TOPIC
about_Remote_Output
SHORT DESCRIPTION
Describes how to interpret and format the output of remote commands.
LONG DESCRIPTION
The output of a command that was run on a remote computer might look
like output of the same command run on a local computer, but there are
some significant differences.
This topic explains how to interpret, format, and display the output
of commands that are run on remote computers.
DISPLAYING THE COMPUTER NAME
When you use the Invoke-Command cmdlet to run a command on a remote
computer, the command returns an object that includes the name of
the computer that generated the data. The remote computer name is
stored in the PSComputerName property.
For many commands, the PSComputerName is displayed by default. For
example, the following command runs a Get-Culture command on two
remote computers, Server01 and Server02. The output, which appears
below, includes the names of the remote computers on which the command
ran.
C:\PS> invoke-command -script {get-culture} -comp Server01, Server02
LCID Name DisplayName PSComputerName
---- ---- ----------- --------------
1033 en-US English (United States) Server01
1033 es-AR Spanish (Argentina) Server02
You can use the HideComputerName parameter of Invoke-Command to hide
the PSComputerName property. This parameter is designed for commands
that collect data from only one remote computer.
The following command runs a Get-Culture command on the Server01
remote computer. It uses the HideComputerName parameter to hide the
PSComputerName property and related properties.
C:\PS> invoke-command -scr {get-culture} -comp Server01 -HideComputerName
LCID Name DisplayName
---- ---- -----------
1033 en-US English (United States)
You can also display the PSComputerName property if it is not displayed
by default.
For example, the following commands use the Format-Table cmdlet to add
the PSComputerName property to the output of a remote Get-Date command.
C:\PS> $dates = invoke-command -script {get-date} -computername Server01, Server02
C:\PS> $dates | format-table DateTime, PSComputerName -auto
DateTime PSComputerName
-------- --------------
Monday, July 21, 2008 7:16:58 PM Server01
Monday, July 21, 2008 7:16:58 PM Server02
DISPLAYING THE MACHINENAME PROPERTY
Several cmdlets, including Get-Process, Get-Service, and Get-EventLog,
have a ComputerName parameter that gets the objects on a remote computer.
These cmdlets do not use Windows PowerShell remoting, so you can use them
even on computers that are not configured for remoting in Windows
PowerShell.
The objects that these cmdlets return store the name of the remote computer
in the MachineName property. (These objects do not have a PSComputerName
property.)
For example, this command gets the PowerShell process on the Server01 and
Server02 remote computers. The default display does not include the
MachineName property.
C:\PS> get-process powershell -computername server01, server02
Handles NPM(K) PM(K) WS(K) VM(M) CPU(s) Id ProcessName
------- ------ ----- ----- ----- ------ -- -----------
920 38 97524 114504 575 9.66 2648 powershell
194 6 24256 32384 142 3020 powershell
352 27 63472 63520 577 3.84 4796 powershell
You can use the Format-Table cmdlet to display the MachineName property
of the process objects.
For example, the following command saves the processes in the $p variable
and then uses a pipeline operator (|) to send the processes in $p to the
Format-Table command. The command uses the Property parameter of
Format-Table to include the MachineName property in the display.
C:\PS> $p = get-process powershell -comp Server01, Server02
C:\PS> $P | format-table -property ID, ProcessName, MachineName -auto
Id ProcessName MachineName
-- ----------- -----------
2648 powershell Server02
3020 powershell Server01
4796 powershell Server02
The following more complex command adds the MachineName property to the
default process display. It uses hash tables to specify calculated
properties. Fortunately, you do not have to understand it to use it.
(Note that the backtick [`] is the continuation character.)
C:\PS> $p = get-process powershell -comp Server01, Server02
C:\PS> $p | format-table -property Handles, `
@{Label="NPM(K)";Expression={[int]($_.NPM/1024)}}, `
@{Label="PM(K)";Expression={[int]($_.PM/1024)}}, `
@{Label="WS(K)";Expression={[int]($_.WS/1024)}}, `
@{Label="VM(M)";Expression={[int]($_.VM/1MB)}}, `
@{Label="CPU(s)";Expression={if ($_.CPU -ne $()){ $_.CPU.ToString("N")}}}, `
Id, ProcessName, MachineName -auto
Handles NPM(K) PM(K) WS(K) VM(M) CPU(s) Id ProcessName MachineName
------- ------ ----- ----- ----- ------ -- ----------- -----------
920 38 97560 114532 576 2648 powershell Server02
192 6 24132 32028 140 3020 powershell Server01
438 26 48436 59132 565 4796 powershell Server02
DESERIALIZED OBJECTS
When you run remote commands that generate output, the command output is
transmitted across the network back to the local computer.
Because most live Microsoft .NET Framework objects (such as the objects
that Windows PowerShell cmdlets return) cannot be transmitted over the
network, the live objects are "serialized". In other words, the live
objects are converted into XML representations of the object and its
properties. Then, the XML-based serialized object is transmitted across
the network.
On the local computer, Windows PowerShell receives the XML-based serialized
object and "deserializes" it by converting the XML-based object into a
standard .NET Framework object.
However, the deserialized object is not a live object. It is a snapshot of
the object at the time that it was serialized, and it includes properties
but no methods. You can use and manage these objects in Windows PowerShell,
including passing them in pipelines, displaying selected properties, and
formatting them.
Most deserialized objects are automatically formatted for display by
entries in the Types.ps1xml or Format.ps1xml files. However, the local
computer might not have formatting files for all of the deserialized
objects that were generated on a remote computer. When objects are
not formatted, all of the properties of each object appear in the console
in a streaming list.
When objects are not formatted automatically, you can use the formatting
cmdlets, such as Format-Table or Format-List, to format and display
selected properties. Or, you can use the Out-GridView cmdlet to display
the objects in a table.
Also, if you run a command on a remote computer that uses cmdlets that you
do not have on your local computer, the objects that the command returns
might not be formatted properly because you do not have the formatting
files for those objects on your computer. To get formatting data from
another computer, use the Get-FormatData and Export-FormatData cmdlets.
Some object types, such as DirectoryInfo objects and GUIDs, are converted
back into live objects when they are received. These objects do not need
any special handling or formatting.
ORDERING THE RESULTS
The order of the computer names in the ComputerName parameter of cmdlets
determines the order in which Windows PowerShell connects to the remote
computers. However, the results appear in the order in which the local
computer receives them, which might be a different order.
To change the order of the results, use the Sort-Object cmdlet. You can
sort on the PSComputerName or MachineName property. You can also sort on
another property of the object so that the results from different
computers are interspersed.
SEE ALSO
about_Remote
Format-Table
Get-EventLog
Get-Process
Get-Service
Get-WmiObject
Invoke-Command
Out-GridView
Select-Object