Technical Report

NetApp PowerShell Survival Guide

Chris Lionetti, NetApp
February 2011| TR-3896

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION AND INSTALLATION ................................................................................................ 3

1.1

INTENDED AUDIENCE ............................................................................................................................................. 3

1.2

DETERMINE WHICH VERSION OF POWERSHELL IS RUNNING ........................................................................... 3

1.3

LAUNCH A POWERSHELL COMMAND WINDOW................................................................................................... 4

1.4

DOWNLOAD THE NETAPP DATA ONTAP POWERSHELL LIBRARY .................................................................... 4

1.5

LOAD THE MODULE IN POWERSHELL .................................................................................................................. 6

FIRST POWERSHELL COMMAND ....................................................................................................... 7

2.1

POWERSHELL COMMAND NAMING CONVENTION............................................................................................... 7

2.2

POWERSHELL ORDER OF ARGUMENTS ............................................................................................................... 7

2.3

POWERSHELL COMMON COMMANDS................................................................................................................. 10

HOW TO CHANGE FROM CLI TO SCRIPT ....................................................................................... 10

3.1

USE VARIABLES .................................................................................................................................................... 10

3.2

POPULATE VARIABLES FROM COMMANDS ....................................................................................................... 11

3.3

POPULATE A COLLECTION .................................................................................................................................. 12

3.4

FIND ALL THE METHODS OF AN OBJECT ........................................................................................................... 12

3.5

USE IF STATEMENTS............................................................................................................................................. 12

3.6

USE FOREACH LOOPS .......................................................................................................................................... 13

3.7

PLACE MANY COMMANDS INTO A SINGLE CLI LINE ......................................................................................... 14

3.8

USE WILDCARDS ................................................................................................................................................... 14

3.9

USE PIPELINE OUTPUT ......................................................................................................................................... 14

3.10

FILTER OUTPUT USING PIPES.............................................................................................................................. 14

3.11

BUILD FUNCTIONS WITHIN CODE ........................................................................................................................ 15

3.12

USE WHILE LOOPS TO WAIT FOR ACTIONS ....................................................................................................... 16

3.13

USE STRING MANIPULATION ............................................................................................................................... 17

HOW TO GATHER INFORMATION FROM WMI SOURCES ............................................................. 18

HOW TO REDIRECT COMMANDS TO COMMAND-LINE PROGRAMS ........................................... 21

5.1

OUTPUT RESULTS TO FILE INSTEAD OF SCREEN............................................................................................. 22

SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................................... 22

APPENDIX ........................................................................................................................................... 22
7.1

COMMON TOOLS ................................................................................................................................................... 22

REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................... 23

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................... 23

NetApp PowerShell Survival Guide

1 INTRODUCTION AND INSTALLATION

Microsoft Windows PowerShell is a task automation framework that consists of a command-line

interface (CLI) shell and an associated scripting language built on top of, and integrated with, the
1
Microsoft.NET Framework. PowerShell enables administrators to perform administrative tasks on both
local and remote Windows systems.
PowerShell works equally well as both a CLI and as a fully functional scripting language. The language is
user friendly, and it is also very powerful. Even without using any of its advanced language features,
PowerShell is a direct replacement for the functionality that Telnet offers to the storage controller.
PowerShell has an easy learning curve, and it should take less than one hour to become fluent in using it
as a Telnet replacement. If you learn the advanced features, which only takes a little bit longer, you can
solve more complex situations and increase automation.

1.1

INTENDED AUDIENCE

This guide is intended for the overworked storage administrator or storage engineer. In general, the

intended audience is first-time users of PowerShell. Administrators who are currently deploying NetApp
storage for a Windows Server 2008 R2 environment and need a higher level of efficiency and automation
will gain the most benefit from this guide.
No assumptions are made about the readers ability to program. If you are a serious programmer, this
guide is probably too basic for your needs. However, even serious programmers can benefit from the

discussion of Data ONTAP concepts in this guide.

1.2

DETERMINE WHICH VERSION OF POWERSHELL IS RUNNING

PowerShell version 2.0 must be used to take full advantage of the Data ONTAP PowerShell Module. To
find out which version of PowerShell is installed, execute the following command:
PowerShell Prompt> $host.version
Note:

Refer to section 1.3 for directions on how to launch a PowerShell prompt to determine which
version is installed.

The output of this command shows which major version is installedeither version 1.0 or 2.0.
Table 1 shows which operating system comes with each version of PowerShell. If you are running a
version previous to 2.0, then download PowerShell Version 2.0 directly from the Microsoft Web site.
Table 1) Operating systems for each PowerShell version.

Operating System

Version

Delivery Method

Windows Server 2008 R2

Version 2.0

Installed by default

Windows Server 2008 R2 Core

Version 2.0

Installed by default

Windows 7

Version 2.0

Installed by default

Windows Server 2008

Version 1.0

Not installed by default

Wikipedia, Windows Power Shell; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_PowerShell; accessed

12/6/2010.

NetApp PowerShell Survival Guide

Operating System

Version

Delivery Method

Windows Server 2008 Core

Not supported

Not supported

Windows Vista

Version 1.0

Not installed by default

Windows Server 2003

None

Must download

Windows XP and earlier

None

Must download

Note:

1.3

Microsoft.NET Framework 2.0 is a prerequisite of PowerShell. Therefore, installing PowerShell

2.0 on an operating system such as XP requires both products to be installed. The Microsoft.NET
Framework is not permitted on Windows Server Core 2008; therefore, PowerShell cannot be
loaded on Windows Server Core 2008.

LAUNCH A POWERSHELL COMMAND WINDOW

To launch a PowerShell CLI screen on newer operating systems, such as Windows Server 2008 R2 and
Windows 7:

Click the PowerShell icon on the start bar.

Or complete the following steps:

1. Click Start.
2. Click Administrator Tools.
3. Click PowerShell.
Note:

For earlier versions of Microsoft Windows that require a PowerShell download, check for the
default location under the Start menu.

The PowerShell Command window can be launched using three different methods, all of which can be
accessed by right-clicking the PowerShell icon on the Start bar. The three options are as follows:

Select the Run As Current user standard PowerShell Command window.

Select Load All Current Modules, which automatically loads all available modules.

Select the PowerShell ISE debugging/scripting environment.

Note:

1.4

The directions in the remainder of this document are based on the assumption that PowerShell
was launched by selecting the Load All Current Modules option so that all modules are loaded.

DOWNLOAD THE NETAPP DATA ONTAP POWERSHELL LIBRARY

To download the NetApp Data ONTAP PowerShell Library, you need a NOW (NetApp on the Web)
account and a Web browser. Complete the following steps to download the Data ONTAP PowerShell
library:
1. Create a NOW account if needed.
a. Get your NetApp serial number.
b. Click the Create your account hyperlink on the NOW Home screen (as shown in Figure 1).

NetApp PowerShell Survival Guide

Note:

The Communities and Forums Web pages that contain samples of PowerShell code are
available without logging into the NOW Web site. However, the Module download does not
display unless you are logged in.

Figure 1) Create an account on the NOW Web site.

2. Enter the following Web site in the address window http://communities.netapp.com/docs/DOC-6138

(after you have created an account and logged in).

NetApp PowerShell Survival Guide

3. Download the DataONTAP.ZIP file to a temporary directory on your machine.

4. Extract the file.
5. Place the Module contents in the following location on your Windows machine:
C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules\DataOntap.
Note:

The extracted files must be in exactly the right place. The files such as ontapi.dll must not be
one level deeper in the directory tree structure. Figure 2 shows where the extracted files should
be located so that PowerShell can find these modules.

Figure 2) Put extracted files in the right place.

1.5

LOAD THE MODULE IN POWERSHELL

To import modules manually from the basic-level PowerShell prompt, complete the following steps:
1. Execute the following commands (refer to section 1.4 for directions on how and where to install the
module files):
PowerShell Prompt> Set-ExecutionPolicy unrestricted
PowerShell Prompt> Import-module DataOnTap
2. Verify that the Data ONTAP Module is loaded by executing the following command:
PowerShell Prompt> get-module
Note:

This command shows which modules are currently installed.

Other useful modules can be installed and downloaded from Web sites such as www.CodePlex.com for

modules such as the Hyper-V PowerShell module, which is used later in this document in a few sample
scripts. Modules might also install automatically when you add features to a Windows 2008 R2 server.
For example, to run commands to modify a Windows 2008 R2 Failover Cluster from your Microsoft
System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) server, install the Windows Failover Cluster feature
on the SCVMM server. The feature does not need to be configured or enabled on the SCVMM server; it is
simply available to manage clusters remotely. The PowerShell Module will be installed and functional
from that point on.

NetApp PowerShell Survival Guide

2 FIRST POWERSHELL COMMAND

PowerShell commands can be used interactively similar to the way Telnet or RSH commands operate. In
this mode, after typing a command at the command prompt, you get immediate feedback on the results.
This section covers PowerShell as a direct replacement in this type of interactive environment. The
following sections cover how to use pipes to make commands smarter and how to use scripts to
automate the infrastructure.
The very first command to run is the command to connect to the controller itself. This command uses as
an argument the IP address of the array as well as the user name to connect with; for example:
PowerShell Prompt> Connect-NAController 10.58.99.254 cred administrator
This command tells PowerShell to connect to the controller with the IP address 10.58.99.254 and to use
the credentials of Administrator. A pop-up box displays that asks for the password. After the password is
entered, the command returns information regarding the connection, such as the connection type.

2.1

POWERSHELL COMMAND NAMING CONVENTION

PowerShell commands follow a naming convention of verb-noun to describe what action to complete on
which device. Common command verbs and nouns are shown in Table 2.
Table 2) Command verbs and nouns.

Common Command Verbs

Common Command Nouns

Get

Aggr

Set

Vol

Invoke

Controller

New

SnapMirror

Add

SIS

Enable

Igroup

Remove
To obtain the full list of the commands that are supplied in the Data ONTAP toolkit, complete the following
steps:
1. Type the following command:
PowerShell Prompt> Show-naHelp
2. Click on the Commandlets tab.

2.2

POWERSHELL ORDER OF ARGUMENTS

Each command listed shows a list of possible arguments, but also makes several assumptions. The
command help for the get-NaLun command with possible options is shown in the following console box.

NetApp PowerShell Survival Guide

New-NaLun [-Path] <String> [-Type <String>] [-Unreserved] [-Size] <String> [

-Controller <NaController>] [-WarningAction <ActionPreference>] [-WarningVar
iable <String>] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm] [<CommonParameters>]

In this command:

[-Path]<String> shows that the identifier of Path is optional, but it assumes that the first
nondefined item you pass will be a path.

The second string shows that it expects to be assigned to the Size Argument.

Many of the Get commands have the simplest version with no arguments, and return a list of ALL of the
objects defined. Some of the arguments are optional and use default behavior. If you do not specify a
controller to run the command against, the command runs against the last controller that was connected
by using the Connect-NAController command.
The other assumption that PowerShell makes is that if you dont specify the order of arguments that you
pass to a PowerShell command, they will be in the order specified by the command. For example, if the
following command is sent to the controller:
PowerShell Prompt> New-NaLun /vol/vol3/data1 10000000
PowerShell creates a logical unit number (LUN) called /vol/vol3/data1 that is 10,000,000 bytes in
size. Arguments can be passed to PowerShell commands in any order if the fields in which each
argument is destined to be inserted are specified. The following command, even if its out of order, works
properly:
PowerShell Prompt> New-NaLun path /vol/vol3/data1 size 1000000
Alternatively, the commands can be sent in the correct order without being forced to use any argument
qualifier, as the following example illustrates. In the following examples, a bold font is used for all
information typed in by the user.
Telnet 10.58.96.222
Username: administrator
Password: password
Telnet> lun show
/vol/CSV2/CSV2PRI
/vol/CSV3/CSV3PRI
/vol/SDELETE/test1
/vol/SEARCSV1/CSV1
/vol/SEARCSV1/Q
/vol/SEARCSV1/SCOMSCVMM
/vol/SQLInstance/SQLMOUNT
/vol/SQLInstance/sqldata
/vol/SQLInstance/sqldata1
/vol/SQLInstance/sqldata2
/vol/SQLInstance/sqllog
Telnet>

NetApp PowerShell Survival Guide

500.1g (536952700928)(r/w, online, mapped)

90.0g (96638814720)(r/o, online)
10.0g (10742215680)(r/w, online, mapped)
600.1g (644335534080)(r/w, online, mapped)
1.0g (1077511680)(r/w, online, mapped)
75.0g (80541941760)(r/w, online, mapped)
3.0g (3224309760)(r/w, online)
75.0g (80541941760)(r/w, online)
288.2g (309435033600)(r/w, online, mapped)
50.0g (53694627840)(r/w, online, mapped)
10g (10737418240)(r/w, online)

As a comparison, the command to list all LUNs from the Telnet Screen would look like this:
PowerShell Prompt > Connect-NaController 10.58.96.222 -cred administrator
Name
Address
Ontapi
Version
--------------------10.58.96.222
10.58.96.222
PowerShell Prompt > get-NaLun

1.12

Path
---/vol/chmcclin_clone/lun_2
/vol/chmcclin_base/lun_2
/vol/chmcclin_base/lun_1
/vol/vol2/readonly2
/vol/sdw_cl_vol2_0/ISO

Protocol
Online
--------------windows_2008 False
windows_2008 True
windows_2008 True
hyper_v
True
windows_2008 False
/vol/sdw_cl_vol2_0/readonlytest
hyper_v
True
/vol/vol2/readonlytest
hyper_v
True
/vol/SDELETE/test1
windows_2008 True
/vol/vol1/DynTest1
hyper_v
True
/vol/SQLInstance/SQLMOUNT windows
True
PowerShell Prompt >

Mapped
-----False
False
False
True
False
True
False
True
True
False

Thin
----True
True
True
True
True
True
True
True
True
True

Comment
-------

Windows ISO CD Images

TestDeDupe
SQL Root Mount Point

As you can see from the output, the steps to get information directly from PowerShell have the same
complexity as the steps from the Telnet prompt. In fact, the advantage of better formatted output is
immediately apparent.
Another major advantage of PowerShell over Telnet is that Telnet has a limited number of active
connections to the array, whereas with PowerShell you can connect from multiple places at the same
time.
For completeness, this section also includes the GUI window to an array to show the same types of

information that one would get from either NetApp FilerView or NetApp System Manager.
To get information from FilerView, complete the following steps:
1. Open a Web browser
2. Type HTTP://10.58.96.222/na_admin in the address bar.
3. Enter your user name, which is administrator, and your password into the log-in box.
4. Click on FilerView to open the FilerView screen from the Administrative Overview window.
5. Click on LUNs to open the LUN drop-down list.
6. Click on Manage LUNs to open the screen that displays the LUN data.
A detailed screen is shown in Figure 3.

NetApp PowerShell Survival Guide

Figure 3) LUN data displayed on FilerView screen.

2.3

POWERSHELL COMMON COMMANDS

The following section covers the most commonly used commands and discusses the basic prerequisites
for each command. The commands listed here dont show all of the possible subcommands, but only
represent the commands required to perform the basic duties. PowerShell shorthand is used for these
cases, and the values are fed into the command in the expected order. For example, the following two
commands do the same thing: The first example is in shorthand, and the other is spelled out fully.
PowerShell Prompt> New-NaAggr Aggr1 5 73GB
PowerShell Prompt> New-NaAggr name Aggr1 diskcount 5 disksize 73GB

3 HOW TO CHANGE FROM CLI TO SCRIPT

The good news is that the same exact commands used to run CLI commands can be saved with the
extension of .ps1 and can be directly run as PowerShell scripts. If you are unsure of how a single line
works, you can type in that line directly from the command prompt to test it.
When running scripts, you must get used to one unusual step: You must specify the directory path from
which to run the script. That is, if you are in the C:\Software\ directory and you type MYSCRIPT.ps1,
PowerShell will fail. You must type .\MYSCRIPT.ps1 so that PowerShell knows you expect to find the
script in the current directory.

3.1

USE VARIABLES

Variables can store commonly used values and provide access to those values later in subsequent
commands. For example, a set of variables will speed up the scripting work if you:

Have a set of three servers.

Know the Igroup for each of those servers HBAs.

Commonly call commands to map LUNs to them.

For example, you could create a variable block at the start of each script as shown in the next example.

10

NetApp PowerShell Survival Guide

The rest of the script can then call on and use these variables at will. The following console box shows
the remainder of the script for the following scenario:
1. Create three new LUNs.
2. Assign each LUN to a different server.
3. Assign the third LUN to a two-node cluster.
Note:

The # sign is used to denote comments instead of code. All comments within a script are
preceded by the # sign.

#start variable block

$Node1 = TK2WUSWDSDC1
$Node2 = TK2HYPVN1
$Node3 = TK2HYPVN2
# End variable block
Connect-NAController 10.58.99.254 cred administrator
New-NaLun /vol/Infra/WDSData1 500000000000 type windows_2008 -unreserved
New-NaLun /vol/VMSet1/VM36 100000000000 type windows_2008 unreserved
Add-NaLunMap /vol/infra/WDSData1 $Node1
Add-NaLunMap /vol/VMSet1/VM36 $Node2
Add-NaLunMap /vol/VMSet1/VM36 $Node3

3.2

POPULATE VARIABLES FROM COMMANDS

You can also run a Get command and insert the results of that command into a variable. However, the
results from a command are not usually simple yes/no answers, but are more commonly sets of data.
When more than a single thing is returned from a result, then the entire set of data (called an object) is
placed into that variable.

To get a few key points of data about the vol0 volume, execute the following command:

PowerShell Prompt> Get-NaVol vol0

From the command prompt, execute the following command to populate the $Temp variable:

PowerShell Prompt> $Temp=Get-NaVol vol0

PowerShell returns right back to the prompt.

To tell PowerShell to output the results of the $temp variable, type in the variable name and press
Enter:

PowerShell Prompt> $Temp

Use dot notation to get to any individual field inside that object. For example, to only return to the
State of that volume, execute the following command:

PowerShell Prompt> $Temp.State

The returned value should come back as online.
You can use the command get-NaLun to return a collection of objects. In this case, each LUN is an
object with many properties, but these objects can have hundreds of LUNs. In this case, the variable
becomes a collection.

Execute the following commands to get into the collection:

PowerShell Prompt> $Temp=Get-NaLun

PowerShell Prompt> $Temp[3].Path
PowerShell Prompt> $Temp[3].Protocol

11

NetApp PowerShell Survival Guide

These commands give the path and then the protocol that is used for the fourth LUN in the collection
(numbering starts at zero). As usual, if you only type $temp and press Enter, the output will be a flood
of information that looks identical to running the command.

3.3

POPULATE A COLLECTION

PowerShell includes a concept called a collection. A collection is actually a collection of common

variables. The variables can be defined as follows:
$HostNames = @(host2,Host3,Host4)
The collection can be used as a set, and it presents a much simpler way to chain operations that you
want to happen. Refer to section 3.6 for an example of how to walk through a collection.

3.4

FIND ALL THE METHODS OF AN OBJECT

To find out what methods are available for each command, execute the following command:
PowerShell Prompt> Get-NaLun | Get-Member
This command exposes all of these subvariables for each object. The output lists the names of all of the
subcommands. For example, the variables that are available for the Get-nalun command are shown in
Figure 4.
Figure 4) Variables available for get-nalun command.

Note:

3.5

In Figure 4, the Member Types that we care about are all listed as Property, and the Member
Types listed as Method are common among all PowerShell objects.

USE IF STATEMENTS

Automation usually requires that actions happen only under specific conditions, and these specific
conditions are tested using common If statements. For example:

Create a new LUN in a volume only if the volume has enough free space; if it does not, create that
LUN in another volume.

The compare operator, -gt, is inside the If statement. This gt operator means is greater than. You
can nest many If functions within each other as well as use Else or Elseif statements.

12

NetApp PowerShell Survival Guide

$TargetVol = /vol/Vol7
$TargetLUN = /vol/Vol7/LUN31
$LunSize= 5000000000
$AltVol=/vol/Vol10
$AltLun=/vol/Vol10/LUN31
$HostIgroupName=TK2BBDSXX01
$TagetVolObj=Get-NaVol $targetvol
If ( $LunSize gt $TargetVolObj.SizeAvailable)
{
# conditional commands go here
New-NaLun $TargetLUN $LunSize type windows
New-NaLunMap $TargetLUN $HostIGroupName
}
Else
{
New-NaVol $AltLUN
New-NaLunMap $AltLUN $HostIGroupName
}

3.6

USE FOREACH LOOPS

Another method that is used to walk through a list of objects is to use a ForEach Loop, which lets you
gain access to each element in each iteration of the loop. In this example, only the LUN paths to the
individual LUNs are listed, and all the other information is skipped. This can be done either within a script
or directly from the command prompt. A new variable that represents the current object in the collection of
objects is created in the definition of the loop. In the following example, the current object is called $LUN.
PowerShell Prompt> $LUNList = Get-NALUN
PowerShell Prompt> ForEach ($LUN in LUNList) { $LUN.Path}
The following example uses commands to output to a screen with more human readable content and to
add more information. LUNs that are not thin provisioned are also excluded.
Write-Host The Following LUNs are Not Mapped
$LUNList=Get-NaLun
ForEach ($LUN in $LUNList)
{
if ($LUN.Mapped)
{ # Since that returns a True/False, dont need to compare }
Else
{ Write-Host LUN Name =$LUN.path}
BREAK OUT OF A LOOP
Knowing how to break out of a loop is also helpful. You can use a For Each loop to walk through a large
number of LUNs looking for something specific, but, once that specific thing is found, you want to break
out of the loop and continue with the script. The Break command is designed for this purpose. The
Break command is used to break out of, but not to end, the script. The following script determines if any
unmapped LUNs exist in the array. If an unmapped LUN exists, the user should be informed, but the
script does not need to continue.
For each ($LUN in Get-NaLun)
{
If ($LUN.Mapped eq $false)
{
Write-Host Found an Unmapped LUN
Break;
}
}

13

NetApp PowerShell Survival Guide

3.7

PLACE MANY COMMANDS INTO A SINGLE CLI LINE

To separate multiple commands that you want to execute, use the ; character. This character enables
you to run more complete commands from the CLI. For example, the commands in the previous console
block can be completely run from a single cut and paste as follows:
PowerShell Prompt> $LUNList=Get-NaLun; ForEach ($Lun in $LUNList) { if
($LUN.Mapped) {# since that returns a True/False, dont need to compare} Else
{Write-Host LUN Name =$LUN.Path}
You can also short-circuit the requirement of creating a temporary variable and remove the comment. A
built-in variable that equals false can also be used so that the IF statement does not need an Else
clause.
PowerShell Prompt> ForEach ($LUN in get-NaLun) { if ($LUN.Mapped eq $False)
{ Write-Host LUN Name =$LUN.Path } }

3.8

USE WILDCARDS

To make commands smarter, use wildcards as part of the command argument. For example, you can use
a wildcard to get a list of LUNs that only includes LUNs that are part of a specific volume called
/vol/DPM1.

To only return the results that start with /vol/DPM1, execute the following command:

PowerShell Prompt> Get-NaLun /vol/DPM1/*

3.9

USE PIPELINE OUTPUT

Another method that allows very powerful but very short commands is piping the output of one command
into the input of the next command. For example:

To set the Aggregate called TestAggr offline and then remove the aggregate from the controller,
execute the following command:

PowerShell Prompt> Set-NaAggr TestAggr -Offline | Remove-NaAggr

The following scenario depicts a more complex example of chaining commands. A LUN is made available
to a Windows Cluster, and the Cluster uses the built-in Microsoft Multipathing IO (MPIO) instead of the
enhanced MPIO Device Specific Module (DSM) that NetApp provides. Complete the following steps for
this scenario:
1. Change the ALUA setting of all the Igroups that pertain to this cluster from ALUA = False to ALUA
= True.
2. Use the name of one LUN, if known, that is currently mapped to the entire cluster to trace back the
names of all of the Igroups in the cluster.
3. Feed those results into the command to set the ALUA setting for each Igroup to True.
PowerShell Prompt> Get-NaLunMap /vol/ClusterVol1/Q | Set-NaIgroup alua true

3.10 FILTER OUTPUT USING PIPES

You can also filter output to only display items that meet or exceed certain criteria. If you only want
volumes to display that are larger than 100GB, then you can use a ForEach Loop with an If test in the
middle to only output those LUNs.

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NetApp PowerShell Survival Guide

1. To use a pipe to run the output from the first command into the next command, execute the following
command:
PowerShell Prompt> Get-NaLun | where { $_.size gt 1000000000}
Note:

A special pipeline variable, $, is used. This special variable acts as a placeholder for the current
object.

2. Take the output of the second command, feed it to another filter, and only show LUNs that are
currently mapped by executing the following command:
PowerShell Prompt> Get-NaLun | where { $_.size gt 1000000000} | where {
$_.mapped }
3. Find all of the LUNs that are on a controller and that are currently offline and bring them all online by
executing the following command:
PowerShell Prompt> Get-NaLun | where {$_.online eq $false } | set-NaLun
online

3.11 BUILD FUNCTIONS WITHIN CODE

Often, building functions makes more sense than inserting common code in many places throughout your
scripts. A function can be called with variables and it can return variables, or it can simply process a
common set of commands.
The following example is a function that was created to accept an Igroup Name and a LUN Name, and
to return a value of True if the Igroup is currently mapped to that LUN and to return a value of False if
the mapped Igroup does not exist. Commands that fail send red error messages back to the users; these
messages are not user friendly. Therefore, in this example, the requested script behavior is to process
commands without ever sending red error messages. The script also assumes that the last controller that
you connected to is the same controller that you want to run the command against.
Function CurrentlyMounted($IGroupName, $LunName)
{
$test=Get-NaLunMap $LunName
If ($test eq )
{
# No maps exist for this LUN
Return $false
}
Else
{
$result=$false
For each ($Map in $test)
{
If ($Map.InitiatorGroupName eq $IGroupName)
{
$Result=$true
Break
}
}
Return $Result
}
}
The method to call this function might look like the one in the following example. This example shows two
places in the code where either a LUN is mapped to a server or a LUN is unmapped from a server.
$ServerIG=HYPV03
$NewIG = HYPV08
$Lun=/vol/vol7/Data17
Write-Host Attempting to Un-mount Server $ServerIG to LUN $Lun
If (CurrentlyMounted($ServerIG,$Lun))

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{
Remove-NaLunMap $lun $ServerIG
}
Else {
Write-Host Lun was already dismounted
}
Write-Host Attempting to Mount Server $NewIG to LUN $Lun
If (CurrentlyMounted($ServerIG,$Lun))
{
Write-Host Lun was already mounted
}
Else {
Add-NaLunMap $Lun $NewIG
}
Note:

Because the function in this case returns a value of either True or False, it can be used to
control the IF statement by itself.

3.12 USE WHILE LOOPS TO WAIT FOR ACTIONS

A number of actions on a controller might take time to complete; for example, a NetApp SnapMirror
resync. In these situations, you want to wait until a command has completed before continuing with the
script. However, this situation has two areas of concerns: You dont want to wait longer than necessary by
simply using a countdown timer, but you also want to avoid being stuck in an endless loop of waiting for
an action that never completes.
The example script completes the following steps:
1. Make sure that the SnapMirror session is idle before starting.
2. Start the resync.
3. Wait until SnapMirror goes back to an Idle state before continuing (to make sure that a mirror is truly
up to date before a Break command is issued to a SnapMirror).
4. Incorporate a timer to make sure that no more than 10 minutes elapse while waiting for the resync to
return to Idle before error out.
Function CheckSnapMirrorBusy ($SnapName)
{
$StartTime=Get-Date
$EndTime=$StartTime.AddMinutes(10) #setting timeout of 10 minutes
$x1 = Get-NaSnapMirror $SnapName
$x2=$x1.State
If ($x2 eq broken-off)
{
Write-Host SnapMirror Session Already Broken Off
Return $False
}
$x2=$x1.status
While ($x2 ne idle)
{
$Timespan=new-timespan $StartTime $EndTime
If ($Timespan gt 0)
{
Write-Host Waiting until SnapMirror Session is Idle.
Start-sleep(10)
#seconds
$x1=Get-SnapMirror $SnapName
$x2=$x1.status
}
Else
{
Write-Host Timer Exceeded
Return $false
}
If ($x2 eq idle)
{
Write-Host SnapMirror Session is Idle
Return $True
}
}

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This example script shows where the function is called in the main code block. This script completes the
following steps:
1. Connect to the storage controller stored in the $FromFiler variable.
2. Check the SnapMirror status for the SnapMirror with the name stored in $FromSnap.
3. Wait for up to 10 minutes or until that SnapMirror is idle.
4. Continue if idle and issue a Last Update command.
5. Wait again until that SnapMirror session is idle.
6. Issue the Break command after it has returned to idle again.

ConnectFiler($FromFiler)#function that connects to the correct filer with

credentials
If (checksnapmirrorbusy($FromSnap))
{
Write-Host About to Issue SnapMirror Update Command to SnapMirror
Invoke-NaSnapMirrorUpdate source $FromSnap destination $ToSnap
If (CheckSnapMirrorBusy($FromSnap))
{
Write-Host About to break SnapMirror
Invoke-NaSnapMirrorBreak destination $ToSnap
}

The real value of this code is that it prevents certain types of behavior. An Update command is only
issued if the session is idle, and a Break command is not issued after an Update command until the
SnapMirror has again made the transition back to an idle state. This makes sure that the final updates
have made it from site to site. This is an example of doing a controlled site-to-site failover.

3.13 USE STRING MANIPULATION

Often, a subset of a string needs to be gathered from a string. For example, if you have the path to a LUN
such as /vol/Volume37/DataLUN3, you might want to run an operation on the volume. In this case, the
volume name must be recovered to run an operation against the volume. Therefore, the following script
separates just the volume name or the volume + qtree name.
The split function comes in very handy in this situation. Use the / as the delimiter and the following
commands to populate the variables:
$LUNList=get-nalun
For each($Lun in $LunList)
{
$Path=$Lun.Path
Write-Host The Path to the LUN = $Path
$FirstSplit=$Path.Split(/)[0]
# this will be a blank, since no
character exists before the first /
$SecondSplit=$Path.Split(/)[1]
# this will be the word vol
$ThirdSplit=$Path.Split(/)[2]
# this will be the volume name
$FourthSplit=$Path.Split(/)[3]
# this is either the QTree or the
LUN Name
$FifthSplit=$Path.Split(/)[4]
# if it exists then split3 was a
qtree, otherwise split3 was LUN
Write-Host Volume name = /vol/$ThirdSplit
If ($FifthSplit)
{
Write-Host Qtree = $FourthSplit and LUN = $FifthSplit
}
Else
{
Write-Host LUN =$FifthSplit

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}
}
Again, use the following two commands to find out what options exist to manipulate strings and research
those separately:
PowerShell Prompt> $temp=/vol
PowerShell Prompt> $temp | Get-Member
Each of these methods manipulates strings in different ways; for example:

ToUpper converts a string to all uppercase.

Contains looks for a passed string within the search string.

Replace can replace a set of characters with a new set or can even remove characters.

String manipulation can be used in endless ways, and this document only illustrates the possibilities. For
a variety of examples on how to use each possible method, conduct a Web search for PowerShell +
method-name.

4 HOW TO GATHER INFORMATION FROM WMI SOURCES

Many variables can be more readily obtained from the Microsoft Windows Management Instrumentation
(WMI) source. Obtaining information from WMI is beneficial because it is the same source used for C#
code, Visual Basic, Microsoft Windows Script Host (WSH), and a number of other languages. Microsoft
has a tool available on the MSDN Web site that specifically identifies WMI data sources and how to
access them. This tool, the Windows Scriptomatic 2.0, is available on:

www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?familyid=09DFC342-648B-4119-B7EB783B0F7D1178&displaylang=en

A specific version of PowerShell Scriptomatic is also available on:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff730935.aspx

Sometimes, information can be found faster by using the non-PowerShell-optimized Scriptomatic.

After you launch the Scriptomatic, sources for information display, as shown in Figure 5. The default WMI
namespace is root\CMIV2, and most of the information that you need exists within this namespace. The
WMI Class drop-down list contains most of the information that you need.

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NetApp PowerShell Survival Guide

Figure 5) Scriptomatic sources of information.

To obtain information from the Scriptomatic, complete the following example steps:
1. Select the WMI class Win32_DiskDrive.
2. Choose the HTML output format to make it readable.
3. Click Run the Script.
Figure 6 shows the output.

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NetApp PowerShell Survival Guide

Figure 6) Scriptomatic HTML output.

As shown in Figure 6, the following output can be obtained:

Retrieve fields from this WMI Class that are of interest.

Read the name of the drive in a format that looks like \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE6.

Read the model as a NETAPP LUN Multi-Path Disk Device.

Scroll down to see the Serial Number, P3h8W4Z-7Nwq, and Size, 536946278400 bytes, of the
drive.

A variable to represent the collection of disk drives in the machine can be easily created using the
following code. The code can then easily walk through the object showing the serial numbers of all of the
detected drives.
$Drives = gwmi Win32_DiskDrive
ForEach ($Disk in $Drives)
{
$Diskname = $Disk.Name
$DiskSerial = $Disk.SerialNumber
Write-Host Name of this Disk is $DiskName with Serial Number $DiskSerial

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NetApp PowerShell Survival Guide

Because you already know how to use the get-NaLun command to get information about a LUN, and
you now know how to get information about a WinDisk, we can match them up. The following code uses
two nested loops to find all of the LUNs that this server sees, and it returns the path that they exist at on
the NetApp controller.
$Filer = 10.58.99.254;
$admin= administrator
Connect-NaController $Filer cred $admin
$LunList= Get-NaLun
$Drives = gwmi Win32_diskdrive
For each ($Disk in $Drives)
{
$DiskName = $Disk.Name
$DiskSerial = $Disk.SerialNumber
Write-Host Name of this Disk is $DiskName with Serial Number $DiskSerial
ForEach ($Lun in $LunList)
{
$LunPath=$Lun.Path
$NASerial=Get-NaLunSerialNumber $LunPath
If ($DiskSerial eq NASerial){Write-Host Exists on this path $LunPath}
}
}

5 HOW TO REDIRECT COMMANDS TO COMMAND-LINE PROGRAMS

Classes of programs exist that have information that is not available by using WMI or a PowerShell
method. We can use redirected input and output to control these programs directly. Complete the
following steps to take a predefined set of commands, execute Diskpart, and execute those commands.
1. Create a variable that contains the exact commands you want to execute, including the return
characters; for example:
$PushCommand = @
Select volume 8
Remove letter=s
Exit
@
2. Send everything between the @ and @ symbols to Diskpart by executing the following command:
$PushCommand | Diskpart
3. Select the following variables in the pushed command:
$Vols=@(1,2,7,8,9,10)
For each ($volnum in $Vols)
{
$pushcommand = @
Select volume$volnum
Remove letter=s
Exit
@
$pushcommand | diskpart
}
4. Run Diskpart six times in this command set.
5. Attempt to remove the drive letter S from a volume listed in the $Vols collection each time.
6. Capture the output from this command by assigning it to a variable; for example:
$outputdata = $PushCommand | Diskpart

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NetApp PowerShell Survival Guide

In this case, the line-by-line responses to the commands that are pushed to Diskpart are fed into the
variable named $outputdata.
7. Use string manipulation to parse for information.

5.1

OUTPUT RESULTS TO FILE INSTEAD OF SCREEN

To output the results to a file instead of to the screen, complete the following steps:
1. Consider defining the location and filename for the log file near the start of a script; for example:
$outfile = C:\logs\script23.log
2. Add lines to an out-file simply by creating a variable that you want logged.
3. Use the Pipe command directly to the PowerShell command out-file.
$outfile = C:\logs\script23.log
$logdata = I want this line of text to appear in the Log File
$logdata | out-file $outfile
Get-NaLun | out-file $outfile

6 SUMMARY
This guide shows how PowerShell is a valuable replacement for Telnet-type CLI functionality while also
enabling greater amounts of automation by using scripts for complex commands. The major PowerShell
benefits as a Telnet replacement are its easy learning curve and immediate functionality without learning
any of the complexities of the language. If you want to use more advanced functions (such as loops), then
the CLI commands can execute operations on a target NetApp device, which could not be done from a
Telnet CLI.
The Data ONTAP PowerShell module is updated constantly. Therefore, check the NetApp Communities
Web site so that you have the most recent version. Each updated version adds new features and new
capabilities. Also, check for submitted scripts that can accomplish commonly used administrative tasks to
avoid reinventing the process each time. NetApp also recommends posting scripts of tasks that you
commonly run into in your arrays on the community site so that others can benefit from your scripts of CLI
commandlets.

7 APPENDIX
7.1

COMMON TOOLS

A number of common tools can be used when writing PowerShell scripts for an environment. A few of
these tools are covered in the body of this document, but many are not. This appendix covers some tools
that increase productivity. These tools can all be downloaded free from the Web.
NOTEPAD++
Notepad++ is preferable to the basic notepad that is included with Windows because it does a fairly good
job of indenting to keep code readable. In addition, it understands the language enough to help isolate
problems such as an incorrect number of open-to-close brackets or misspelled commands. This tool can
be found at http://notepad-plus-plus.org/.
If you download and use this tool, make sure to set the language to PowerShell because it is language
aware. This tool is not as complete as the PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE), but it is
very lightweight and approachable.

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CODEPLEX
CodePlex is more of a Web site with a collection of valuable tools. The Web site hosts a number of
PowerShell modules that can be downloaded. For example, you can download the Hyper-V PowerShell
Module that allows complete control of a Hyper-V virtual environment from your PowerShell scripts. More
modules as well as sample scripts are also available on this Web site. Click www.codeplex.com and
search for PowerShell to get started on this Web site.
MICROSOFT POWERSHELL TEAM BLOG
The Microsoft PowerShell team writes this blog. This blog is a good place to find out whats being done by
your peers and to keep current on new and future developments in PowerShell. Click
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/powershell/ to read this blog.
NETAPP POWERSHELL
The NetApp PowerShell Community Web site contains much more detailed information that relates
specifically to how to implement NetApp features using PowerShell. This site is frequented by the authors
of the NetApp PowerShell kit and by PowerShell experts who are either NetApp employees or NetApp
customers:
http://communities.netapp.com/community/interfaces_and_tools/data_ontap_powershell_toolkit.

8 REFERENCES
The following Web sites are referenced in this document and in the appendix:

CodePlex Open Source Project Community: www.CodePlex.com

Microsoft Download Center Scriptomatic 2.0:

www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?familyid=09DFC342-648B-4119-B7EB783B0F7D1178&displaylang=en

Microsoft PowerShell Scriptomatic: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff730935.aspx

Microsoft Script Center: http://technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/dd742419.aspx

NetApp Community; Developer Tools; Data ONTAP PowerShell Toolkit:

http://communities.netapp.com/community/interfaces_and_tools/data_ontap_powershell_toolkit

NetApp for Microsoft Environments Blog: http://blogs.netapp.com/msenviro

NetApp on the Web: http://now.netapp.com

Notepad++: http://notepad-plus-plus.org/

Windows PowerShell Blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/powershell/

9 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The contributions from the following people have greatly enhanced the manageability of NetApp devices
by using PowerShell.

Jeffery Snover. Microsoft Distinguished Engineer who developed the PowerShell concept and
language.

Clinton Knight. Author of the NetApp PowerShell Toolkit. He diligently updates the kit each quarter
to both add functionality and design data formatters for more uniform output.

The NetApp MS Enviro Team. The team members provided a peer review of this report and tested
the applications. For more information about the MS Enviro team, go to the teams blog at
http://blogs.netapp.com/msenviro/.

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NetApp PowerShell Survival Guide

NetApp provides no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy, reliability or serviceability of any
information or recommendations provided in this publication, or with respect to any results that may be
obtained by the use of the information or observance of any recommendations provided herein. The
information in this document is distributed AS IS, and the use of this information or the implementation of
any recommendations or techniques herein is a customers responsibility and depends on the customers
ability to evaluate and integrate them into the customers operational environment. This document and
the information contained herein may be used solely in connection with the NetApp products discussed
in this document.

24

2011 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved. No portions of this document may be reproduced without prior written consent of NetApp,
Inc. Specifications are subject to change without notice. NetApp, the NetApp logo, Go further, faster, Data ONTAP, FilerView, NOW,
and SnapMirror are trademarks or registered trademarks of NetApp, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft,
Windows, Windows Vista, and Windows XP are registered trademarks and Hyper-V is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. All
other
brandsGuide
or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be treated as such.TRNetApp PowerShell
Survival
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