about_Remote_Disconnected_Sessions
Short description
Explains how to disconnect and reconnect to a PowerShell Session (PSSession).
Long description
Beginning in PowerShell 3.0, you can disconnect from a PSSession and reconnect to the PSSession on the same computer or a different computer. The session state is maintained and commands in the PSSession continue to run while the session is disconnected.
The Disconnected Sessions feature is only available when the remote computer is a Windows computer running PowerShell 3.0 or a later version and the local computer is running Windows.
The Disconnected Sessions feature allows you to close the session in which a PSSession was created, and even close PowerShell, and shut down the computer, without disrupting commands running in the PSSession. Disconnected sessions are useful for running commands that take an extended time to complete, and provides the time and device flexibility that IT professionals require.
You can't disconnect from an interactive session that is started with the
Enter-PSSession cmdlet.
You can use disconnected sessions to manage PSSessions that were disconnected unintentionally as the result of a computer or network outage.
In real-world use, the Disconnected Sessions feature allows you to begin solving a problem, turn your attention to a higher priority issue, and then resume work on the solution, even on a different computer in a different location.
Disconnected session cmdlets
The following cmdlets support the Disconnected Sessions feature:
Connect-PSSession: Connects to a disconnected PSSession.Disconnect-PSSession: Disconnects a PSSession.Get-PSSession: Gets PSSessions on the local computer or on remote computers.Receive-PSSession: Gets the results of commands that ran in disconnected sessions.Invoke-Command: InDisconnectedSession parameter creates a PSSession and disconnects immediately.
How the Disconnected Sessions feature works
Beginning in PowerShell 3.0, PSSessions are independent of the sessions in which they're created. Active PSSessions are maintained on the remote computer or server-side of the connection, even if the session in which the PSSession was created is closed and the originating computer is shut down or disconnected from the network.
In PowerShell 2.0, the PSSession is deleted from the remote computer when it's disconnected from the originating session or the session in which it was created ends.
When you disconnect a PSSession, the PSSession remains active and is maintained on the remote computer. The session state changes from Running to Disconnected. You can reconnect to a disconnected PSSession from the current session or from a different session on the same computer, or from a different computer. The remote computer that maintains the session must be running and be connected to the network.
Commands in a disconnected PSSession continue to run uninterrupted on the
remote computer until the command completes or the output buffer fills. To
prevent a full output buffer from suspending a command, use the
OutputBufferingMode parameter of the Disconnect-PSSession,
New-PSSessionOption, or New-PSTransportOption cmdlets.
Disconnected sessions are maintained in the disconnected state on the remote
computer. They're available for you to reconnect, until you delete the
PSSession, such as by using the Remove-PSSession cmdlet, or until the idle
timeout of the PSSession expires. You can adjust the idle timeout of a
PSSession by using the IdleTimeoutSec or IdleTimeout parameters of the
Disconnect-PSSession, New-PSSessionOption, or New-PSTransportOption
cmdlets.
Another user can connect to PSSessions that you created, but only if they can
provide the credentials that were used to create the session, or use the
RunAs credentials of the session configuration.
How to get PSSessions
Beginning in PowerShell 3.0, the Get-PSSession cmdlet gets PSSessions on the
local computer and remote computers. It can also get PSSessions that were
created in the current session.
To get PSSessions on the local computer or remote computers, use the
ComputerName or ConnectionUri parameters. Without parameters,
Get-PSSession gets PSSession that were created in the local session,
regardless of where they terminate.
When getting PSSessions, remember to look for them on the computer on which they're maintained, that is, the remote or server-side computer.
For example, if you create a PSSession to the Server01 computer, get the session from the Server01 computer. If you create a PSSession from another computer to the local computer, get the session from the local computer.
The following command sequence shows how Get-PSSession works.
The first command creates a session to the Server01 computer. The session resides on the Server01 computer.
New-PSSession -ComputerName Server01
Id Name ComputerName State ConfigurationName Availability
-- ---- ------------ ----- ----------------- ------------
2 Session2 Server01 Opened Microsoft.PowerShell Available
To get the session, use the ComputerName parameter of Get-PSSession with
a value of Server01.
Get-PSSession -ComputerName Server01
Id Name ComputerName State ConfigurationName Availability
-- ---- ------------ ----- ----------------- ------------
2 Session2 Server01 Opened Microsoft.PowerShell Available
If the value of the ComputerName parameter of Get-PSSession is localhost,
Get-PSSession gets PSSessions that terminate at and are maintained on the
local computer. It doesn't get PSSessions on the Server01 computer, even if
they were started on the local computer.
Get-PSSession -ComputerName localhost
To get sessions that were created in the current session, use the
Get-PSSession cmdlet without parameters. In this example, Get-PSSession
gets the PSSession that was created in the current session and connects to the
Server01 computer.
Get-PSSession
Id Name ComputerName State ConfigurationName Availability
-- ---- ------------ ----- ----------------- ------------
2 Session2 Server01 Opened Microsoft.PowerShell Available
How to disconnect sessions
To disconnect a PSSession, use the Disconnect-PSSession cmdlet. To identify
the PSSession, use the Session parameter, or pipeline a PSSession from the
New-PSSession or Get-PSSession cmdlets to Disconnect-PSSession.
The following command disconnects the PSSession to the Server01 computer. Notice that the value of the State property is Disconnected and the Availability is None.
Get-PSSession -ComputerName Server01 | Disconnect-PSSession
Id Name ComputerName State ConfigurationName Availability
-- ---- ------------ ----- ----------------- ------------
2 Session2 Server01 Disconnected Microsoft.PowerShell None
To create a disconnected session, use the InDisconnectedSession parameter
of the Invoke-Command cmdlet. It creates a session, starts the command, and
disconnects immediately, before the command can return any output.
The following command runs a Get-WinEvent command in a disconnected session
on the Server02 remote computer.
Invoke-Command -ComputerName Server02 -InDisconnectedSession -ScriptBlock {
Get-WinEvent -LogName "*PowerShell*" }
Id Name ComputerName State ConfigurationName Availability
-- ---- ------------ ----- ----------------- ------------
4 Session3 Server02 Disconnected Microsoft.PowerShell None
How to connect to disconnected sessions
You can connect to any available disconnected PSSession from the session in which you created the PSSession or from other sessions on the local computer or other computers.
You can create a PSSession, run commands in the PSSession, disconnect from the PSSession, close PowerShell, and shut down the computer. Hours later, you can open a different computer, get the PSSession, connect to it, and get the results of commands that ran in the PSSession while it was disconnected. Then you can run more commands in the session.
To connect a disconnected PSSession, use the Connect-PSSession cmdlet. Use
the ComputerName or ConnectionUri parameters to identify the PSSession,
or pipeline a PSSession from Get-PSSession to Connect-PSSession.
The following command gets the sessions on the Server02 computer. The output includes two disconnected sessions, both of which are available.
Get-PSSession -ComputerName Server02
Id Name ComputerName State ConfigurationName Availability
-- ---- ------------ ----- ----------------- ------------
2 Session2 juneb-srv8320 Disconnected Microsoft.PowerShell None
4 Session3 juneb-srv8320 Disconnected Microsoft.PowerShell None
The following command connects to Session2. The PSSession is now open and available.
Connect-PSSession -ComputerName Server02 -Name Session2
Id Name ComputerName State ConfigurationName Availability
-- ---- ------------ ----- ----------------- ------------
2 Session2 juneb-srv8320 Opened Microsoft.PowerShell Available
How to get the results
To get the results of commands that ran in a disconnected PSSession, use the
Receive-PSSession cmdlet.
You can use Receive-PSSession rather than using the Connect-PSSession
cmdlet. If the session is already reconnected, Receive-PSSession gets the
results of commands that ran when the session was disconnected. If the
PSSession is still disconnected, Receive-PSSession connects to it and then
gets the results of commands that ran while it was disconnected.
Receive-PSSession can return the results in a job (asynchronously) or to the
host program (synchronously). Use the OutTarget parameter to select Job
or Host. The default value is Host. However, if the command that's
being received was started in the current session as a Job, it's returned
as a Job by default.
The following command uses the Receive-PSSession cmdlet to connect to the
PSSession on the Server02 computer and get the results of the Get-WinEvent
command that ran in the Session3 session. The command uses the OutTarget
parameter to get the results in a Job.
Receive-PSSession -ComputerName Server02 -Name Session3 -OutTarget Job
Id Name PSJobTypeName State HasMoreData Location
-- ---- ------------- ----- ----------- --------
3 Job3 RemoteJob Running True Server02
To get the job's results, use the Receive-Job cmdlet.
Get-Job | Receive-Job -Keep
ProviderName: PowerShell
TimeCreated Id LevelDisplayName Message PSComputerName
----------- -- ---------------- ------- --------------
5/14/2012 7:26:04 PM 400 Information Engine stat Server02
5/14/2012 7:26:03 PM 600 Information Provider "W Server02
5/14/2012 7:26:03 PM 600 Information Provider "C Server02
5/14/2012 7:26:03 PM 600 Information Provider "V Server02
State and Availability properties
The State and Availability properties of a disconnected PSSession tell you whether the session is available for you to reconnect to it.
When a PSSession is connected to the current session, its state is Opened and its availability is Available. When you disconnect from the PSSession, the PSSession state is Disconnected and its availability is None.
The value of the State property is relative to the current session. A value of Disconnected means that the PSSession isn't connected to the current session. But, it doesn't mean that the PSSession is disconnected from all sessions. It might be connected to a different session.
To determine whether you can connect or reconnect to the PSSession, use the Availability property. A value of None indicates that you can connect to the session. A value of Busy indicates that you can't connect to the PSSession because it's connected to another session.
The following example is run in two PowerShell sessions on the same computer. Note the changing values of the State and Availability properties in each session as the PSSession is disconnected and reconnected.
# Session 1
New-PSSession -ComputerName Server30 -Name Test
Id Name ComputerName State ConfigurationName Availability
-- ---- ------------ ----- ----------------- ------------
1 Test Server30 Opened Microsoft.PowerShell Available
# Session 2
Get-PSSession -ComputerName Server30 -Name Test
Id Name ComputerName State ConfigurationName Availability
-- ---- ------------ ----- ----------------- ------------
1 Test Server30 Disconnected Microsoft.PowerShell Busy
# Session 1
Get-PSSession -ComputerName Server30 -Name Test | Disconnect-PSSession
Id Name ComputerName State ConfigurationName Availability
-- ---- ------------ ----- ----------------- ------------
1 Test Server30 Disconnected Microsoft.PowerShell None
# Session 2
Get-PSSession -ComputerName Server30
Id Name ComputerName State ConfigurationName Availability
-- ---- ------------ ----- ----------------- ------------
1 Test Server30 Disconnected Microsoft.PowerShell None
# Session 2
Connect-PSSession -ComputerName Server30 -Name Test
Id Name ComputerName State ConfigurationName Availability
-- ---- ------------ ----- ----------------- ------------
3 Test Server30 Opened Microsoft.PowerShell Available
# Session 1
Get-PSSession -ComputerName Server30
Id Name ComputerName State ConfigurationName Availability
-- ---- ------------ ----- ----------------- ------------
1 Test Server30 Disconnected Microsoft.PowerShell Busy
# Idle Timeout
Disconnected sessions are maintained on the remote computer until you delete
them, such as by using the Remove-PSSession cmdlet, or they time out. The
IdleTimeout property of a PSSession determines how long a disconnected
session is maintained before it's deleted.
PSSessions are idle when the heartbeat thread receives no response. Disconnecting a session makes it idle and starts the IdleTimeout clock, even if commands are still running in the disconnected session. PowerShell considers disconnected sessions to be active, but idle.
When creating and disconnecting sessions, verify that the idle timeout in the PSSession is long enough to maintain the session for your needs, but not so long that it consumes unnecessary resources on the remote computer.
The IdleTimeoutMs property of the session configuration determines the default idle timeout of sessions that use the session configuration. You can override the default value, but the value that you use can't exceed the MaxIdleTimeoutMs property of the session configuration.
To find the value of the IdleTimeoutMs and MaxIdleTimeoutMs values of a session configuration, use the following command format.
Get-PSSessionConfiguration |
Format-Table Name, IdleTimeoutMs, MaxIdleTimeoutMs
You can override the default value in the session configuration and set the idle timeout of a PSSession when you create a PSSession and when you disconnect.
If you're a member of the Administrators group on the remote computer, you can create and change the IdleTimeoutMs and MaxIdleTimeoutMs properties of session configurations.
Idle timeout values
The idle timeout value of session configurations and session options is in milliseconds. The idle timeout value of sessions and session configuration options is in seconds.
You can set the idle timeout of a PSSession when you create the PSSession
(New-PSSession, Invoke-Command) and when you disconnect from it
(Disconnect-PSSession). However, you can't change the IdleTimeout value
when you connect to the PSSession (Connect-PSSession) or get results
(Receive-PSSession).
The Connect-PSSession and Receive-PSSession cmdlets have a
SessionOption parameter that takes a SessionOption object, such as one
returned by the New-PSSessionOption cmdlet. The IdleTimeout value in
SessionOption object and the IdleTimeout value in the
$PSSessionOption preference variable don't change the value of the
IdleTimeout of the PSSession in a Connect-PSSession or
Receive-PSSession command.
To create a PSSession with a particular idle timeout value, create a
$PSSessionOption preference variable. Set the value of the IdleTimeout
property to the desired value (in milliseconds).
When you create PSSessions, the values in $PSSessionOption variable take
precedence over the values in the session configuration.
For example, the following command sets an idle timeout of 48 hours:
$PSSessionOption = New-PSSessionOption -IdleTimeoutMSec 172800000
To create a PSSession with a particular idle timeout value, use the
IdleTimeoutMSec parameter of the New-PSSessionOption cmdlet. Then, use
the session option in the value of the SessionOption parameter of the
New-PSSession or Invoke-Command cmdlets.
The values set when creating the session take precedence over the values set
in the $PSSessionOption preference variable and the session configuration.
For example:
$o = New-PSSessionOption -IdleTimeoutMSec 172800000
New-PSSession -SessionOption $o
To change the idle timeout of a PSSession when disconnecting, use the
IdleTimeoutSec parameter of the Disconnect-PSSession cmdlet.
For example:
Disconnect-PSSession -IdleTimeoutSec 172800
To create a session configuration with a particular idle timeout and maximum
idle timeout, use the IdleTimeoutSec and MaxIdleTimeoutSec parameters
of the New-PSTransportOption cmdlet. Then, use the transport option in the
value of the TransportOption parameter of
Register-PSSessionConfiguration.
For example:
$o = New-PSTransportOption -IdleTimeoutSec 172800 -MaxIdleTimeoutSec 259200
Register-PSSessionConfiguration -Name Test -TransportOption $o
To change the default idle timeout and maximum idle timeout of a session
configuration, use the IdleTimeoutSec and MaxIdleTimeoutSec
parameters of the New-PSTransportOption cmdlet. Then, use the transport
option in the value of the TransportOption parameter of
Set-PSSessionConfiguration.
For example:
$o = New-PSTransportOption -IdleTimeoutSec 172800 -MaxIdleTimeoutSec 259200
Set-PSSessionConfiguration -Name Test -TransportOption $o
Output buffering mode
The output buffering mode of a PSSession determines how command output is managed when the output buffer of the PSSession is full.
In a disconnected session, the output buffering mode effectively determines whether the command continues to run while the session is disconnected.
The valid values as follows:
- Block. When the output buffer is full, execution is suspended until the buffer is clear. The default value.
- Drop. When the output buffer is full, execution continues. As new output is generated, the oldest output is discarded.
Block preserves data, but might interrupt the command. A value of Drop allows the command to complete, although data might be lost. When using the Drop value, redirect the command output to a file on disk. This value is recommended for disconnected sessions.
The OutputBufferingMode property of the session configuration determines the default output buffering mode of sessions that use the session configuration.
To find a session configuration's value of the OutputBufferingMode, you can use either of the following command formats:
(Get-PSSessionConfiguration <ConfigurationName>).OutputBufferingMode
Get-PSSessionConfiguration | Format-Table Name, OutputBufferingMode
You can override the default value in the session configuration and set the output buffering mode of a PSSession when you create a PSSession, when you disconnect, and when you reconnect.
If you're a member of the Administrators group on the remote computer, you can create and change the output buffering mode of session configurations.
To create a PSSession with an output buffering mode of Drop, create a
$PSSessionOption preference variable in which the value of the
OutputBufferingMode property is Drop.
When you create PSSessions, the values in $PSSessionOption variable take
precedence over the values in the session configuration.
For example:
$PSSessionOption = New-PSSessionOption -OutputBufferingMode Drop
To create a PSSession with an output buffering mode of Drop, use the
OutputBufferingMode parameter of the New-PSSessionOption cmdlet to
create a session option with a value of Drop. Then, use the session
option in the value of the SessionOption parameter of the New-PSSession
or Invoke-Command cmdlets.
The values set when creating the session take precedence over the values set
in the $PSSessionOption preference variable and the session configuration.
For example:
$o = New-PSSessionOption -OutputBufferingMode Drop
New-PSSession -SessionOption $o
To change the output buffering mode of a PSSession when disconnecting, use
the OutputBufferingMode parameter of the Disconnect-PSSession cmdlet.
For example:
Disconnect-PSSession -OutputBufferingMode Drop
To change the output buffering mode of a PSSession when reconnecting, use the
OutputBufferingMode parameter of the New-PSSessionOption cmdlet to
create a session option with a value of Drop. Then, use the session
option in the value of the SessionOption parameter of Connect-PSSession
or Receive-PSSession.
For example:
$o = New-PSSessionOption -OutputBufferingMode Drop
Connect-PSSession -ComputerName Server01 -Name Test -SessionOption $o
To create a session configuration with a default output buffering mode of
Drop, use the OutputBufferingMode parameter of the
New-PSTransportOption cmdlet to create a transport option object with a
value of Drop. Then, use the transport option in the value of the
TransportOption parameter of Register-PSSessionConfiguration.
For example:
$o = New-PSTransportOption -OutputBufferingMode Drop
Register-PSSessionConfiguration -Name Test -TransportOption $o
To change the default output buffering mode of a session configuration, use
the OutputBufferingMode parameter of the New-PSTransportOption cmdlet
to create a transport option with a value of Drop. Then, use the
Transport option in the value of the SessionOption parameter of
Set-PSSessionConfiguration.
For example:
$o = New-PSTransportOption -OutputBufferingMode Drop
Set-PSSessionConfiguration -Name Test -TransportOption $o
Disconnecting loopback sessions
Loopback sessions, or local sessions, are PSSessions that originate and terminate on the same computer. Like other PSSessions, active loopback sessions are maintained on the computer on the remote end of the connection (the local computer), so you can disconnect from and reconnect to loopback sessions.
By default, loopback sessions are created with a network security token that doesn't permit commands run in the session to access other computers. You can reconnect to loopback sessions that have a network security token from any session on the local computer or a remote computer.
However, if you use the EnableNetworkAccess parameter of the
New-PSSession, Enter-PSSession, or Invoke-Command cmdlet, the loopback
session is created with an interactive security token. The interactive token
enables commands that run in the loopback session to get data from other
computers.
You can disconnect loopback sessions with interactive tokens and then reconnect to them from the same session or a different session on the same computer. However, to prevent malicious access, you can reconnect to loopback sessions with interactive tokens only from the computer on which they were created.
Waiting for jobs in disconnected sessions
The Wait-Job cmdlet waits until a job completes and then returns to the
command prompt or the next command. By default, Wait-Job returns if the
session in which a job is running is disconnected. To direct the Wait-Job
cmdlet to wait until the session is reconnected, in the Opened state, use
the Force parameter. For more information, see Wait-Job.
Robust sessions and unintentional disconnection
A PSSession might be unintentionally disconnected because of a computer failure or network outage. PowerShell attempts to recover the PSSession, but its success depends upon the severity and duration of the cause.
The state of an unintentionally disconnected PSSession might be Broken or
Closed, but it might also be Disconnected. If the value of State is
Disconnected, you can use the same techniques to manage the PSSession as
you would if the session were disconnected intentionally. For example, you can
use the Connect-PSSession cmdlet to reconnect to the session and the
Receive-PSSession cmdlet to get results of commands that ran while the
session was disconnected.
If you close (exit) the session in which a PSSession was created while commands are running in the PSSession, PowerShell maintains the PSSession in the Disconnected state on the remote computer. If you close (exit) the session in which a PSSession was created, but no commands are running in the PSSession, PowerShell doesn't attempt to maintain the PSSession.
See also
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