Is it possible to invoke-command with in a workflow? - windows

Question

Do anyone know if I can use Invoke-Command in a PowerShell workflow?
Currently I have script that loops through a text file with the list of services but I would like it push to all of the servers at once verses going through one by one. Is this possible?
This is the current script block I am working with:
{
ForEach ($Server in $Servers) {
Write-Host "Copying code to $Server..."
If (!(Test-Path -path \\$Server\c$\Websites\Versions\v$version)) {
New-Item \\$Server\c$\Websites\Versions\v$version -Type Directory | Out-Null
}
Copy-Item .\Packages\v$version\* \\$Server\c$\Websites\Versions\v$version -Force -Recurse
Write-Host "Converting to application on $Server..."
Invoke-Command -ComputerName $Server -ScriptBlock $Script -Argumentlist $Version | Out-Null
}
}

Answer 1

The PowerShell Workflow engine is not capable of directly invoking PowerShell cmdlets. Instead, if a script writer calls a PowerShell cmdlet inside a Workflow definition, the PowerShell Workflow engine will automatically wrap invocations of PowerShell cmdlets inside the InlineScript Workflow Activity.
workflow test
{
ForEach ($Server in $Servers) {
Write-Host "Copying code to $Server..."
If (!(Test-Path -path \\$Server\c$\Websites\Versions\v$version)) {
New-Item \\$Server\c$\Websites\Versions\v$version -Type Directory | Out-Null
}
Copy-Item .\Packages\v$version\* \\$Server\c$\Websites\Versions\v$version -Force -Recurse
Write-Host "Converting to application on $Server..."
InlineScript {
Invoke-Command -ComputerName $Server -ScriptBlock $Script -Argumentlist $Version | Out-Null
}
}
}
As for whether or not it will work, you'll have to try it out, as suggested by Mathias.

Answer 2

#Trevor's response is good as an overall skeleton, but it won't work as it is.
There are several things missing or incorrect:
Passing arguments to workflow
Passing arguments to InlineScript
Passing ScriptBlock as an argument;
Using Out-Null in workflow
The working example:
$serversProd=#"
server1
server2
server3
server4
"#-split'\r\n'
$reportScript = "report.script.ps1"
$generateReport = {
param($reportScript)
cd D:\Automations\ConnectivityCheck
powershell -file $reportScript
}
workflow check-connectivity {
Param ($servers, $actionBlock, $reportScript)
# Prepare the results folder
$resultsFolder = "D:\Automations\ConnectivityCheckResults"
$unused1 = mkdir -Force $resultsFolder
# Run on all servers in parallel
foreach -parallel ($server in $servers) {
# Upload script to the server
$unused2 = mkdir -Force \\$server\D$\Automations\ConnectivityCheck
cp -Force $reportScript \\$server\D$\Automations\ConnectivityCheck\
"Starting on $server..."
# Execute script on the server. It should contain Start-Transcript and Stop-Transcript commands
# For example:
# $hostname = $(Get-Wmiobject -Class Win32_ComputerSystem).Name
# $date = (Get-Date).ToString("yyyyMMdd")
# Start-Transcript -path ".\$date.$hostname.connectivity.report.txt"
# ...Code...
# Stop-Transcript
$results = InlineScript {
$scriptBlock = [scriptblock]::Create($Using:actionBlock)
Invoke-Command -computername $Using:server -ScriptBlock $scriptBlock -ArgumentList $Using:reportScript
}
# Download transcript file from the server
$transcript = [regex]::Match($results,"Transcript started.+?file is \.\\([^\s]+)").groups[1].value
"Completed on $server. Transcript file: $transcript"
cp -Force \\$server\D$\Automations\ConnectivityCheck\$transcript $resultsFolder\
}
}
cls
# Execute workflow
check-connectivity $serversProd $generateReport $reportScript