Logo
programming4us
programming4us
programming4us
programming4us
Home
programming4us
XP
programming4us
Windows Vista
programming4us
Windows 7
programming4us
Windows Azure
programming4us
Windows Server
programming4us
Windows Phone
 
programming4us
Windows 7

Fine-Tuning MDT Deployments : Working with the MDT Database (part 3) - Filling the MDT Database Using PowerShell

- How To Install Windows Server 2012 On VirtualBox
- How To Bypass Torrent Connection Blocking By Your ISP
- How To Install Actual Facebook App On Kindle Fire
8/7/2013 6:35:49 PM

2.3. Filling the MDT Database Using PowerShell

After you configure the MDT database and define access to it, you can add computers to the database and define their settings. If you need to perform this task for hundreds of computers, you don't want to do it one by one. You can instead use PowerShell to perform a bulk import of computer objects in the MDT database. In this example, we are going to use a CSV file that contains information about the computers we want to import.

2.3.1. Setting Up the Module

To begin, you'll use the MDT PowerShell module, provided by Michael Niehaus described in his blog posting:

http://b1ogs.technet.com/b/mniehaus/archive/2009/05/15/manipu1ating-the-
microsoft-dep1oyment-too1kit-database-using-powershe11.aspx

Also keep in mind that you need PowerShell 2.0, which is included in Windows Server 2008 R2 by default. Follow these steps:

  1. Download the MDTDB.zip file from the blog posting and unblock the file after you downloaded it. You can do this by opening the properties of the MDTDB.zip file and clicking Unblock on the General tab.

  2. Unzip the contents of MDTDB.zip to a new folder and explore that folder. The zip file contains the MDTDB.psm1 file, which is the PowerShell module, and the MDTDB_Test.ps1 script, which contains samples on how to use the module in your own script. Notice that you should make a reference in your script to the module using the import-modu1e cmdlet in PowerShell.

  3. Be sure you set the PowerShell Execution policy to Unrestricted.

2.3.2. Creating the CSV File

You will use Microsoft Excel to create an input CSV file, which you can use to import a batch of machines into the database.

  1. In Excel, open a new workbook and create three columns named Name, MAC, and Roles, respectively (Figure 2).

    Figure 2. Create an Excel spreadsheet.
  2. Fill the rows with the information you have on each computer you want to import: its name, its MAC address, and which role it should belong to.

  3. Export the spreadsheet to a CSV file (Figure 3) and name it bulkimport.csv.

Figure 3. The CSV file opened in Notepad

Setting the Correct Separator

Depending on your regional settings, sometimes when exporting an Excel sheet to a CSV file, you can end up having a semicolon (;) instead of a comma (,) as the separator. You can modify this by going to Control Panel => Region And Language, selecting the Formats tab, and clicking Additional Settings. Here you have the option to set the list separator value, which should be set to comma. If you don't use the comma as a separator, PowerShell will not understand the CSV when using the import-csv cmdlet.




2.3.3. Using the CSV File with the PowerShell Module

You can use the following PowerShell script to import your CSV file into your MDT database. You should modify the Connect-MDTDatabase cmdlet line with your own SQL Server name and MDT database name. If you are using a named instance, you should also add the option -instance instance name after the provided SQL Server computer name. Make sure that the PowerShell script, the CSV file, and the MDTDB.psml file are in the same folder.

Import-Module -name .\MDTDB.p$m1
Connect-MDTDatabase -sqlServer SRV-SQL01 -database MDT
$computers = Import-Csv .\bulkimport.csv
$computers
For ($x=1; $x -le $computers.count; $x++)
{
   New-MDTComputer -macAddress Scomputers[$x-1].mac -description
$computers[$x-1].description -settings @{
      OSInsta11='YES';
      OSDComputerName=$computers[$x-1].name;
  }
  Get-MDTComputer -macAddress $computers[$x-1].mac ? Set-MDTComputerRole -roles
Scomputers[$x-1].ro1es
}

					  

If you want to see the output of the scripts directly, run a refresh on your database in order for the new computers to be reflected.

This is just one example of what you can do with the PowerShell module provided by Michael Niehaus.

Other -----------------
- Fine-Tuning MDT Deployments : Creating a Linked Deployment Share (part 2) - Maintaining Linked Deployment Shares
- Fine-Tuning MDT Deployments : Creating a Linked Deployment Share (part 1) - Understanding Linked Deployment Shares
- Working with the User State Migration Tool (part 5) - Getting Extra Mileage Out of the USMT
- Working with the User State Migration Tool (part 4) - Applying the Data and Settings Using LoadState
- Working with the User State Migration Tool (part 3) - Gathering Data by Running ScanState
- Working with the User State Migration Tool (part 2) - Setting Up the Source Computer
- Working with the User State Migration Tool (part 1) - Using the USMT in Four Deployment Scenarios
- Sharing Your Computer with Others : Join a Homegroup
- Sharing Your Computer with Others : Create a Homegroup
- Sharing Your Computer with Others : Delete an Account
 
 
Top 10
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Finding containers and lists in Visio (part 2) - Wireframes,Legends
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Finding containers and lists in Visio (part 1) - Swimlanes
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Formatting and sizing lists
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Adding shapes to lists
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Adding Structure to Your Diagrams - Sizing containers
- Microsoft Access 2010 : Control Properties and Why to Use Them (part 3) - The Other Properties of a Control
- Microsoft Access 2010 : Control Properties and Why to Use Them (part 2) - The Data Properties of a Control
- Microsoft Access 2010 : Control Properties and Why to Use Them (part 1) - The Format Properties of a Control
- Microsoft Access 2010 : Form Properties and Why Should You Use Them - Working with the Properties Window
- Microsoft Visio 2013 : Using the Organization Chart Wizard with new data
- First look: Apple Watch

- 3 Tips for Maintaining Your Cell Phone Battery (part 1)

- 3 Tips for Maintaining Your Cell Phone Battery (part 2)
programming4us programming4us
Popular tags
Microsoft Access Microsoft Excel Microsoft OneNote Microsoft PowerPoint Microsoft Project Microsoft Visio Microsoft Word Active Directory Biztalk Exchange Server Microsoft LynC Server Microsoft Dynamic Sharepoint Sql Server Windows Server 2008 Windows Server 2012 Windows 7 Windows 8 windows Phone 7 windows Phone 8
programming4us programming4us
 
programming4us
Natural Miscarriage
programming4us
Windows Vista
programming4us
Windows 7
programming4us
Windows Azure
programming4us
Windows Server
programming4us
Game Trailer