Intel,Altiris Group

Part 1 - Using Intel vPro PowerShell Module with Symantec CMS 

Dec 28, 2012 03:38 PM

Introduction

Intel vPro PowerShell Module enables you to extend beyond the base out-of-band operations within Symantec CMS.   Whether a PowerShell cmdlet is within a TaskServer script, used as a standalone script, or abstracted via your own customized graphic utility – Intel vPro PowerShell Module combined with Symantec CMS will enable new capabilities.

This article series provides a foundation to build upon within your own environment.   The first part focuses on preparing your environment and obtaining a base understanding of the Intel vPro PowerShell module.   The second part explores an example use case of setting the Intel AMT Alarm Clock.   If sufficient interested is shown in the article series, additional areas will be explored such as Intel AMTGUI within the Intel vPro PowerShell Module.

 

Initializing the Intel vPro PowerShell Module environment

Microsoft PowerShell is commonly available on Microsoft Windows 2008 server and Windows 7 client systems.   Refer to Microsoft documentation or the Intel vPro PowerShell Module for more information.   The following is only a summary of the main steps.

Intel vPro PowerShell Module, more commonly referred to as vPSM, can be obtained via the Intel Download Center (click here)

Install the x86 version on your server running the Symantec Management Platform.  

After the installation, open Microsoft PowerShell from the Windows Start Menu with elevated rights by right clicking and selecting “Run as Administrator”.    Within the Microsoft PowerShell command shell, change the execution policy as follows:

                Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

Additional options for the ExecutionPolicy are referenced in the Intel vPSM documentation.

Although the Intel vPSM component is installed, the module is not loaded into the PowerShell environment.   To complete this step, type the following

                Import-Module IntelvPro

Next a secure string will be defined to store and retrieve the desired Intel AMT credentials, if you are using Digest authentication.   If using Kerberos authentication, the logged in domain account context will be used to run the command.

To define the desired Intel AMT credentials into a variable, such as amtcred, type the following

                $amtcred = Get-Credential

A credential request prompt, similar to a Microsoft Windows logon prompt, will appear.    Enter the Intel® AMT credentials used within your environment similar to the following example:

 

Next, assign the values stored within amtcred to a secure string value on the client via the following command

                Write-AMTcredential –username $amtcred.username –password $amtcred.password

The final step to initializing the environment is to set the PowerShell environment profile.   For the desired user context, create the following Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1 file and store in that user’s document folder as shown below.

Multiple items are shown in the following screenshot:

  • The $amtcred values have been written to a secure string
  • The current logged on user (vprodemo\itproadmin) is the Altiris AppID
  • In the Documents folder for the Altiris AppID, a folder for “WindowsPowerShell” has been added with Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1 file
    • Note: The exact folder and file names must be used, and must reside in the Documents folder of the user account that will be executing the PowerShell scripts.    In this example, the user account (vprodemo\itproadmin) is the logon account of the Altiris Service, commonly referred to as the Altiris AppID
  • The Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1 file is effectively a shell initialization script.   Two important components must be included for Intel vPro PowerShell Module
    • Import-Module IntelvPro
    • New-Variable –Name amtcred –value (Read-AmtCredential)
      • Note: The “amtcred” variable name is only an example for this article.    It can customized for our own environment as needed.

 

To validate the setup, close the Microsoft PowerShell command prompt and reopen.   When the shell loads, it will read the ps1 profile to initialize the environment.

To ensure the environment is ready, run the following command in the Windows PowerShell console:

Get-Command –Module IntelvPro

The list of Intel vPro PowerShell Commands should appear similar to the following example

 

You are now ready to start experimenting and integrating Intel vPro PowerShell commands into your Symantec Client Management Suite environment.

 

The opinions expressed on this site are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or strategies of Intel Corporation or its worldwide subsidiaries

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