This PowerShell script will Create, Import and Export Group Policy WMI Filters.
I wrote this script to cover a number of different scenarios:
- To create a default set of GPO WMI Filters for new builds.
- To document existing WMI filters for health checks and audits.
- To provide a mechanism to migrate WMI filters between Dev, Test, QA and Prod.
The following screen shot shows the default set of GPO WMI Filters that I typically use.
The following screen shot shows how they look from within the GPMC.
These particular WMI queries are not performance intensive, and therefore quick to process. However, it’s important to be careful how you construct them, as WMI is often known to be slow and inefficient. And of course a corrupt or inconsistent WMI repository doesn’t help.
As always it is recommended to use a tool such as the WMI Filter Validation Utility to ensure the WMI query is valid and efficient.
Here are the contents of the DefaultWMIFilters.csv file that can be used to create the default set of filters I use.
Here is the ManageWMIFilters.ps1 script:
<#
This script will Create, Import and Export Group Policy WMI Filters
Syntax examples:
Create:
ManageWMIFilters.ps1 -Action Create -ReferenceFile DefaultWMIFilters.csv
Export:
ManageWMIFilters.ps1 -Action Export -ReferenceFile WMIFiltersExport.csv
Import:
ManageWMIFilters.ps1 -Action Import -ReferenceFile WMIFiltersExport.csv
It was originally based on the following three scripts:
1) Using Powershell to Automatically Create WMI Filters:
http://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/f1491111-9f5d-4c83-b436-537eca9e8d94
2) Exporting and Importing WMI Filters with PowerShell: Part 1, Export:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/manny/archive/2012/02/04/perform-a-full-export-and-import-of-wmi-filters-with-powershell.aspx
3) Exporting and Importing WMI Filters with PowerShell: Part 2, Import:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/manny/archive/2012/02/05/exporting-and-importing-wmi-filters-with-powershell-part-2-import.aspx
Another great reference:
- Digging Into Group Policy WMI Filters and Managing them through PowerShell
http://sdmsoftware.com/group-policy-blog/gpmc/digging-into-group-policy-wmi-filters-and-managing-them-through-powershell/
I left the code as 3 separate modules so that it can be easily split and
reused if preferred. Hence the reason why there is currently some duplicate
code between the create and import sections.
Modified all code to completely remove the requirement for the Active
Directory PowerShell Module.
Fixed an issue where it was not calculating the length of the supplied
namespace. ie. The script would only import correctly if the namespace was
root\CIMv2. But when using the root\virtualization namespace it would fail.
This is actually an error found in all GPO WMI creation script I've found.
They all assume that root\CIMv2 is the only namespace used.
If your Active Directory is based on Windows 2003 or has been upgraded
from Windows 2003, you may may have an issue with System Owned Objects.
Importing or adding a WMI Filter object into AD used to be a system only
operation. So you previously needed to enable system only changes on a
domain controller for a successful ldifde import.
If this is the case you will need to set the following registry value:
Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\NTDS\Parameters
Type: REG_DWORD
Value: Allow System Only Change
Data: 1
Release 1.3
Written by Jeremy@jhouseconsulting.com 11th September 2013
Modified by Jeremy@jhouseconsulting.com 9th June 2014
#>
#-------------------------------------------------------------
param([String]$Action,[String]$ReferenceFile)
Write-Host -ForegroundColor Green "Verifying script parameters...`n"
$helptext = $False
if ([String]::IsNullOrEmpty($Action)) {
write-host -ForeGroundColor Red "Action is a required parameter.`n"
$helptext = $True
} else {
switch ($Action)
{
"Create" {$Create = $true;$Import = $false;$Export = $false}
"Import" {$Create = $false;$Import = $true;$Export = $false}
"Export" {$Create = $false;$Import = $false;$Export = $true}
default {$Create = $false;$Import = $false;$Export = $false}
}
if ($Create -eq $false -AND $Import -eq $false -AND $Export -eq $false) {
write-host -ForeGroundColor Red "The Action parameter is invalid.`n"
$helptext = $True
}
}
if ([String]::IsNullOrEmpty($ReferenceFile)) {
write-host -ForeGroundColor Red "ReferenceFile is a required parameter. Exiting Script.`n"
$helptext = $True
}
If ($helptext) {
$Message = "Syntax examples:"
$Message = $Message + "`n`tCreate:"
$Message = $Message + "`n`t`tManageWMIFilters.ps1 -Action Create -ReferenceFile DefaultWMIFilters.csv"
$Message = $Message + "`n`tExport:"
$Message = $Message + "`n`t`tManageWMIFilters.ps1 -Action Export -ReferenceFile WMIFiltersExport.csv"
$Message = $Message + "`n`tImport:"
$Message = $Message + "`n`t`tManageWMIFilters.ps1 -Action Import -ReferenceFile WMIFiltersExport.csv"
write-host -ForeGroundColor Green $Message
write-host -ForeGroundColor Red "`nExiting Script."
Exit
}
#-------------------------------------------------------------
# Set this to true to set the Allow System Only Change registry value
$EnableAllowSystemOnlyChange = $False
#-------------------------------------------------------------
function Enable-ADSystemOnlyChange([switch] $disable)
{
# This function has been taken directly from the GPWmiFilter.psm1
# module written by Bin Yi from Microsoft.
$valueData = 1
if ($disable)
{
$valueData = 0
}
$key = Get-Item HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NTDS\Parameters -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
if (!$key) {
New-Item HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NTDS\Parameters -ItemType RegistryKey | Out-Null
}
$kval = Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NTDS\Parameters -Name "Allow System Only Change" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
if (!$kval) {
New-ItemProperty HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NTDS\Parameters -Name "Allow System Only Change" -Value $valueData -PropertyType DWORD | Out-Null
} else {
Set-ItemProperty HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NTDS\Parameters -Name "Allow System Only Change" -Value $valueData | Out-Null
}
}
#-------------------------------------------------------------
If ($Import -eq $true) {
if ((Test-Path $ReferenceFile) -eq $False) {
Write-Host -ForegroundColor Red "The $ReferenceFile file is missing. Cannot import WMI Filters.`n"
exit
}
$Header = "Name","Description","Filter"
$WMIFilters = import-csv $ReferenceFile -Delimiter "`t" -Header $Header
$RowCount = $WMIFilters | Measure-Object | Select-Object -expand count
if ($RowCount -gt 0) {
write-host -ForeGroundColor Green "Importing $RowCount WMI Filters`n"
$Domain = [System.DirectoryServices.ActiveDirectory.Domain]::GetCurrentDomain()
$DomainName = $Domain.Name
$DomainDistinguishedName = $Domain.GetDirectoryEntry() | Select-Object -ExpandProperty DistinguishedName
$UseAdministrator = $False
If ($UseAdministrator -eq $False) {
$msWMIAuthor = [System.Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent().Name
} Else {
$msWMIAuthor = "Administrator@" + $DomainName
}
foreach ($WMIFilter in $WMIFilters) {
$WMIGUID = [string]"{"+([System.Guid]::NewGuid())+"}"
$WMIDN = "CN="+$WMIGUID+",CN=SOM,CN=WMIPolicy,CN=System,"+$DomainDistinguishedName
$WMICN = $WMIGUID
$WMIdistinguishedname = $WMIDN
$WMIID = $WMIGUID
$now = (Get-Date).ToUniversalTime()
$msWMICreationDate = ($now.Year).ToString("0000") + ($now.Month).ToString("00") + ($now.Day).ToString("00") + ($now.Hour).ToString("00") + ($now.Minute).ToString("00") + ($now.Second).ToString("00") + "." + ($now.Millisecond * 1000).ToString("000000") + "-000"
$msWMIName = $WMIFilter.Name
$msWMIParm1 = $WMIFilter.Description + " "
$msWMIParm2 = $WMIFilter.Filter
$array = @()
$SearchRoot = [adsi]("LDAP://CN=SOM,CN=WMIPolicy,CN=System,"+$DomainDistinguishedName)
$search = new-object System.DirectoryServices.DirectorySearcher($SearchRoot)
$search.filter = "(objectclass=msWMI-Som)"
$results = $search.FindAll()
ForEach ($result in $results) {
$array += $result.properties["mswmi-name"].item(0)
}
if ($array -notcontains $msWMIName) {
write-host -ForeGroundColor Green "Importing the $msWMIName WMI Filter from $ReferenceFile`n"
If ($EnableAllowSystemOnlyChange) {
Enable-ADSystemOnlyChange
}
$SOMContainer = [adsi]("LDAP://CN=SOM,CN=WMIPolicy,CN=System,"+$DomainDistinguishedName)
$NewWMIFilter = $SOMContainer.create('msWMI-Som',"CN="+$WMIGUID)
$NewWMIFilter.put("msWMI-Name",$msWMIName)
$NewWMIFilter.put("msWMI-Parm1",$msWMIParm1)
$NewWMIFilter.put("msWMI-Parm2",$msWMIParm2)
$NewWMIFilter.put("msWMI-Author",$msWMIAuthor)
$NewWMIFilter.put("msWMI-ID",$WMIID)
$NewWMIFilter.put("instanceType",4)
$NewWMIFilter.put("showInAdvancedViewOnly","TRUE")
$NewWMIFilter.put("distinguishedname",$WMIdistinguishedname)
$NewWMIFilter.put("msWMI-ChangeDate",$msWMICreationDate)
$NewWMIFilter.put("msWMI-CreationDate",$msWMICreationDate)
$NewWMIFilter.setinfo()
} Else {
write-host -ForeGroundColor Yellow "The $msWMIName WMI Filter already exists`n"
}
}
} else {
Write-Host -ForegroundColor Red "The data in the $ReferenceFile file is missing.`n"
}
}
#-------------------------------------------------------------
If ($Export -eq $true) {
set-content $ReferenceFile $NULL
$WMIFilters = @()
$Domain = [System.DirectoryServices.ActiveDirectory.Domain]::GetCurrentDomain()
$DomainName = $Domain.Name
$DomainDistinguishedName = $Domain.GetDirectoryEntry() | Select-Object -ExpandProperty DistinguishedName
$SearchRoot = [adsi]("LDAP://CN=SOM,CN=WMIPolicy,CN=System,"+$DomainDistinguishedName)
$search = new-object System.DirectoryServices.DirectorySearcher($SearchRoot)
$search.filter = "(objectclass=msWMI-Som)"
$results = $search.FindAll()
ForEach ($result in $results) {
$obj = New-Object -TypeName PSObject
$obj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "DistinguishedName" -value $result.properties["distinguishedname"].item(0)
$obj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "msWMI-Name" -value $result.properties["mswmi-name"].item(0)
$obj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "msWMI-Parm1" -value $result.properties["mswmi-parm1"].item(0)
$obj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "msWMI-Parm2" -value $result.properties["mswmi-parm2"].item(0)
$obj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "Name" -value $result.properties["name"].item(0)
$WMIFilters += $obj
}
$RowCount = $WMIFilters | Measure-Object | Select-Object -expand count
if ($RowCount -ne 0) {
write-host -ForeGroundColor Green "Exporting $RowCount WMI Filters`n"
foreach ($WMIFilter in $WMIFilters) {
write-host -ForeGroundColor Green "Exporting the" $WMIFilter."msWMI-Name" "WMI Filter to $ReferenceFile`n"
$NewContent = $WMIFilter."msWMI-Name" + "`t" + $WMIFilter."msWMI-Parm1" + "`t" + $WMIFilter."msWMI-Parm2"
add-content $NewContent -path $ReferenceFile
}
write-host -ForeGroundColor Green "An export of the WMI Filters has been stored at $ReferenceFile`n"
} else {
write-host -ForeGroundColor Green "There are no WMI Filters to export`n"
}
}
#-------------------------------------------------------------
If ($Create -eq $true) {
if ((Test-Path $ReferenceFile) -eq $False) {
Write-Host -ForegroundColor Red "The $ReferenceFile file is missing. Cannot create WMI Filters.`n"
exit
}
$Domain = [System.DirectoryServices.ActiveDirectory.Domain]::GetCurrentDomain()
$DomainName = $Domain.Name
$DomainDistinguishedName = $Domain.GetDirectoryEntry() | Select-Object -ExpandProperty DistinguishedName
$UseAdministrator = $False
If ($UseAdministrator -eq $False) {
$msWMIAuthor = [System.Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent().Name
} Else {
$msWMIAuthor = "Administrator@" + $DomainName
}
# Import WMI Filters From CSV
# Name,Description,Filter
$WMIFilters = import-csv $ReferenceFile
$RowCount = $WMIFilters | Measure-Object | Select-Object -expand count
if ($RowCount -gt 0) {
write-host -ForeGroundColor Green "Creating $RowCount WMI Filters`n"
foreach ($WMIFilter in $WMIFilters) {
$WMIGUID = [string]"{"+([System.Guid]::NewGuid())+"}"
$WMIDN = "CN="+$WMIGUID+",CN=SOM,CN=WMIPolicy,CN=System,"+$DomainDistinguishedName
$WMICN = $WMIGUID
$WMIdistinguishedname = $WMIDN
$WMIID = $WMIGUID
$now = (Get-Date).ToUniversalTime()
$msWMICreationDate = ($now.Year).ToString("0000") + ($now.Month).ToString("00") + ($now.Day).ToString("00") + ($now.Hour).ToString("00") + ($now.Minute).ToString("00") + ($now.Second).ToString("00") + "." + ($now.Millisecond * 1000).ToString("000000") + "-000"
$msWMIName = $WMIFilter.Name
$msWMIParm1 = $WMIFilter.Description + " "
$msWMIParm2 = "1;3;" + $WMIFilter.Namespace.Length.ToString() + ";" + $WMIFilter.Query.Length.ToString() + ";WQL;" + $WMIFilter.Namespace + ";" + $WMIFilter.Query + ";"
$array = @()
$SearchRoot = [adsi]("LDAP://CN=SOM,CN=WMIPolicy,CN=System,"+$DomainDistinguishedName)
$search = new-object System.DirectoryServices.DirectorySearcher($SearchRoot)
$search.filter = "(objectclass=msWMI-Som)"
$results = $search.FindAll()
ForEach ($result in $results) {
$array += $result.properties["mswmi-name"].item(0)
}
if ($array -notcontains $msWMIName) {
write-host -ForeGroundColor Green "Creating the $msWMIName WMI Filter from $ReferenceFile`n"
If ($EnableAllowSystemOnlyChange) {
Enable-ADSystemOnlyChange
}
$SOMContainer = [adsi]("LDAP://CN=SOM,CN=WMIPolicy,CN=System,"+$DomainDistinguishedName)
$NewWMIFilter = $SOMContainer.create('msWMI-Som',"CN="+$WMIGUID)
$NewWMIFilter.put("msWMI-Name",$msWMIName)
$NewWMIFilter.put("msWMI-Parm1",$msWMIParm1)
$NewWMIFilter.put("msWMI-Parm2",$msWMIParm2)
$NewWMIFilter.put("msWMI-Author",$msWMIAuthor)
$NewWMIFilter.put("msWMI-ID",$WMIID)
$NewWMIFilter.put("instanceType",4)
$NewWMIFilter.put("showInAdvancedViewOnly","TRUE")
$NewWMIFilter.put("distinguishedname",$WMIdistinguishedname)
$NewWMIFilter.put("msWMI-ChangeDate",$msWMICreationDate)
$NewWMIFilter.put("msWMI-CreationDate",$msWMICreationDate)
$NewWMIFilter.setinfo()
} Else {
write-host -ForeGroundColor Yellow "The $msWMIName WMI Filter already exists`n"
}
}
} else {
Write-Host -ForegroundColor Red "The data in the $ReferenceFile file is missing.`n"
}
}
Enjoy!
Jeremy Saunders
Technical Architect | DevOps Evangelist | Software Developer | Microsoft, NVIDIA, Citrix and Desktop Virtualisation (VDI) Specialist/Expert | Rapper | Improvisor | Comedian | Property Investor | Kayaking enthusiast at J House Consulting
Jeremy Saunders is the Problem Terminator. He is a highly respected IT Professional with over 35 years’ experience in the industry. Using his exceptional design and problem solving skills with precise methodologies applied at both technical and business levels he is always focused on achieving the best business outcomes. He worked as an independent consultant until September 2017, when he took up a full time role at BHP, one of the largest and most innovative global mining companies. With a diverse skill set, high ethical standards, and attention to detail, coupled with a friendly nature and great sense of humour, Jeremy aligns to industry and vendor best practices, which puts him amongst the leaders of his field. He is intensely passionate about solving technology problems for his organisation, their customers and the tech community, to improve the user experience, reliability and operational support. Views and IP shared on this site belong to Jeremy.