Getting Powershell commands, functions, modules, etc without installing anything.

Dave:    Hey Buddy, you should look at this cool script that I found.

Buddy:  Really, what does it do?

Dave:    It’s so cool. It will connect to any SQL server and report back information about each database that is hosted on it.

Buddy:  That’s cool. Did you tell the SQL admin about it?

Dave:    Yup, he said it was easier than the expensive product we just spent 50k on. Plus he didn’t need to do anything extra.

Buddy:  I just tried it but it keeps giving me errors.

Dave:    Well do you have SQL installed on your workstation? Greg and I do.

Buddy:  No, where can I install it from? Do I need a license? How much space does it need?

Dave:    Here try running Import-RemoteCommands.ps1 –Computername someSQLservername instead then try it again.

Buddy:  Awesome it works now, what did that do?

Dave:   The Import-RemoteCommands.ps1 script temporarily imports all commands, functions, modules, etc. from a remote computer to your local session so you can run almost any PowerShell script without having to install things locally to a system.

Buddy:  But what if I want to run something like that on a server? Will I need to submit a change so the boss doesn’t have an aneurism?

Dave:    You shouldn’t because as soon as you close the PowerShell window all those commands go away! You can even use it for a list of computers, so if you want SQL plugins, the AD module and the SCOM module, just list all those server names separated by a coma.

Buddy:  I just opened a new console window but Import-RemoteCommands is giving me an error now.

Dave:    For it to work you need two things, 1. PowerShell remoting needs to be enabled on the computers you list. 2. You need local admin or PowerShell remoting access on those computers.

 OK, so this didn't happen quite the way I portrayed it but it's pretty close.

	#* FileName: Import-RemoteCommands.ps1
	#*=============================================
	#* Script Name: Import-RemoteCommands
	#* Created: 07/10/2014-published
	#* Author: David S. Elias
	#* Email: daveselias@gmail.com
	#* Requirements: PowerShell v2.0+
	#* Keywords: Function, module, command, cmdlet, import, remoting
	#*=============================================
	#*=============================================
	#* REVISION HISTORY
	#*=============================================
	#* Date: 07/15/2014
	#* Time: 1:50PM
	#* Issue: Get-PSSnapin, Import-Module and Import-PSSession
	#* always cause warnings or errors
	#* Solution: Changed ErrorActions from Stop to
	#* SilentlyContinue
	#*=============================================
	<#
	.Synopsis
	Imports all Commands, functions, modules and snapins not already found in the active console session
	.DESCRIPTION
	Imports all Commands, functions, modules and snapins not already found in the active console session
	from the specified computer(s).
	.EXAMPLE
	Import-RemoteCommands.ps1 -ComputerName DC1
	Attempting Remote session connection to DC1 using New-PSSession
	Attempting Get-Pssnapin on DC1
	Attempting Import-Module on DC1
	Attempting Import-PSSession from DC1
	###################################################
	Congratulations, you have imported 907 new commands
	###################################################
	.EXAMPLE
	Import-RemoteCommands.ps1 -ComputerName DC1, DC2
	Attempting Remote session connection to DC1 using New-PSSession
	Attempting Get-Pssnapin on DC1
	Attempting Import-Module on DC1
	Attempting Import-PSSession from DC1
	Attempting Remote session connection to DC2 using New-PSSession
	Attempting Get-Pssnapin on DC2
	Attempting Import-Module on DC2
	Attempting Import-PSSession from DC2
	###################################################
	Congratulations, you have imported 1207 new commands
	###################################################
	#>
	Param
	(
	# Server Name(s) to import modules, functions and cmdlets from
	[Parameter(Mandatory=$true,
	ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName=$false,
	Position=0)]
	[array]
	$ComputerName
	)
	Begin{
	[array]$ALL = $ComputerName
	IF($ALL.count -lt 1){
	Write-Error -Message "No Server Names Were Provided" -ErrorAction Stop
	EXIT 1
	}
	$List=@()
	ForEach($item in $ALL){
	Try{
	$Alive = Test-Connection -ComputerName $item -Count 1 -Quiet -ErrorAction Stop
	IF($Alive -eq $true){
	$List += $item
	}
	}Catch{
	Write-Warning -Message "Unable to find $item"
	}
	}
	$PSV = $PSVersionTable.PSVersion.major
	IF($PSV -eq 2){
	$LocalCommands = Get-Command
	}ELSEIF($PSV -ge 3){
	$LocalCommands = Get-Command -All
	}
	}
	Process{
	ForEach($Server in $List){
	Try{
	Write-Host "Attempting Remote session connection to $Server using New-PSSession" -ForegroundColor Green
	$Active = New-PSSession -ComputerName $Server -ErrorAction Stop
	Try{
	Write-Host "Attempting Get-Pssnapin on $Server" -ForegroundColor Green
	Invoke-Command -Session $Active { Get-PSSnapin -Registered | ForEach-Object { Add-PSSnapin -Name $_.name } } -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
	Try{
	Write-Host "Attempting Import-Module on $Server" -ForegroundColor Green
	Invoke-Command -Session $Active { Get-Module -ListAvailable | ForEach-Object { Import-Module -Name $_.Name } } -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
	Try{
	Write-Host "Attempting Import-PSSession from $Server" -ForegroundColor Green
	Import-PSSession -Session $Active -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
	}Catch{
	Write-Warning -Message "Unable to execute Import-PSSession on $Server"
	}
	}Catch{
	Write-Warning -Message "Unable to execute Import-Module on $Server"
	}
	}Catch{
	Write-Warning -Message "Unable to execute Get-Pssnapin on $Server"
	}
	}Catch{
	Write-Error -Message "Unable to connect to remote session on $Server and import requested functions, cmdlets, modules" -ErrorAction Stop
	}
	}
	}
	End{
	########################### Compare commands to verify if any new commands were imported ###########################
	IF($PSV -eq 2){
	$AfterCommands = Get-Command
	$NewCommands = Compare-Object -ReferenceObject $LocalCommands -DifferenceObject $AfterCommands
	}ELSEIF($PSV -ge 3){
	$AfterCommands = Get-Command -All
	$NewCommands = Compare-Object -ReferenceObject $LocalCommands.Name -DifferenceObject $AfterCommands.Name
	}
	IF($NewCommands.count -lt 1){
	Write-Error -Message "No New functions, cmdlets or modules were imported"
	}ELSEIF($NewCommands.count -gt 1){
	Clear-Host
	Write-Host "###################################################" -ForegroundColor Cyan
	Write-Host " " -ForegroundColor Cyan
	Write-Host "Congratulations, you have imported $($NewCommands.count) new commands" -ForegroundColor Green
	Write-Host " " -ForegroundColor Cyan
	Write-Host "###################################################" -ForegroundColor Cyan
	}
	}

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