RG004 Commandline parameters of RES Powerfuse
The purpose of this technote is to provide a singular point reference to all the commandline parameters which are available in RES PowerFuse. This technote has been compiled over some time and will continue to be expanded as new feature become available. The information below has been picked up from the release notes, online help, knowledgebase and similar sources.
The document describes the command line parameters which are available in RES PowerFuse. This covers both the Workspace Manager (the runtime part of PowerFuse being launched when the session starts), the RES Management Console and installation parameters for RES PowerFuse itself. The second part of the document includes as a reference detailed information on the practical usage of some of these parameters.
All the executables referenced below are unless otherwise indicated to be found in %programfiles%RES PowerFuse, which is the default location.
Workspace Manager
How to start the Workspace Manager in an exclusive workspace
pfwsmgr.exe /ew <name of workspace>
This is usefull when multiple workspaces are available to a user and you want to make sure the session is running inside a specific workspace.
Management Console
How to add/remove Citrix servers to servergroups, using command line parameters
pwrtech.exe /serveradd=<servername> /group=<servergroup>
The above command will add a Citrix server to a group
pwrtech.exe /serverremove=<servername> /group=<servergroup>
Removes a Citix server from a specific group
pwrtech.exe /serverremove=<servername> /group=*
Removes specified server from ALL groups at once
How to start a defined PowerFuse application during logon
Pwrgate.exe <appid>
During logon, it may be necessary to start an application which has been defined in PowerFuse. Just use the commandline above, specifying the application ID, which can be found in the PowerFuse Management Console | Application Management | Application List. This combines great with a External Task at logon.
How to perform building block actions with command line parameters
pwrtech.exe /add <full-path-toyourbuildingblock.xml>
Imports a single building block
pwrtech.exe /add <fullpathwildcard*.xml>
Imports multiple buildingblocks from a given path
pwrtech.exe /del <full-path-toyourbuildingblock.xml>
Deletes a given application in Powerfuse. Note1: GUID’s must match (see detailed description below. Note2: Use the /update parameter when importing global authorised files list in order to avoid a merge
How to make the management console skip loading info at startup
pwrtech.exe [/skipou] [/skipusers] [/skipgroups]
These options will respectively skip ou’s, users and groups. The options can be used together or in combination as you choose.
How to deal with a locked out console user
pwrtech.exe /lockedout
In PowerFuse 2008 SR3 a parameter was added to the console to deal with a locked out situation: If a user is locked out of the RES PowerFuse Management Console, this can be solved by starting the Console using a command line with the parameter /lockedout (e.g. “%programfiles%RES PowerFusepwrtech.exe” /lockedout). If the user can provide the correct database credentials (dbuser and dbpassword), the user’s Windows credentials are added to the Security Role “Technical manager”, so that the legitimate user can get access to the Console again.
Use of the /lockedout method, including failed attempts, is logged in the Audit Trail. Note: This feature is now also available in Wisdom 2009, in this casejust use wmc.exe /lockedout
PowerFuse Unattended Installation
These are the necessary commandlines in order to facilitate a full installation of RES PowerFuse. Note there are two installation modes. One is to attach a new PowerFuse installation to an existing datastore (most common). The other is used to create a new datastore from scratch.
The following example will connect PowerFuse to an existing PowerFuse datastore and add it to 3 workspaces (this is optional)
msiexec.exe /i full-path-tores_powerfuse_nnnn.msi DBSERVER=SQLSERVER01 DBNAME=RESPowerFuse DBUSER=PFUser DBPASSWORD=PFUserPassword DBTYPE=MSSQL DBPROTOCOLENCRYPTION=No ADDTOWORKSPACE=Workspace1|Workspace2|Workspace3 /qn
The next one will create a new datastore, import a license file (optional), import a given buildingblock (optional) and add the PowerFuse instance to a given workspace, which will be created (optional)
Msiexec.exe /i fullpathres_powerfuse_801.msi DBSERVER=SQLSERVER01 DBNAME=RESPowerFuse DBUSER=PFUser DBPASSWORD=PFUserPassword DBTYPE=MSSQL DBPROTOCOLENCRYPTION=No DBCREATE=Yes DBCREATEUSER=SA DBCREATEPASSWORD=SAPassword DBIMPORTLICENSE=c:license.xml DBIMPORTBB=c:buildingblock.xml ADDTOWORKSPACE=Workspace1|Workspace2 /qn
Notes :
- Upgrading PowerFuse is not covered in this document, as it does not warrant special command line parameters. Just download the latest unattended PowerPack and run it on each PowerFuse enabled computer. If you are upgrading from PowerFuse 7.x to 200x, you are actually doing a migration. It’s recommended you have a look at the upgrade presentation which is available here.
- In PowerFuse 2008 SR3 a new public MSI property has been added: ADDUSERTOTECHMGR. It is now possible to use two new parameters when installing RES PowerFuse unattended (i.e. with the msiexec command) : ADDUSERTOTECHMGR and ADDGROUPTOTECHMGR. These parameters make it possible to add a specific user and/or group to the security role Technical Manager during an installation that also creates a new database. Therefore, these parameters can only be used in combination with the DBCREATE parameter.
- The value of ADDUSERTECHMGR or ADDGROUPTOTECHMGR must be in the format “domainusername” or “domaingroupname”. RES PowerFuse does not check whether the user or group actually exists.
Detailed References
The following section provides more in-depth information for certain items described above. All information provided here is available through the regular RES PowerFuse documentation.
Workspace Specification
Starting up the Workspace Manager in an exclusive workspace can be useful if you want to deliver only one specific workspace to a user, even when other workspaces are accessible to the user. If you configure the Workspace Manager to start up in an exclusive workspace, the RES PowerFuse Workspace Manager will only process the specified Workspace for this session and ignore other workspaces accessible to the user. If the specified Workspace is not accessible, access to the session will be disallowed. This option is typically used when publishing desktops on a Terminal Server.
How to start up the Workspace Manager in an exclusive workspace
To start a RES PowerFuse session for one specific workspace only, invoke the Workspace Manager using the following command line: pfwsmgr.exe /ew <name of workspace>
Example: The IT environment of D-Energy, a fictional company, has two workspaces, ApplicationSet1 and ApplicationSet2. Each workspace grants access to a different set of applications and settings. Both workspaces are accessible to the user, but are mutually exclusive (i.e. they are not allowed AT THE SAME TIME in one RES PowerFuse session). You can force the Workspace Manager to either use ApplicationSet1 or ApplicationSet2 by using different command line parameters that each point to a different workspace.
Note: All actions will be logged in the Event log, even if the startup action fails. You can view the Event log when viewing your Workspace Analysis details.
Citrix Server Management
Adding and Removing Citrix Servers Using Command Line Parameters
Use command line parameters to add or remove Citrix servers to server groups without using the RES PowerFuse Management Console. This is typically used in an automated scenario where RES Wisdom is used to re-install a Citrix Presentation Server with new software and remove old software. First, RES Wisdom will remove this server from any Server Group. Then the new software will be installed and the old software will be removed. As a final step, RES Wisdom will add this server to the right Server Group.
How to add a Citrix server to a server group
Enter pwrtech.exe /serveradd=<server name> /group=<server group> in the command line.
Example: c:progra~1respow~1pwrtech.exe /serveradd=CTX10 /group=CTXServerGroup
How to remove a Citrix server from a server group
Enter pwrtech.exe /serverremove=servernaam /group=servergroup on the command line.
Example: c:progra~1respow~1pwrtech.exe /serverremove=CTX10 /group=CTXServerGroup
How to remove a Citrix server from all server groups
Enter pwrtech.exe /serverremove=servernaam /group=* on the command line.
Example: c:progra~1respow~1pwrtech.exe /serverremove=CTX10 /group=*
Example on practical use:
Suppose you have two Citrix Presentation Server silos (an Office Silo and an SAP Silo) like this:
CTXSRV001 Office Silo CTXSRV006 SAP Silo
CTXSRV002 Office Silo CTXSRV007 SAP Silo
CTXSRV003 Office Silo CTXSRV008 SAP Silo
CTXSRV004 Office Silo CTXSRV009 SAP Silo
CTXSRV005 Office Silo
In the event that the SAP silo to the right becomes overloaded, an imaging tool of your choice can be used to transform server CTXSRV004 and CTXSRV005 into SAP servers, resulting in these new silo configurations:
CTXSRV001 Office Silo CTXSRV004 SAP Silo
CTXSRV002 Office Silo CTXSRV005 SAP Silo
CTXSRV003 Office Silo CTXSRV006 SAP Silo
CTXSRV007 SAP Silo
CTXSRV008 SAP Silo
CTXSRV009 SAP Silo
The practical problem in this scenario is, the Citrix farm still thinks that CTXSRV004 and CTXSRV005 are servers on which Microsoft Office has been installed, and the farm will be load balancing Office users to CTXSRV004 and CTXSRV005. As a result, Office users will experience that Office will be unavailable (because it has not been installed) and SAP users will not be load balanced to these new servers. This is why the servers on which these applications are published need to be adjusted, by using the above described method. The RES Wisdom Agent can be embedded in the image together with a RES PowerFuse installation. When the image comes online, RES Wisdom and RES PowerFuse will automatically perform the necessary steps.
Building Blocks
How to import a single Building Block
Enter pwrtech.exe /add <path + name XML-file> in the command line.
Example: c:progra~1respow~1pwrtech.exe /add h:xmlappguard_authorizedfiles.xml
How to import several Building Blocks
Enter pwrtech.exe /add <path + wildcards> in the command line.
Example: c:progra~1respow~1pwrtech.exe /add h:xml*.xml
How to delete an application
Enter pwrtech.exe /del <path + XML-file> in the command line.
Example: c:progra~1respow~1pwrtech.exe /del h:xmlstartmenu_accessories_calculator.xml
Notes:
- To delete an application with a Building Block file, you first need to import the application into the target datastore that uses the same GUID (i.e. originating from the same source datastore).
- If you import PowerLaunch settings, Global Authorized Files or Blocked Resources, add the option “/overwrite” to specify that these settings should replace any existing settings (for PowerLaunch, only settings for the same type (i.e. “Mapping”) and level (i.e. “Global”) will be replaced). If you do not add this option, all settings in the specified Building Block files will be merged with the current settings in the RES PowerFuse Management Console.
Skip loading information at startup of PowerFuse Management Console
Use the Skip loading window to skip loading information from the domain when starting up the RES PowerFuse Management Console. This allows you to start up the RES PowerFuse Management Console much faster, which can be very beneficiary in very large environments. You can select to skip information about OUs, Users and Groups:
How to skip loading information from the domain
Start up the RES PowerFuse Management Console. This will display the RES PowerFuse splash screen. During the startup process, the Skip loading button will be displayed in the lower right corner of the RES PowerFuse splash screen.
Click Skip loading. This will open the Skip loading window.
Select which elements should be skipped when loading information from the domain. If support for OUs has not been enabled in your environment, the option Organizational units cannot be selected. If OUs, users and/or groups have already been loaded, these options cannot be selected.
Click OK to skip loading information about the elements that you selected or click Cancel to continue loading information from the domain.
Besides by using the Skip loading window, it is also possible to skip loading information from the domain by using command line switches, when starting up the RES PowerFuse Management Console using a command line:
pwrtech.exe /skipou – this will skip OUs.
pwrtech.exe /skipusers – this will skip Users.
pwrtech.exe /skipgroups – this will skip Groups.
The above switches can be combined in a single commandline if you wish.
Installing RES PowerFuse Unattended
Use an unattended installation of RES PowerFuse to install RES PowerFuse using a command line. This is useful when you need to install RES PowerFuse on several computers and/or you do not want to interrupt your users.
How to install PowerFuse unattended, connecting to an existing db
To install RES PowerFuse unattended on a computer and to connect it to an existing datastore, you can apply the following public properties to the “res_powerfuse_nnnn.msi” package:
DBTYPE: Specifies the database type. This can be either MSSQL, DB2, ORACLE or MYSQL.
DBSERVER: Specifies the database server that RES PowerFuse should connect to.
DBNAME: Specifies the database name that RES PowerFuse should connect to.
DBUSER: Specifies the database user name that RES PowerFuse should use to connect to the database.
DBPASSWORD: Specifies the database password that RES PowerFuse should use to connect to the database.
DBPROTOCOLENCRYPTION: Specifies whether protocol encryption should be used when connecting to Microsoft SQL Server. Values are “yes” or “no” (default is “no”).
ADDTOWORKSPACE: Specifies the names of the workspaces that this computer should be a member of after finishing installation. Separate multiple workspace names using pipe characters “|” (optional).
Here’s an example: Msiexec /i c:res_powerfuse_801.msi DBSERVER=SQLSERVER01 DBNAME=RESPowerFuse DBUSER=PFUser DBPASSWORD=PFUserPassword DBTYPE=MSSQL DBPROTOCOLENCRYPTION=No /qn
How to install RES PowerFuse unattended and create a new datastore
If a RES PowerFuse datastore does not exist, you can use the following public properties to install RES PowerFuse unattended and create a new datastore. These properties also allow you to import a license files and Building Blocks:
DBTYPE: Specifies the database type. This can be either MSSQL, DB2, ORACLE or MYSQL.
DBSERVER: Specifies the database server that RES PowerFuse should connect to.
DBNAME: Specifies the database name that RES PowerFuse should connect to.
DBUSER: Specifies the database user name that RES PowerFuse should use to connect to the database.
DBPASSWORD: Specifies the database password that RES PowerFuse should use to connect to the database.
DBPROTOCOLENCRYPTION: Specifies whether protocol encryption should be used when connecting to Microsoft SQL Server. Values are “yes” or “no” (default is “no“).
DBCREATE: Specifies whether a new database should be created using the values above. Values are “yes” or “no” (default is “no“).
DBCREATEUSER: Specifies the database user name that should be used to create the new database, e.g. “sa”.
DBCREATEPASSWORD: Specifies the database password that should be used to create the new database.
DBIMPORTLICENSE: Specifies a license file (including full path) to be imported after creating a new database (optional).
DBIMPORTBB: Specifies a Building Block file (including full path) to be imported after creating a new database (optional).
ADDTOWORKSPACE: Specifies the names of the workspaces that this computer should be a member of after finishing installation. Separate multiple workspace names using bagpipes “|” (optional).
ADDUSERTOTECHMGR: Specify a user or group to add as technical manager in the installation. Must be in the form DOMAINusername or DOMAINgroupname
Example
Msiexec /i c:res_powerfuse_801.msi DBSERVER=SQLSERVER01 DBNAME=RESPowerFuse DBUSER=PFUser DBPASSWORD=PFUserPassword DBTYPE=MSSQL DBPROTOCOLENCRYPTION=No DBCREATE=Yes DBCREATEUSER=SA DBCREATEPASSWORD=SAPassword DBIMPORTLICENSE=c:license.xml DBIMPORTBB=c:buildingblock.xml /qn
Notes
- When the unattended installation of RES PowerFuse has completed, the computer will automatically reboot. You can suppress this reboot by adding the parameter REBOOT=R to the command line. This is a parameter of the msiexec. Besides this parameter, you can use all other parameters of the msiexec in the command line.
- You can automatically add a RES PowerFuse Agent to a specific workspace during an unattended installation of RES PowerFuse by adding the parameter ADDTOWORKSPACE=<workspace> to the command line.
- You can specify multiple workspaces (by using “|” as separator). The parameter only applies to existing workspaces in your environment.
For example: ADDTOWORKSPACE=Laptops or ADDTOWORKSPACE=Servers|Terminal Servers
RESguru | 
2009/01/17 03:29
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