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Retrieving Information from Computers Belonging to an Active Directory OU

This script queries a particular Organizational Unit (OU) in your Active Directory for a list of computers. It will then use WMI to query various properties of those computers and output it into table format. Take a look at the script Listing 3-2.

$ou = [ADSI]"LDAP://ou=test,dc=testlab,dc=local"
$computers = $ou.PSBase.Get_Children()
$arrInfo = @()
foreach($node in $computers){
$arrInfo += Get-WmiObject - query "Select `
	Name,Manufacturer,Model, `
	NumberOf Processors, `
	TotalPhysicalMemory `
	From Win32_ComputerSystem" `
	-computername &node.Name
}
$arrInfo | format-table Name,Manufacturer, `
	Model, NumberOf Processors, TotalPhysicalMemory

Listing 3-2

As you can see in Figure 3-2, this script lists the name, manufacturer, model, number of processors, and the total amount of physical memory for each computer in the given OU. For now, I'm assuming that every item in the given OU is a computer. In a real production script, I would put in a lot more error checking between commands and also create filters for the Active Directory query because OUs can contain computers and other types of objects such as users, groups, and contacts.

If you want to see how this script runs on your own system, open your text editor and type it in (or use the file for this listing on the book's Web site). You have to change the LDAP path to an existing OU within your Active Directory, then save it as complist.psl. Now run this script and watch the magic happen.

Tip: You'll see that some lines end with a backtick (`) character. This means that the next line is just a continuation of the current line and not a separate command. This is useful if you have very long commands that you want to break up into multiple lines rather than have them keep going on and on to the right.

Warning: Don't confuse the backtick (`) with the single quote ('). The backtick character is typically found to the left of the number 1 key on U.S. keyboard (usually above the tab key).

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More Windows Administration Information:
• WSH to Master Your Computer
• Use the HOSTS File to Block Web Sites
• Retrieving Information from Computers Belonging to an Active Directory OU
• How to Restore Files From File History in Windows 10
• The Different Types of Virtualization
• Search for Text in Text Files
• How to Setup DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) on a Windows Server
• PC Technician's Guide to Providing Telephone Support
• Computer Technician's Guide to Safety
• What is the difference between MSI and EXE Installations?