 Error(s)

Time Elapsed 00:00:03.05

Download Microsoft vNext Technical Preview with Powershell!

UPDATE: Added Windows 10 Enterprise and SQL Server 2014.

Microsoft just released the Technical Preview for Windows Server vNext and System Center vNext!

Release Notes for Windows Server: http://technet.microsoft.com/library/dn765470.aspx
What’s New for Windows Server: http://technet.microsoft.com/library/dn765472.aspx

Release Notes for System Center: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn806369.aspx

Aaaaaaaaaaand, let me present the download script!

Use the parameter -Path to specify the download folder.
Use the parameter -WithProgress if you want to see the progress of the download.

	function Get-MSFT2014TechnicalPreview
	{
	[CmdletBinding()]
	Param(
	[ValidateScript({Test-Path $_})]
	[string]$Path=(Get-Location),
	[Switch]$WithProgress
	)
	BEGIN
	{
	$WebClient = New-Object System.Net.WebClient
	$Uris = @{
	Win10x64 = "http://download.microsoft.com/download/F/5/7/F574727C-B145-4A7D-B85B-11C4E8DC894B/9841.0.140912-1613.FBL_RELEASE_CLIENTENTERPRISE_VOL_X64FRE_EN-US.ISO"
	rsatWin10x64 = "http://download.microsoft.com/download/2/7/9/27916E59-B7B5-4462-B95F-89DF4CE291D3/WindowsTH-KB2693643-x64.msu"
	rsatWin10x86 = "http://download.microsoft.com/download/2/7/9/27916E59-B7B5-4462-B95F-89DF4CE291D3/WindowsTH-KB2693643-x86.msu"
	WindowsServer = "http://care.dlservice.microsoft.com/dl/download/F/5/7/F574727C-B145-4A7D-B85B-11C4E8DC894B/9841.0.140912-1613.FBL_RELEASE_SERVER_OEM_X64FRE_EN-US.ISO"
	SCDPM = "http://care.dlservice.microsoft.com/dl/download/evalx/sctp2014/SCTP_SCDPM.exe"
	SCOM = "http://care.dlservice.microsoft.com/dl/download/evalx/sctp2014/SCTP_SCOM.exe"
	SCVMM = "http://care.dlservice.microsoft.com/dl/download/evalx/sctp2014/SCTP_SCVMM.exe"
	SCO = "http://care.dlservice.microsoft.com/dl/download/evalx/sctp2014/SCTP_SCO.exe"
	SCSM = "http://care.dlservice.microsoft.com/dl/download/evalx/sctp2014/SCTP_SCSM.exe"
	SQL2014 = "http://care.dlservice.microsoft.com/dl/download/6/1/9/619E068C-7115-490A-BFE3-09BFDEF83CB9/SQLServer2014-x64-ENU.iso"
	}
	If ($WithProgress)
	{
	$DownloadSizeTotal = 0
	$i = 0
	Foreach ($Uri in $Uris.Keys)
	{
	$i++
	Write-Progress -Id 1 -Activity 'Calculating Total Download Size' -Status "Item $i of $($Uris.Count) – $Uri" -PercentComplete (($i/$Uris.Count) * 100)
	$WebRequest = [System.Net.WebRequest]::Create($Uris[$Uri])
	$WebResponse = $WebRequest.GetResponse()
	$DownloadSizeTotal += $WebResponse.ContentLength
	$WebResponse.Close()
	$WebRequest.Abort()
	}
	$DownloadSizeTotalMB = [System.Math]::Round(($DownloadSizeTotal/1024/1024),2)
	}
	}
	PROCESS
	{
	$i = 0
	$DownloadCurrentTotal = 0
	$DownloadCurrentTotalMB = 0
	Foreach ($Uri in $Uris.Keys)
	{
	$i++
	Write-Host "$($Uri): Starting download"
	$FileName = $Uris[$Uri].Split("/")[-1]
	$OutFile = "$Path\$FileName"
	$WebRequest = [net.WebRequest]::Create($Uris[$Uri])
	$WebResponse = $WebRequest.GetResponse()
	$DownloadSize = $WebResponse.ContentLength
	$WebResponse.Close()
	$WebRequest.Abort()
	$DownloadSizeMB = [System.Math]::Round(($DownloadSize/1024/1024),2)
	If ((Get-Item $OutFile).Length -ne $DownloadSize)
	{
	Try
	{
	$WebClient.DownloadFileAsync($Uris[$Uri],$OutFile)
	Start-Sleep -Seconds 2
	Do
	{
	Start-Sleep -Seconds 2
	$DownloadCurrentSize = (Get-Item $OutFile).Length
	$DownloadCurrentSizeMB = [System.Math]::Round(($DownloadCurrentSize/1024/1024),2)
	$DownloadCurrentTotal = $DownloadedSize + $DownloadCurrentSize
	$DownloadCurrentTotalMB = [System.Math]::Round(($DownloadCurrentTotal/1024/1024),2)
	If ($WithProgress)
	{
	Write-Progress -id 1 -Activity "Downloading Item $i of $($Uris.Count)" -Status "$DownloadCurrentTotalMB of $DownloadSizeTotalMB MB" -PercentComplete (($DownloadCurrentTotal/$DownloadSizeTotal) * 100)
	Write-Progress -id 2 -Activity "Downloading $Uri" -Status "$DownloadCurrentSizeMB of $DownloadSizeMB MB" -PercentComplete (((Get-Item $OutFile).Length / $DownloadSize)*100)
	}
	} While ((Get-Item $OutFile).Length -lt $DownloadSize)
	$DownloadedSize = $DownloadedSize + (Get-Item $OutFile).Length
	Write-Host "$($Uri): Download completed" -ForegroundColor Green
	}
	Catch
	{
	Write-Host "$($Uri): Download failed" -ForegroundColor Red
	}
	}
	else
	{
	Write-Host "$($Uri): Download already exists" -ForegroundColor Green
	}
	}
	}
	END {}
	}

view raw

Get-MSFT2014TechnicalPreview.ps1

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Saving SCSM and SQL resources by disabling Cube Processing

If you do not use the OLAP Reporting Cubes in Service Manager it’s probably just going to use resources while delivering no business value.

By disabling Cube Processing and the SSAS instance you’ll save 4GB+ of RAM usage and the CPU usage from the Cube Processing task.
Depending on what your Service Manager environment looks like, it could be a couple of dollars on your electricity bill or a couple of more dollars if you’re running your environment in a pay-as-you-go Cloud, such as a Public Cloud or a Hosting Service Provider.

And lucky for you I’ve made a Powershell script to do this for you!

	# Script to remotely stoping and disabling all SCSM Cube Procesing jobs and SSAS instance
	$SMDWServer = ""
	$SSASServer = ""
	$SSASInstanceName = "MSSQLSERVER"
	Invoke-Command -ScriptBlock {
	$smdir = (Get-ItemProperty "HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\System Center\2010\Service Manager\Setup").InstallDirectory
	Import-Module "$smdir\Microsoft.EnterpriseManagement.Warehouse.Cmdlets.psd1"
	$DWJobs = Get-SCDWJob | Where-Object {$_.Name -like "Process.*"}
	Foreach ($DWJob in $SCDWJobs)
	{
	Disable-SCDWJobSchedule -JobName $Job.Name -Verbose
	Disable-SCDWJob -JobName $Job.Name -Verbose
	Stop-SCDWJob -JobName $Job.Name -Verbose
	}
	} -ComputerName $SMDWServer
	Invoke-Command -ScriptBlock {
	$ServiceName = "SQL Server Analysis Services ($($args[0]))"
	$Service = Get-Service -DisplayName $ServiceName
	Set-Service -InputObject $Service -StartupType Manual -Verbose
	Stop-Service -InputObject $Service -Verbose
	} -ComputerName $SSASServer -ArgumentList $SSASInstanceName

view raw

DisableSMDWCubeProcessing.ps1

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WMF / Powershell 5.0 Preview – September 2014

A couple of days ago it seems that Christmas came early! Microsoft released the latest preview of WMF 5.0 which includes the latest and greatest version of Powershell. And wow, the feature list is extensive!

On a high level it includes major functional and Powershell ISE improvements for:

1. DSC
2. String-handling
3. Logging / Auditing Powershell usage
4. Filesystem management

And new features for:

1. Generating Powershell cmdlets from OData Endpoints
2. Managing .zip files with native cmdlets
3. Using and managing PowershellGet (OneGet)
4. Managing switches that are Windows Server 2012 R2 logo-certified
5. Developing new classes
6. Dynamic method invocation

If you want to read more about the new and/or improved functionality with examples you’ll have to download and read the release notes! It’s 33 pages of Powershell madness!

In the coming days I will be looking a bit more on the new features 5 and 6. Can’t wait to deep-dive into this!

The September release of WMF 5.0 can be downloaded at:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=44070

If you’re trying Powershell 5.0 please submit and discuss feedback at:
https://connect.microsoft.com/PowerShell/Feedback