From Svendsen Tech PowerShell Wiki

For various reasons you might want to execute commands via SSH, using PowerShell. Presented here is a module with functions (that work like cmdlets or commands) for running commands via SSH on remote hosts such as Linux or Unix computers, VMware ESX(i) hosts or network equipment such as routers and switches that support SSH. It seems to work very well against OpenSSH-type servers.

The module uses the SSH.NET library which you can find on GitHub (formerly CodePlex). Also see the downloads section below where I've bundled the DLLs I've tested with.

Starting with the good news about VMware: ESX(i) 4.x seems to be supported.

However, I've found that when I try to connect to VMware ESXi 5.x using this module/library, using a password, I get the error "Unable to connect to 192.168.1.103: Exception calling "Connect" with "0" argument(s): "No suitable authentication method found to complete authentication."". So it appears the authentication method ESXi implements isn't supported by the SSH.NET library, or maybe the other way around... The developers suggest an approach here. I have tested this, but I'm getting an unexpected error related to the event handler.

The code I'm using and error I'm getting is what the poster "Jaykul" describes somewhere near the bottom of this thread.

Using a key will, however, work. See the bottom of the article for more information on that. Given that, I suppose using this module to add keys to hosts running 4.x might be a good idea before upgrading them to 5.x to avoid manual labour (except the keys seem to be cleared on upgrade?).

The majority of this was written in a couple of days and must be considered beta - but as of November 2017 this module has been downloaded over 80,000 times, and I've not heard much about bugs beyond wanting to be able to use key files in the current directory without using a full path (this is now supported in the "SCP add-on version"). I've realized a few design decisions were quite poor, but rewriting seems daunting. This project is now also on GitHub in the PowerShell gallery version (the best one, it supports PScredentials objects, etc.).

I should also mention that importing private keys created with Putty will not work, as the Putty developer apparently uses a different key format standard than (most of) the rest of the world. The OpenSSH key format is currently supported, but the Putty key format might be supported later if the developers implement it. There's a thread about it in the discussion forums on their CodePlex page. Oh, and PuttyGen.exe can save/export keys in OpenSSH format if you tell it to.

Enjoy!





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Proof of Concept

Example of version 2.x of the module, with objects returned rather than strings, and an "Error" property with a boolean (true/false) value. Standardized to use Write-Verbose, Write-Warning and Write-Error.

Old PowerShell version 2 module example screenshot:





Module Functions

The help text for the module functions, and examples.

By the way, thanks to Jonathan Medd for writing this nice article about how to use the module. There is now a -Credential parameter in the latest PowerShell gallery and GitHub version - and also a -KeyPass parameter as well as a -KeyCredential parameter.

To list the cmdlets to get help for from the command line, use something like this, after you've loaded the module:

PS E:\> get-help *ssh* Name Category Synopsis ---- -------- -------- Get-SshSession Function Shows all, or the specified, SSH sessions in the global $SshSessions var... Remove-SshSession Function Removes opened SSH connections. Use the parameter -RemoveAll to remove a... New-SshSession Function Creates SSH sessions to remote SSH-compatible hosts, such as Linux... Invoke-SshCommand Function Invoke/run commands via SSH on target hosts to which you have already op... Enter-SshSession Function Enter a primitive interactive SSH session against a target host....

Or:

Get-Command -Module SSH-Sessions

Here is an article that demonstrates how to parse "df" output from the Linux side to produce custom PS objects containing the data properly typed (numerical/string).

New-SshSession

The first thing you do when you want to interact with hosts via SSH using this module, is to create SSH sessions to the target host or hosts.

The global $SshSessions variable will be populated with SSH client objects from the SSH.NET library (Renci), but you do not normally need to access this for basic use.

You can connect to multiple hosts at the same time using the same credentials, and to other hosts with other credentials by running the command again with different credentials. They will be added to the SSH client pool maintained in $SshSessions.

New-SshSession Help Text

<# .SYNOPSIS Creates SSH sessions to remote SSH-compatible hosts, such as Linux or Unix computers or network equipment. You can later issue commands to be executed on one or more of these hosts. .DESCRIPTION Once you've created a session, you can use Invoke-SshCommand or Enter-SshSession to send commands to the remote host or hosts. The authentication is done here. If you specify -KeyFile, that will be used. If you specify a password and no key, that will be used. If you do not specify a key nor a password, you will be prompted for a password, and you can enter it securely with asterisks displayed in place of the characters you type in. .PARAMETER ComputerName Required. DNS names or IP addresses for target hosts to establish a connection to using the provided username and key/password. .PARAMETER Username Required. The username used for connecting. .PARAMETER KeyFile Optional. Specify the path to a private key file for authenticating. Overrides a specified password. .PARAMETER Password Optional. You can specify a key, or leave out the password to be prompted for a password which is typed in interactively and will not be displayed. .PARAMETER Port Optional. Default 22. Target port the SSH server uses. #>

New-SshSession Example

PS E:\> New-SshSession -ComputerName ubuntu64esxi,192.168.1.153 -Username joakimbs No key provided. Enter SSH password for joakimbs: **************** Successfully connected to ubuntu64esxi Successfully connected to 192.168.1.153 # This global variable is set by the module and contains the sessions. # But you normally use the cmdlet Get-SshSessions to inspect. PS E:\> $SshSessions Name Value ---- ----- ubuntu64esxi Renci.SshNet.SshClient 192.168.1.153 Renci.SshNet.SshClient PS E:\> New-SshSession -ComputerName 192.168.1.1 -Username root No key provided. Enter SSH password for root: ***************** Successfully connected to 192.168.1.1 PS E:\> $SshSessions.Keys ubuntu64esxi 192.168.1.1 192.168.1.153

Invoke-SshCommand

This lets you invoke/execute/run commands via SSH on remote hosts to which you are connected.

Invoke-SshCommand Help Text

<# .SYNOPSIS Invoke/run commands via SSH on target hosts for which you have already opened connections using New-SshSession. See Get-Help New-SshSession. .DESCRIPTION Execute/run/invoke commands via SSH. You are already authenticated and simply specify the target(s) and the command. Output is emitted to the pipeline, so you collect results by using: $Result = Invoke-SshCommand [...] $Result there would be either a System.String if you target a single host or a System.Array containing strings if you target multiple hosts. If you do not specify -Quiet, you will also get colored Write-Host output - mostly for the sake of displaying progress. Use -InvokeOnAll to invoke on all computers to which you have opened connections. The hosts will be processed in alphabetically sorted order. .PARAMETER ComputerName Target hosts to invoke command on. .PARAMETER Command Required. The Linux command to run on specified target computers. .PARAMETER Quiet Causes no colored output to be written by Write-Host. If you assign results to a variable, no progress indication will be shown. .PARAMETER InvokeOnAll Invoke the specified command on all computers for which you have an open connection. Overrides -ComputerName, but you will be asked politely if you want to continue, if you specify both parameters. #>

Invoke-SshCommand Example

The output that shows the progress is colored and contains the remote host name. It can be suppressed with the parameter -Quiet, but then no progress will be shown. The results are always emitted to the pipeline so you need to assign the results to a variable. If you do not, and do not specify -Quiet, you will get the same output twice. I did it like this to be able to collect results while still showing progression.

PS E:\temp> $Results = Invoke-SshCommand -InvokeOnAll -Command 'uname -a' ubuntu64esxi: Linux ubuntu64esxi 2.6.32-40-generic #87-Ubuntu SMP Tue Mar 6 00:56:56 UTC 2012 x86_64 GNU/Linux 192.168.1.1: Linux linksys 2.4.20 #1 Sun Nov 29 06:53:09 PST 2009 mips GNU/Linux 192.168.1.153: Linux localhost.localdomain 2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.x86_64 #1 SMP Wed Mar 7 00:52:02 GMT 2012 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux PS E:\temp> $Results Linux ubuntu64esxi 2.6.32-40-generic #87-Ubuntu SMP Tue Mar 6 00:56:56 UTC 2012 x86_64 GNU/Linux Linux linksys 2.4.20 #1 Sun Nov 29 06:53:09 PST 2009 mips GNU/Linux Linux localhost.localdomain 2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.x86_64 #1 SMP Wed Mar 7 00:52:02 GMT 2012 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

You might find yourself wanting to do something not supported by the module. You can run a command like this:

PS E:\> $SshSessions.'debian64esxi'.RunCommand('pwd') CommandText : pwd CommandTimeout : -00:00:00.0010000 ExitStatus : 0 OutputStream : Renci.SshNet.Common.PipeStream ExtendedOutputStream : Renci.SshNet.Common.PipeStream Result : /home/joakimbs Error : PS E:\> $SshSessions.'debian64esxi'.RunCommand('pwd').Result /home/joakimbs # Remove the trailing newline/whitespace (and any leading whitespace if it's there) PS E:\> $SshSessions.'debian64esxi'.RunCommand('pwd').Result.Trim() /home/joakimbs PS E:\>

Most of the technicalities are taken care of for you if you use the pre-made Invoke-SshCommand, but I figure it might be useful to know this. Before output is returned by Invoke-SshCommand, any trailing carriage returns and newlines are removed from the output before it's sent to the pipeline.

Get-SshSession

Get-SshSession lists all connections you've created with New-SshSession. They will be listed alphabetically. The function can be piped to Format-Table -AutoSize for a more condensed representation on the console (some other stuff too, but not in this case, I would think).

You can specify the optional parameter -ComputerName. If you specify a host for which there is no key in the hash, you will get back the string "NULL" as the value for the "Connected" column.

Get-SshSession Help Text

<# .SYNOPSIS Shows all, or the specified, SSH sessions in the global $SshSessions variable, along with the connection status. .DESCRIPTION It checks if they're still reported as connected and reports that too. However, they can have a status of "connected" even if the remote computer has rebooted. Seems like an issue with the SSH.NET library and how it maintains this status. If you specify hosts with -ComputerName, which don't exist in the $SshSessions variable, the "Connected" value will be "NULL" for these hosts. Also be aware that with the version of the SSH.NET library at the time of writing, the host will be reported as connected even if you use the .Disconnect() method on it. When you invoke the .Dispose() method, it does report the connection status as false. .PARAMETER ComputerName Optional. The default behavior is to list all hosts alphabetically, but this lets you specify hosts to target specifically. NULL is returned as the connection status if a non-existing host name/IP is passed in. #>

Get-SshSession Example

PS E:\> Get-SshSession | ft -auto ComputerName Connected ------------ --------- 192.168.1.1 True 192.168.1.153 True debian64esxi True ubuntu64esxi True

To store all the hosts, sorted alphabetically by Get-SshSession, in an array, do something like this (by the way, it's important not to use Format-Table in this one-liner...):

PS E:\> $Hosts = Get-SshSession | select -ExpandProperty ComputerName PS E:\> $Hosts 192.168.1.1 192.168.1.153 debian64esxi ubuntu64esxi PS E:\> $Hosts.Count 4

Enter-SshSession

This enters an interactive session where the commands you issue are executed directly and output returned. Exit with the command "exit".

Enter-SshSession Help Text

<# .SYNOPSIS Enter a primitive interactive SSH session against a target host. Commands are executed on the remote host as you type them and you are presented with a Linux-like prompt. .DESCRIPTION Enter commands that will be executed by the host you specify and have already opened a connection to with New-SshSession. You can not change the current working directory on the remote host. .PARAMETER ComputerName Required. Target host to connect with. .PARAMETER NoPwd Optional. Do not try to include the default remote working directory in the prompt. #>

Enter-SshSession Example

PS E:\temp> Enter-SshSession -ComputerName ubuntu64esxi [ubuntu64esxi]: /home/joakimbs # : ifconfig eth1 eth1 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:0d:29:24:07:c9 inet addr:192.168.1.102 Bcast:192.168.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0 inet6 addr: fe80::20c:29ff:fe25:7d9/64 Scope:Link UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1 RX packets:184107 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:29856 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 RX bytes:47733722 (47.7 MB) TX bytes:4641823 (4.6 MB) [ubuntu64esxi]: /home/joakimbs # : uname -a Linux ubuntu64esxi 2.6.32-40-generic #87-Ubuntu SMP Tue Mar 6 00:56:56 UTC 2012 x86_64 GNU/Linux [ubuntu64esxi]: /home/joakimbs # : cd ..; ls -l total 20 drwxr-xr-x 51 joakimbs joakimbs 4096 2012-04-18 04:42 joakimbs drwx------ 2 root root 16384 2010-10-21 14:56 lost+found [ubuntu64esxi]: /home/joakimbs # : exit PS E:\temp>

Remove-SshSession

Disconnects and disposes SSH client objects and removes them from the global $SshSessions hashtable.

Remove-SshSession Help Text

<# .SYNOPSIS Removes opened SSH connections. Use the parameter -RemoveAll to remove all connections. .DESCRIPTION Performs disconnect (if connected) and dispose on the SSH client object, then sets the $global:SshSessions hashtable value to $null and then removes it from the hashtable. .PARAMETER ComputerName The names of the computers for which you want to remove connections. .PARAMETER RemoveAll Removes all open connections and effectively empties the hash table. Overrides -ComputerName, but you will be asked politely if you are sure, if you specify both. #>

Remove-SshSession Example

PS E:\temp> Remove-SshSession -RemoveAll ubuntu64esxi should now be disconnected and disposed. 192.168.1.1 should now be disconnected and disposed. 192.168.1.153 should now be disconnected and disposed. PS E:\temp>

SCP Add-on Feature

If you're looking for SCP/SFTP features for copying/uploading/downloading files, check this article. PowerShell version 2 is also supported.

Experimental sudo Support

This screenshot demonstrates running a sudo command from PowerShell against Ubuntu 16.04 (test performed 2017-02-25). On 2017-03-27 I tested that it works identically on CentOS7.

As text for copying, etc.:

New-SshSession -Cn 192.168.1.6 -Credential $Cred Successfully connected to 192.168.1.6 $Stream = $Global:SshSessions."192.168.1.6".CreateShellStream("dumb", 0, 0, 0, 0, 1024) [void] $Stream.Read() # get rid of initial logon into, etc. if any $Stream.WriteLine("sudo dmidecode -s system-manufacturer") # send sudo command $Stream.WriteLine($cred.GetNetworkCredential().Password) # send sudo password 1..2 | foreach { [void] $Stream.ReadLine() } # I found these two lines aren't needed $SystemManufacturer = $Stream.ReadLine() [void] $Stream.Read() # get rid of the rest $SystemManufacturer Microsoft Corporation Invoke-SshCommand -Cn 192.168.1.6 -Quiet -Command 'grep -i pretty /etc/os-release' PRETTY_NAME="CentOS Linux 7 (Core)" $Stream.Close() $Stream.Dispose()

Downloads

I've included the copies of Renci.SshNet.dll that I tested with in the zip archives below. If you want to download them directly from CodePlex and possibly get an updated version, go to the SSH.NET CodePlex page, click the download page and get the appropriate binary.

On 2016-11-05 I updated to the 2016.0.0 SSH.NET DLL, which has now moved to GitHub. You might want to ensure that you have the latest version by visiting the SSH.NET project page and checking the downloads. The module using the .NET 3.5 DLL expects it to have the name Renci.SshNet35.dll - and the .NET 4.0 version expects Renci.SshNet.dll. The .NET 4.0 version should work with PSv3, version 4 and 5. Doing my solemn duty and updating here.

The version in the PowerShell gallery and the PSv3 and up version (see below), v1.6+, has been rewritten a bit and now has a -Credential parameter as well as -KeyPass and -KeyCredential parameters.

Before I updated to the latest DLL, I got this error when connecting to an Ubuntu 16.04 computer:

Unable to connect to ubuntuvm: Exception calling "Connect" with "0" argument(s): "An established connection was aborted by the software in your host machine."

Download Script Module and DLL file: SSH-Sessions.zip - .NET 3.5 / PowerShell v2-compatible (legacy version - differs from the PowerShell gallery and GitHub version).

Download Script Module and DLL file: SSH-SessionsPSv3.zip - .NET 4.0 / PowerShell v3 and later. Now the same as the version in the PowerShell gallery and on GitHub as of 2017-11-11.



File history:







The PowerShell gallery version

As of 2017-09-03, the PSv2 zip file and the version in the PowerShell gallery have drifted apart. The PSv3 zip file was updated to v1.9 on 2017-11-11.

If you have Windows Management Framework 5 or higher (WMF 5 is available for Windows 7 and up), you can install my SSHSessions module from the PowerShell gallery, a Microsoft site and online repository for scripts.

I had to change the name to "SSHSessions" in the PowerShell gallery since someone else had previously used "SSH-Sessions" (initially published to the gallery on 2017-01-26).

To install with WMF 5 and up (to get the latest SSHSessions module version available), simply run this command (requires an internet connection):

Install-Module -Name SSHSessions

To install for your user only:

Install-Module -Name SSHSessions -Scope CurrentUser # no admin required

An attempt at a version history in the wiki (this is for the version in the PS gallery):

Adopting semantic versioning as of 2019-06-04.

2018-02-20 : v2.1.1. Fix bug that caused calling scripts to terminate and raise a script-level exception when Get-SshSession had no sessions and also when Remove-SshSession -RemoveAll was called. Updated on GitHub and in the PowerShell gallery on 2018-02-18.

: v2.1.1. Fix bug that caused calling scripts to terminate and raise a script-level exception when Get-SshSession had no sessions and also when Remove-SshSession -RemoveAll was called. Updated on GitHub and in the PowerShell gallery on 2018-02-18. 2018-01-01 : v2.1. Standardize to use Write-Verbose, Write-Warning and Write-Error. Quiet on success, without -Verbose. Another possibly breaking change if New-SshSession output is parsed, etc. Use an old module version if needed. v1.7.1 should be compatible with all "old meta scripts" you might find on the internet, plus the PSv2 version.

: v2.1. Standardize to use Write-Verbose, Write-Warning and Write-Error. Quiet on success, without -Verbose. Another possibly breaking change if New-SshSession output is parsed, etc. Use an old module version if needed. v1.7.1 should be compatible with all "old meta scripts" you might find on the internet, plus the PSv2 version. 2018-01-01 : v2.0. Major, breaking changes. Return objects instead of strings and a boolean (true/false) "Error" property value.

: v2.0. Major, breaking changes. Return objects instead of strings and a boolean (true/false) "Error" property value. 2017-11-11: v1.9. Add a handy -Reconnect parameter to New-SshSession. Possibly breaking change if you currently parse feedback/output: It's now

standardized to Ansible style consistently.

2017-09-03 : v1.8. Ansible style on non-quiet output. Pipeline support almost everywhere (except where it would break stuff - that I could think of).

: v1.8. Ansible style on non-quiet output. Pipeline support almost everywhere (except where it would break stuff - that I could think of). 2017-08-17 : v1.7.1. Made it so you can omit -KeyPass, so it works with keys with no password (maybe sending in a blank one works too). Based on feedback.

: v1.7.1. Made it so you can omit -KeyPass, so it works with keys with no password (maybe sending in a blank one works too). Based on feedback. 2017-02-07: v1.7. Corrected a bug where "PlainTextPassword" was hard-coded into the script instead of the variable $Password that was supposed to be there. Pushed version 1.7 to the gallery. This bug does not / did not exist in the version in the wiki (but that doesn't have the -Credential parameter or key password/credentials parameters).

Please let me know about obvious bugs in the module itself!

The PowerShell gallery version is now also on GitHub here.





Demo of pipeline support

Suppress the colored ansible-styled output from Invoke-SshCommand with the -Quiet switch parameter.

PS C:\> Get-SshSession ComputerName Connected ------------ --------- www.powershelladmin.com True www.svendsentech.no True PS C:\> Get-SshSession | Remove-SshSession [www.powershelladmin.com] Now disconnected and disposed. [www.svendsentech.no] Now disconnected and disposed. PS C:\> New-SshSession -Cn www.powershelladmin.com, www.svendsentech.no -Credential $Cred [www.powershelladmin.com] Successfully connected. [www.svendsentech.no] Successfully connected. PS C:\> $Result = Get-SshSession | Invoke-SshCommand ` -ScriptBlock { uname } [www.powershelladmin.com] Linux [www.svendsentech.no] Linux PS C:\> $Result ComputerName Result Error ------------ ------ ----- www.powershelladmin.com Linux False www.svendsentech.no Linux False

Screenshot of the same:

A Few Quick Tips About How To Use The Module

Download it, unblock the zip file (in the file properties or use Unblock-File is you have PS version 3 or later), then unzip and place the unzipped folder in one of your PowerShell modules folders. Modules require PowerShell version 2 or later. The DLL file requires .NET 3.5 or later. The PowerShell module folders should be listed in the variable $env:PSModulePath. This is from my environment:

PS E:\> $env:PSModulePath -split ';' C:\Users\joakim\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Modules C:\Windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules\

If the folders do not exist, you need to create them. So to use this SSH-Sessions module, unzip the files into a folder called SSH-Sessions inside one of the module folders (Microsoft says "never put anything in the modules folder in C:\Windows, because it's ours", but... ;-). The full path in my case is C:\Users\joakim\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Modules\SSH-Sessions (this is for my profile/user only).

Then you use the cmdlet Import-Module to load the module after it's copied to the proper path:

PS E:\> Import-Module SSH-Sessions PS E:\>

To load the module automatically when you start PowerShell, put this Import-Module command in your PowerShell profile (external Microsoft Technet site link).

From PowerShell version 3 and on, modules are auto-loaded when you type the name of a cmdlet/parameter in a module (I'm a bit impressed by this).

You can also use Import-Module on the (relative) path to the module, like so:

PS E:\> Import-Module .\MyPSModules\SSH-Sessions

A Few Notes About Creating a Key for ESXi 5.x

I got a request for help connecting to ESXi 5.x, so I decided to document how to set up a public/private key pair using Windows and puttygen.exe.

Download puttygen.exe, open it and click Generate to generate a private/public key pair. I set the number of key bits to 4096.

Then export the private key for use with the SSH-Sessions module (has to be in OpenSSH format - the Putty key format will not work as of 2013-09-14). Use the menu choice Conversions -> Export OpenSSH Key .



Place the contents of the top field (the public key) in /etc/ssh/root-keys/authorized_keys on the ESXi target, for instance like this (see this VMware article for more information).

# echo 'YOUR KEY HERE' >> /etc/ssh/keys-root/authorized_keys

Then connect specifying the key you exported from puttygen.exe earlier:

PS E:\temp> New-SshSession -Computer 192.168.1.103 -KeyFile E:\temp\esxi-key-openssh.key -Username root Key file specified. Will override password. Trying to read key file... Successfully connected to 192.168.1.103 PS E:\temp> Invoke-SshCommand -Computer 192.168.1.103 -Command 'uname -a' -q VMkernel esxi 5.1.0 #1 SMP Release build-799733 Aug 1 2012 20:03:00 x86_64 GNU/Linux PS E:\temp>