String Theory

If you are a XenApp administrator you have no doubt utilized "qfarm.exe /load" to display the load on your Citrix XenApp Servers. These load values can identify issues with your servers in addition to determining which server is the least/most loaded in your farm. The one key component missing in this display is determining the reason for the load evaluator value.

This is where Windows PowerShell comes into play. If you haven’t already, you need to download the Citrix XenApp Commands Technology Preview (v2). You must be running XenApp 5 on either W2k3 or W2k8.

Note: XenApp 6 comes with this PSSnapin preinstalled as part of the core software. However as you will soon see the features are not the same.

Once you have installed the Citrix PSSnapin, power up PowerShell and run the following commands:

Add-PSSnapin Citrix.XenApp.Commands
Get-XAZone | Get-XAServer -onlineonly | Get-XAServerLoad | format-table -auto

The first line imports the XenApp commands. “Get-XaZone | Get-XAServer –onlineonly” is included to only return servers that are currently online. If the Get-XAServerLoad cmdlet is run and encounters a server that is offline, it will error out and stop the whole process. (Not the way I would have it handled, but that is for another day. ). Once it is run you will get a display similar to below.

As you can see you not only got the Load value, but you also got the value for each component that made up the rule.  In the first example you can see that the memory is at 11% which is contributing to the load of 1100. This information has been invaluable in a couple of different instances; one where the box was responding, but the Load Throttling was keeping the server from taking connections, and another where I discovered that Page Swaps were hammering one of the servers.

DISCLAIMER: The Get-XAServerLoad that is included with the PSSnapin in XenApp 6 does NOT include the Rules property. I discovered this fact while working on this blog post. I have no clue why it was removed, but I will try and find out.

For this month’s meeting of the Atlanta PowerShell User Group I demoed my Windows PowerShell profile and I promised I would post it online. So here it is.

 

 

<#=============================================================================
Script Name:     Universal Profile
Created On:      05/22/2009
Author:          Mark E. Schill
File:            profile.ps1
Usage:           PS> . profile.ps1
Version:         1.2
Purpose:         Serves as a PowerShell Profile that can be used on multiple systems
Requirements:    <NONE>
Last Updated:    06/05/2010
History:
         1.2 06/05/2010 - Many Numerous changes.
                 1.1 10/11/2009 - Converted to strictly 2.0 and updated layout
              1.0 05/22/2009 - Initial Revision

         ** Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License **
=============================================================================#>

<# This must be configured on systems where this script is run
 New-PSDrive -name Scripts -psprovider FileSystem -root <Location of Scripts Folder> -Description "Scripts Folder"
 . Scripts:\Profiles\profile.ps1
#>

# Main Function is just like the C# Main function. I use it to be be able to put functions last.
function Main
{

  # Grab some system Information to be displayed
  $PSVersion = [System.Diagnostics.FileVersionInfo]::GetVersionInfo("$PSHome\Powershell.exe").FileVersion
  $IPAddress = @( Get-WmiObject Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration | Where-Object { $_.DefaultIpGateway } )[0].IPAddress[0]
  $Cert = Get-ChildItem -Path Cert:\CurrentUser\my -CodeSigningCert

    # Set up general aliases
  New-Alias -Name "Edit" -Value "edit-file" -force

  # Add to Module path so I can just do "ipmo Module"
  if ( !($Env:PSModulepath.Contains($(Convert-Path Scripts:\Core\Modules\Manual)) ))
  {    $env:PSMODULEPATH += ";" + $(Convert-Path Scripts:\Core\Modules\Manual) }

  # Import my auto modules.
  Get-ChildItem $(Convert-Path Scripts:\Core\Modules\Auto) | Where-Object {$_.PsIsContainer} | %{ Import-Module $($_.FullName) -Force }

  ## We also want to add our scripts directory to the path
  $ENV:PATH += Get-Item Scripts:\Core\Functions | ? { $_.PsIsContainer } | % {";$($_.FullName)" }
  $ENV:PATH += Get-ChildItem Scripts:\Core\Functions\* | ? { $_.PsIsContainer } | % {";$($_.FullName)" }

  # Machine Based Rules
  switch -regex ( $env:COMPUTERNAME)
  {
    ".+"
    {    }
    "L186404"
    {      Add-PSSnapin VMware.VimAutomation.Core -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue }
    "EINSTEIN"
    {
      Add-PSSnapin "NetCmdlets" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
      Add-PSSnapin "PowerGadgets" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
  }

  # Host based rules
  switch ( $Host.Name )
  {
    "PowerShellPlus Host"
    {
      $Color_Label = "Cyan"
      $Color_Value_1 = "Green"
      $Color_Value_2 = "Yellow"
      $HostWidth = $Host.UI.RawUI.WindowSize.Width
    }
    'Windows PowerShell ISE Host'
    {
      $Color_Label = "DarkCyan"
      $Color_Value_1 = "Magenta"
      $Color_Value_2 = "DarkGreen"
      $HostWidth = 80

            Import-Module ISEPack 

            $PSISE.options.FontName = "Consolas"

      # watch for changes to the Files collection of the current Tab
      register-objectevent $psise.CurrentPowerShellTab.Files collectionchanged -action {
        # iterate ISEFile objects
        $event.sender | % {
          # set private field which holds default encoding to ASCII
          $_.gettype().getfield("encoding","nonpublic,instance").setvalue($_, [text.encoding]::ascii)
        }
      } | Out-null
    }
    default
    {
      $Color_Label = "Cyan"
      $Color_Value_1 = "Green"
      $Color_Value_2 = "Yellow"
      $HostWidth = $Host.UI.RawUI.WindowSize.Width

      if ( $env:PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE -eq 'AMD64')
      {        $NPP = "${env:ProgramFiles(x86)}\Notepad++\Notepad++.exe" }
      else
      {        $NPP = "$env:ProgramFiles\Notepad++\Notepad++.exe" }
      if (Test-Path $NPP) { Set-Alias -Name Edit-File -Value $NPP -Force } 

      # Initialize PowerTab
      & $(Convert-Path scripts:\Core\Includes\PowerTab\Init-TabExpansion.ps1) -ConfigurationLocation $(Convert-Path scripts:\Core\Includes\PowerTab)
    }

  }

  Record-Session # Start Session Recording
  Clear-Host

    $PreviousColor = $Host.UI.RawUI.ForegroundColor

  # Display relevant information
  Write-Host "ComputerName:`t`t" -ForegroundColor $Color_Label -nonewline
  Write-Host "$($env:COMPUTERNAME)" -ForegroundColor $Color_Value_2
  Write-Host "IP Address:`t`t" -ForeGroundColor $Color_Label -nonewline
  Write-Host $IPAddress -ForeGroundColor $Color_Value_2
  Write-Host "UserName:`t`t" -ForegroundColor $Color_Label -nonewline
  Write-Host "$env:UserDomain\$env:UserName" -ForegroundColor $Color_Value_2
  Write-Host "PowerShell Version:`t" -ForegroundColor $Color_Label -nonewline
  Write-Host $PSVersion -ForegroundColor $Color_Value_2
  Write-Host "Code Signing Cert:`t" -ForegroundColor $Color_Label -nonewline
  Write-Host $Cert.FriendlyName -ForegroundColor $Color_Value_2

  Write-Host "Snapins:`t`t" -ForegroundColor $Color_Label -NoNewline
  $StartingPosition = $Host.UI.RawUI.CursorPosition.X
  Write-Host "".PadRight(30,"-") -ForegroundColor $Color_Label
  Get-PSSnapin | Format-Wide -autosize | Out-String -Width $( $HostWidth -$StartingPosition -1 ) -stream | Where-Object {$_} | %{ Write-Host $($(" "*$StartingPosition) + $_) -foregroundColor $Color_Value_1} 

  Write-Host "Modules:`t`t" -foregroundcolor $Color_Label -noNewLine
  $StartingPosition = $Host.UI.RawUI.CursorPosition.X
  Write-Host "".PadRight(30,"-") -ForegroundColor $Color_Label

  Get-Module | Format-Wide -AutoSize | Out-String -Width $( $HostWidth -$StartingPosition -1 ) -stream | Where-Object {$_} |  %{ Write-Host $($(" "*$StartingPosition) + $_) -foregroundColor $Color_Value_1}
  Get-Module -ListAvailable | Format-Wide -Column 3 | Out-String -Width $( $HostWidth -$StartingPosition -1 ) -stream | Where-Object {$_} |  %{ Write-Host $($(" "*$StartingPosition) + $_) -foregroundColor $Color_Value_2} 

  Write-Host "Functions:`t`t" -foregroundcolor $Color_Label -noNewLine
  $StartingPosition = $Host.UI.RawUI.CursorPosition.X
  Write-Host "".PadRight(30,"-") -ForegroundColor $Color_Label
  Get-ChildItem Scripts:\Core\Functions\* -Recurse | Select-Object Name | Format-Wide -AutoSize | Out-String -Width $( $HostWidth -$StartingPosition -1 ) -stream | Where-Object {$_} |  %{ Write-Host $($(" "*$StartingPosition) + $_) -foregroundColor $Color_Value_1}  

  $Host.UI.RawUI.ForegroundColor =$PreviousColor
  Write-Host ""
  Write-Host ""

  # This should go OUTSIDE the prompt function, it doesn't need re-evaluation
    # We're going to calculate a prefix for the window title
  if(!$global:WindowTitlePrefix) {
    $id = [System.Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()
    $p = New-Object System.Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal($id)
    if ($p.IsInRole([System.Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole]::Administrator))
    {
      $global:WindowTitlePrefix = "PoSh (ADMIN) -"
    } else {
      $global:WindowTitlePrefix = "PoSh - "
    }
  }

  $LogicalDisk = @()
  gwmi Win32_LogicalDisk -filter "DriveType='3'" | % {
    $LogicalDisk += @($_ | Select @{n="Name";e={$_.Caption}},
    @{n="Volume Label";e={$_.VolumeName}},
    @{n="Used (GB)";e={"{0:N2}" -f ( ($_.Size/1GB) - ($_.FreeSpace/1GB) )}},
    @{n="Free (GB)";e={"{0:N2}" -f ($_.FreeSpace/1GB)}},
    @{n="Size (GB)";e={"{0:N2}" -f ($_.Size/1GB)}},
    @{n="Free (%)";e={if($_.Size) { "{0:N2}" -f ( ($_.FreeSpace/1GB) / ($_.Size/1GB) * 100 )}else{"NAN"} }} )
  } 

  $Host.UI.RawUI.ForegroundColor = $Color_Value_2
  $LogicalDisk | format-table -AutoSize | out-string
  $Host.UI.RawUI.ForegroundColor = $PreviousColor

  Get-SystemUptime
  Write-Host

  cd scripts:\

}

#Record all Powershell activities
function Record-Session
 {
  $MyPath = "$((Get-PSDrive Scripts).Root)\_Transcripts"
  if ( ! (Test-Path $MyPath ) ) { mkdir $MyPath > $null }
  $ComputerName = $env:ComputerName
  $Date = Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MM-dd"
  switch ( $Host.Name )
  {
    "PowerShellPlus Host"
    {      Start-Transcript -path "$MyPath\$ComputerName-$Date.log" -ea silentlycontinue }
    'Windows PowerShell ISE Host'
        {
            # PowerShell ISE does not support transcription
        }
        default
    {      Start-Transcript -path "$MyPath\$ComputerName-$Date.log" -append -ea silentlycontinue }

  }
}

function prompt
{

  Write-Host "$([char]0x0A7) " -NoNewline -ForegroundColor $Color_Label
  Write-Host ([net.Dns]::GetHostName()) -NoNewline -ForegroundColor $Color_Value_1
  Write-Host ' {' -NoNewline -ForegroundColor "Red"
  Write-Host (shorten-path (pwd).path) -NoNewline -ForegroundColor $Color_Label
  Write-Host '}' -NoNewline -ForegroundColor "Red"
  return ' '
}


function shorten-path([string] $path) {
  $loc = $path.Replace($HOME, '~')
  # remove prefix for UNC paths
  $loc = $loc -replace '^[^:]+::', ''
  # make path shorter like tabs in Vim,
    # handle paths starting with \\ and . correctly
  return ($loc -replace '\\(\.?)([^\\]{3})[^\\]*(?=\\)','\$1$2')
} 

function Get-SystemUptime ($computer = "$env:computername") {
  $lastboot = [System.Management.ManagementDateTimeconverter]::ToDateTime("$((gwmi  Win32_OperatingSystem -computername $computer).LastBootUpTime)")
  $uptime = (Get-Date) - $lastboot
  Write-Host "System Uptime for $computer is: " -NoNewline -ForegroundColor $Color_Value_2
  Write-Host $uptime.days -NoNewline -ForegroundColor $Color_Label
  Write-Host " days " -NoNewline -ForegroundColor $Color_Value_2
  Write-Host $uptime.hours -NoNewline -ForegroundColor $Color_Label
  Write-Host " hours " -NoNewline -ForegroundColor $Color_Value_2
  Write-Host $uptime.minutes -NoNewline -ForegroundColor $Color_Label
  Write-Host " minutes " -NoNewline -ForegroundColor $Color_Value_2
  Write-Host $uptime.seconds -NoNewline -ForegroundColor $Color_Label
  Write-Host " seconds" -ForegroundColor $Color_Value_2
}

# Call "Main" Function
. Main

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I am one of the guest judges for the Scripting Games 2010 occurring right now at http://2010sg.poshcode.org and http://blogs.technet.com/heyscriptingguy/. I am currently working on the Beginner Event 4 which asks the user to read the Environment Variables to get the number of processors in the machine.

This evening I am finding myself in constant conflict with my own principals as I grade these entries. In accordance with the spirit of the Scripting Games, I am grading the entries based on those guidelines including “Anything that goes beyond the bare minimum requirements of the scenario”, but it is taking all of my strength not to give them one star and write, “Dude, you know you can do that with one line.” These are games after all, so maybe I can convince the Scripting Guys next year to do the “2011 Scripting Reality Challenges”. What do you think?

Yours truly,

Mark