Enter-PSSession

PowerShell Cmdlet Deep Dive: Enter-PSSession

Welcome back to Wahmans PowerShell blog! Today, we’re diving into one of the foundational cmdlets for PowerShell remoting: Enter-PSSession.

According to Microsoft:

The Enter-PSSession cmdlet starts an interactive session with a remote computer.

This cmdlet is incredibly useful when working with remote systems for administrative tasks, troubleshooting, and automation. It allows you to run commands on a remote computer as if you were sitting right at its console.

What You Need to Know

• This cmdlet uses PowerShell Remoting via the WS-Management protocol.
• Remoting must be enabled on the remote system (Enable-PSRemoting).
• You need proper network access and sufficient privileges.

Let’s Explore Some Use Cases

Example 1: Basic Remote Session to Another Computer

This is a simple way to start a session on another machine in your domain or network.

Enter-PSSession -ComputerName Server01

Once connected, your prompt changes to reflect the remote session. You can now run commands as if you were on Server01.

Example 2: Remote Session with Different Credentials

If you need different user credentials to connect, you can use the -Credential parameter:

$cred = Get-Credential
Enter-PSSession -ComputerName Server01 -Credential $cred

This will prompt you for a username and password.

Example 3: Using Enter-PSSession with IP Address and Trusted Hosts

Connecting using an IP address (instead of hostname) will require adding the IP to TrustedHosts due to security policies:

Set-Item WSMan:\localhost\Client\TrustedHosts -Value '192.168.1.50' -Force
Enter-PSSession -ComputerName 192.168.1.50 -Credential (Get-Credential)

Note: Use caution with TrustedHosts, especially in production environments.

Example 4: Entering a Session via SSH (PowerShell 7+)

With modern versions of PowerShell, you can use SSH instead of WS-Management.

Enter-PSSession -HostName linuxserver.contoso.com -UserName adminuser

This assumes SSH remoting is set up on the target and the appropriate credentials are available.

Conclusion

Enter-PSSession is a powerful cmdlet that allows you to take control of remote computers interactively. It’s an essential part of any PowerShell admin’s toolkit. From simple connections to complex configurations, mastering this cmdlet can save you time and effort.

Happy scripting, and I will see you in the next post!