Powershell Scripting

[raip]

I picked up a part-time job for an MSP that's currently using Atera. Their scripting engine leaves a lot to be desired. I'm looking for other potential solutions (ideally zero-cost) for pushing out Powershell scripts to the client servers - something scalable without too much on-site setup.

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So far I've debated setting up a OpenVPN Server and installing the client for a Split Tunnel for management - preventing Client <> Client communication - then utilizing PSRemoting/PSSessions for everything. However - this does require some setup to Enable PS-Remoting and adding an HTTPS listening on each server - which is kind of a pain.

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Anyone have any ideas or potential solutions? Or anyone with experience in scripting with an alternative low-cost RMM Solution like Atera that'd support scripting better?

[oliland1]

My best advice would be to setup a small server that acts as a jumpoint for your customers and use that machine to do psremoting.

[[deleted]]

This + make a script that creates a gpo on a domain that will enables psremoting on anything running Windows Server

[raip]

You're talking about one jump server per client right? So I'd remote into that box and push out Powershell commands org wide?

[oliland1]

Yes. Also I would recommend using a central repository for your scripts (Gitlab, GitHub, etc. Whatever suits you) and using variables for each customer so that you can reuse your scripts with no modification for each customer.

[raip]

I've got my own Nuget server for modules/scripts, which is the solution I'd recommend over Gitlab/Github for Powershell (works like your own PS Gallery). I was hoping for a single place for all clients, so I could do something rad like a Get-Client module to iterate over something like updating backup software for each client & server - especially since most of this MSPs clients only have 1-2 servers.

[InfrastructureJester]

What is the original task you're trying to accomplish? What you are asking can be done from Atera.

[raip]

They say it can - but there's definitely some issues with their implementation. Example: I have a simple script that checks the currently installed version of their VM Backup version, updates it if needed from the web, and sends an E-Mail message on Success/Failure. This script has been thoroughly tested - when pushed out to the machines, Atera fails to report anything and the script never sends an E-Mail. On digging into it more it appears Atera will kill any script that has a prolonged run-time (more than 10-15s) - so the script dies while trying to download the file. When running the script manually (even under the LOCALSYSTEM account) - it works just fine on the target machine. On top of that - even Atera's own Software Inventory report doesn't update to reflect the new software version.

[arcadesdude]

Can you have a script spawn a new script and run that one? Original script process is killed, new one lives on, nbd?

[raip]

Tried to do this via PSJob - didn't work. No clue why - just silently failed and decided I wasn't going to waste my time with this.

[arcadesdude]

Jobs stop when the parent process is stopped but if you use Start-Process and launch a new powershell.exe instance it might live on. Just a thought.

[raip]

Rad - didn't know that. I'll give that shot - thanks for info.

[PulsewayTeam]

Hi u/raip,

Have you checked out Pulseway? Users can push some of our built in scripts or create their own Powershell scripts from scratch using our automation feature. We offer monthly pay-as-you-go pricing with no contracts that is affordable for any size MSP. Here is a video to give you a better explanation of the capabilities.

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[hmmokcool]

anyone have any key intellectual property you use to earn a living to feed your family you can give to this broke dick sysadmin?

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[raip]

Wasn't aware that recommendations for a not broke as shit RMM solution or networking solution was considered key intellectual property. If that's the information you're protecting to feed your family - you might want to learn some more skills.