General

when you use device or collection variables in SCCM, you can use it with this view PowerShell lines inside a task sequence script:

if you use the script above, you must start the PowerShell script through an SCCM Task Sequence.

if you want to read the collection / device variables from outside a Task Sequence, you can use this function Get-SCCMClientCollectionVariable. this function must be started in the context of NT Authority System, otherwise it can’t return the variables read more

sometimes you need to remove a file from GIT. when it contains sensitive datas like passwords, it needs to be removed from the GIT history to:

this commands helped me to do this:

 

since version 1906 SCCM supports role-based access control (RBAC) for folders. This can be configured trough the SCCM console or (recommended) PowerShell.

unfortunattely the current version of the commandlet Get-CMObjectSecurityScope doesn’t support any folder as InputObject. so, if you want to know, which Security Scope is allowed to see a folder, you have to use this:

to add or remove any SecurityScopes to a Folder, you can use this build-in commandlets:

if you write regularly PowerShell modules, you have to test the functions in it.

i wrote some Pester tests, which are doing this tests for all functions in a PowerShell module:

the function has SYNOPSIS, DESCRIPTION and EXAMPLES

the function has cmdletbinding

the function has an OutputType defined

the function name starts with an approved verb

the function name has an common prefix

all parameters have a help text

all parameters have a type declaration

all variables inside the function has the same upper/lower case

read more

PowerShell is now available in Azure Function App (still in preview).

you can create a Powershell Function App like this:

using PowerShell modules

currently, you can’t install a powershell module inside Azure Function App, but you can upload your module to the script directory and access it from there. to do this, use Kudu:

browse to site / wwwroot:

then you can drag and drop your module ZIP-file to the right part of the explorer

the file will be uploaded and unpacked automatically

now you can reference this module directly from your function script read more

i work in a multi domain environment. each domain has different password expiration rules. unfortunattely there is no notification system for the password expiration, so i have to check manually how long my passwords are valid.

for this, i wrote this PowerShell function, which does work without the use of any additional module:

the result of this script looks like this:

 

some time ago, i had the problem that my 3Par storage was getting full. in this time i removed a lot of test vm’s from this storage, but nothing happens. the storage was still full. the reason was the mechanisme how vmware deletes files from a DataStore and the activated zero-detection feature on the storage. if you delete a virtual disk file on the vmware datastore, it will only marked as deleted, but the datas are still there in the same format. to get the storage’s zero detection work, we have to zero out the deleted part of the datastore manually.

you can do this with this script:

 

Hello

my website was over years reachable under josh-burkard.ch, which was a long url. I was on search for a new and shorter domain name for this website. now I have found one, which is shorter and which describes what i’m doing and writing about: Information Technology (IT). So, my new web address is burkard.IT

of course, the old address will be available, but I would like the new shorter one.