DSC Resource Kit Release May 2019

[Server Man]

We just released the DSC Resource Kit! This release includes updates to 14 DSC resource modules. In the past 6 weeks, 87 pull requests have been merged and 36 issues have been closed, all thanks to our amazing community!

The modules updated in this release are:

• ActiveDirectoryCSDsc
• CertificateDsc
• ComputerManagementDsc
• NetworkingDsc
• OfficeOnlineServerDsc
• PSDscResources
• SharePointDsc
• SqlServerDsc
• StorageDsc
• xActiveDirectory
• xDnsServer
• xFirefox
• xPSDesiredStateConfiguration
• xWebAdministration

For a detailed list of the resource modules and fixes in this release, see the Included in this Release section below.

Our latest community call for the DSC Resource Kit was last Wednesday, May 8. A recording of the call is available here. You can join us for the next call at 12PM (Pacific time) on June 19 to ask questions and give feedback about your experience with the DSC Resource Kit.

The next DSC Resource Kit release will be on Wednesday, June 26.

We strongly encourage you to update to the newest version of all modules using the PowerShell Gallery, and don’t forget to give us your feedback in the comments below, on GitHub, or on Twitter (@PowerShell_Team)!

Please see our documentation here for information on the support of these resource modules.

Included in this Release


You can see a detailed summary of all changes included in this release in the table below. For past release notes, go to the README.md or CHANGELOG.md file on the GitHub repository page for a specific module (see the How to Find DSC Resource Modules on GitHub section below for details on finding the GitHub page for a specific module).

Module Name	Version	Release Notes
ActiveDirectoryCSDsc	3.3.0.0	Remove reference to StorageDsc in README.md – fixes Issue 76. Combined all ActiveDirectoryCSDsc.ResourceHelper module functions into ActiveDirectoryCSDsc.Common module and renamed to ActiveDirectoryCSDsc.CommonHelper module. Opted into Common Tests “Common Tests – Validate Localization” – fixes Issue 82.
CertificateDsc	4.6.0.0	CertReq: Added Compare-CertificateIssuer function to checks if the Certificate Issuer matches the CA Root Name. Changed Compare-CertificateSubject function to return false if ReferenceSubject is null. Fixed exception when Certificate with empty Subject exists in Certificate Store – fixes Issue 190. Fixed bug matching existing certificate when Subject Alternate Name is specified and machine language is not en-US – fixes Issue 193. Fixed bug matching existing certificate when Template Name is specified and machine language is not en-US – fixes Issue 193. Changed Import-CertificateEx function to use X509Certificate2Collection instead of X509Certificate2 to support importing certificate chains
ComputerManagementDsc	6.4.0.0	ScheduledTask: IdleWaitTimeout returned from Get-TargetResource always null – Fixes Issue 186. Added BuiltInAccount Property to allow running task as one of the build in service accounts – Fixes Issue 130. Refactored module folder structure to move resource to root folder of repository and remove test harness – fixes Issue 188. Added a CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md with the same content as in the README.md and linked to it from README.MD instead. Updated test header for all unit tests to version 1.2.4. Updated test header for all imtegration to version 1.3.3. Enabled example publish to PowerShell Gallery by adding gallery_api environment variable to AppVeyor.yml.
NetworkingDsc	7.2.0.0	NetAdapterAdvancedProperty: Added support for RegistryKeyword MaxRxRing1Length and NumRxBuffersSmall – fixes Issue 387. Firewall: Prevent “Parameter set cannot be resolved using the specified named parameters” error when updating rule when group name is specified – fixes Issue 130 and Issue 191. Opted into Common Tests “Common Tests – Validate Localization” – fixes Issue 393. Combined all NetworkingDsc.ResourceHelper module functions into NetworkingDsc.Common module – fixes Issue 394. Renamed all localization strings so that they are detected by “Common Tests – Validate Localization”. Fixed issues with mismatched localization strings. Updated all common functions with the latest versions from DSCResource.Template. Fixed an issue with the helper function Test-IsNanoServer that prevented it to work. Though the helper function is not used, so this issue was not caught until now when unit tests was added. Corrected style violations in NetworkingDsc.Common.
OfficeOnlineServerDsc	1.4.0.0	OfficeOnlineServerInstall Updated resource to make sure the Windows Environment variables are loaded into the PowerShell session; OfficeOnlineServerMachine Updated resource to make sure the Windows Environment variables are loaded into the PowerShell session; Created LICENSE file to match the Microsoft Open Source Team standard. Fixes Issue 35
PSDscResources	2.11.0.0	Fix Custom DSC Resource Kit PSSA Rule Failures
SharePointDsc	3.4.0.0	SPDistributedCacheClientSettings Added 15 new SharePoint 2016 parameters. SPFarm Implemented Null check in Get method to prevent errors Add support to provision Central Administration on HTTPS SPInfoPathFormsServiceConfig Added the AllowEventPropagation parameter. SPInstall Improved logging ouput Updated blocked setup file check to prevent errors when BinaryDir is a CD-ROM drive or mounted ISO SPInstallLanguagePack Improved logging ouput Updated blocked setup file check to prevent errors when BinaryDir is a CD-ROM drive or mounted ISO SPInstallPrereqs Improved logging ouput Added the updated check to unblock setup file if it is blocked because it is coming from a network location. This to prevent endless wait. Added ability to install from a UNC path, by adding server to IE Local Intranet Zone. This will prevent an endless wait caused by security warning. Fixed an issue that would prevent the resource failing a test when the prerequisites have been installed successfully on Windows Server 2019 SPManagedMetadataServiceApp Fixed issue where Get-TargetResource method throws an error when the service app proxy does not exist and no proxy name is specified. SPProductUpdate Improved logging ouput Updated blocked setup file check to prevent errors when SetupFile is a CD-ROM drive or mounted ISO SPSearchContent Source Removed check that prevents configuring an incremental schedule when using continuous crawl. SPSitePropertyBag Fixed issue where properties were set on the wrong level. SPSubscriptionSettingsServiceApp Fixed issue where the service app proxy isn’t created when it wasn’t created during initial deployment. SPTrustedRootAuthority Added possibility to get certificate from file.
SqlServerDsc	12.5.0.0	Changes to SqlServerSecureConnection Updated README and added example for SqlServerSecureConnection, instructing users to use the “SYSTEM” service account instead of “LocalSystem”. Changes to SqlScript Correctly passes the $VerbosePreference to the helper function Invoke-SqlScript so that PRINT statements is outputted correctly when verbose output is requested, e.g Start-DscConfiguration -Verbose. Added en-US localization (issue 624). Added additional unit tests for code coverage. Changes to SqlScriptQuery Correctly passes the $VerbosePreference to the helper function Invoke-SqlScript so that PRINT statements is outputted correctly when verbose output is requested, e.g Start-DscConfiguration -Verbose. Added en-US localization. Added additional unit tests for code coverage. Changes to SqlSetup Concatenated Robocopy localization strings (issue 694). Made the error message more descriptive when the Set-TargetResource function calls the Test-TargetResource function to verify the desired state. Changes to SqlWaitForAG Added en-US localization (issue 625). Changes to SqlServerPermission Added en-US localization (issue 619). Changes to SqlServerMemory Added en-US localization (issue 617). No longer will the resource set the MinMemory value if it was provided in a configuration that also set the Ensure parameter to “Absent” (issue 1329). Refactored unit tests to simplify them add add slightly more code coverage. Changes to SqlServerMaxDop Added en-US localization (issue 616). Changes to SqlRS Reporting Services are restarted after changing settings, unless $SuppressRestart parameter is set (issue 1331). $SuppressRestart will also prevent Reporting Services restart after initialization. Fixed one of the error handling to use localization, and made the error message more descriptive when the Set-TargetResource function calls the Test-TargetResource function to verify the desired state. This was done prior to adding full en-US localization. Fixed (issue 1258). When initializing Reporting Services, there is no need to execute InitializeReportServer CIM method, since executing SetDatabaseConnection CIM method initializes Reporting Services. issue 864 SqlRs can now initialise SSRS 2017 instances Changes to SqlServerLogin Added en-US localization (issue 615). Added unit tests to improved code coverage. Changes to SqlWindowsFirewall Added en-US localization (issue 614). Changes to SqlServerEndpoint Added en-US localization (issue 611). Changes to SqlServerEndpointPermission Added en-US localization (issue 612). Changes to SqlServerEndpointState Added en-US localization (issue 613). Changes to SqlDatabaseRole Added en-US localization (issue 610). Changes to SqlDatabaseRecoveryModel Added en-US localization (issue 609). Changes to SqlDatabasePermission Added en-US localization (issue 608). Changes to SqlDatabaseOwner Added en-US localization (issue 607). Changes to SqlDatabase Added en-US localization (issue 606). Changes to SqlAGListener Added en-US localization (issue 604). Changes to SqlAlwaysOnService Added en-US localization (issue 603). Changes to SqlAlias Added en-US localization (issue 602). Removed ShouldProcess for the code, since it has no purpose in a DSC resource (issue 242). Changes to SqlServerReplication Added en-US localization (issue 620). Refactored Get-TargetResource slightly so it provide better verbose messages.
StorageDsc	4.7.0.0	DiskAccessPath: Added a Get-Partition to properly handle setting the NoDefaultDriveLetter parameter – fixes Issue 198.
xActiveDirectory	2.26.0.0	Changes to xActiveDirectory Added localization module -DscResource.LocalizationHelper* containing the helper functions Get-LocalizedData, New-InvalidArgumentException, New-InvalidOperationException, New-ObjectNotFoundException, and New-InvalidResultException (issue 257). For more information around these helper functions and localization in resources, see Localization section in the Style Guideline. Added common module DscResource.Common containing the helper function Test-DscParameterState. The goal is that all resource common functions are moved to this module (functions that are or can be used by more than one resource) (issue 257). Added xADManagedServiceAccount resource to manage Managed Service Accounts (MSAs). Andrew Wickham (@awickham10) and @kungfu71186 Removing the Misc Folder, as it is no longer required. Added xADKDSKey resource to create KDS Root Keys for gMSAs. @kungfu71186 Combined DscResource.LocalizationHelper and DscResource.Common Modules into xActiveDirectory.Common Changes to xADReplicationSiteLink Make use of the new localization helper functions. Changes to xAdDomainController Added new parameter to disable or enable the Global Catalog (GC) (issue 75). Eric Foskett @Merto410 Fixed a bug with the parameter InstallationMediaPath that it would not be added if it was specified in a configuration. Now the parameter InstallationMediaPath is correctly passed to Install-ADDSDomainController. Refactored the resource with major code cleanup and localization. Updated unit tests to latest unit test template and refactored the tests for the function “Set-TargetResource”. Improved test code coverage. Changes to xADComputer Restoring a computer account from the recycle bin no longer fails if there is more than one object with the same name in the recycle bin. Now it uses the object that was changed last using the property whenChanged (issue 271). Changes to xADGroup Restoring a group from the recycle bin no longer fails if there is more than one object with the same name in the recycle bin. Now it uses the object that was changed last using the property whenChanged (issue 271). Changes to xADOrganizationalUnit Restoring an organizational unit from the recycle bin no longer fails if there is more than one object with the same name in the recycle bin. Now it uses the object that was changed last using the property whenChanged (issue 271). Changes to xADUser Restoring a user from the recycle bin no longer fails if there is more than one object with the same name in the recycle bin. Now it uses the object that was changed last using the property whenChanged (issue 271).
xDnsServer	1.12.0.0	Update appveyor.yml to use the default template. Added default template files .codecov.yml, .gitattributes, and .gitignore, and .vscode folder. Added UseRootHint property to xDnsServerForwarder resource.
xFirefox	1.3.0.0	Update appveyor.yml to use the default template. Added default template files .codecov.yml, .gitattributes, and .gitignore, and .vscode folder. The module manifest now contains the correct PowerShell version. Added xFirefoxPreference Resource to automate Firefox Preference Configuration
xPSDesiredStateConfiguration	8.7.0.0	MSFT_xWindowsProcess: Fixes issue where a process will fail to be created if a $Path is passed that contains one or more spaces, and the resource is using $Credentials. Fixes issue where a process will fail to be created if $Arguments are passed that contain one or more spaces (with or without credentials). Fixes issue where Integration tests fail if empty Arguments are passed. issue 605 Heavily refactors MSFT_xWindowsProcess.Integration.Tests.ps1 and adds more Path and Arguments related test cases. Removes reliance on test file WindowsProcessTestProcess. Fixes test failures in xWindowsOptionalFeatureSet.Integration.Tests.ps1 due to accessing the windowsOptionalFeatureName variable before it is assigned. issue 612 MSFT_xDSCWebService Fixes issue 536 and starts the deprecation process for configuring a windows firewall (exception) rule using xDSCWebService Fixes issue 463 and fixes some bugs introduced with the new firewall rule handling
xWebAdministration	2.6.0.0	Changed order of classes in schema.mof files to workaround 423 Fix subject comparison multiple entries for helper function Find-Certificate that could not find the test helper function Install-NewSelfSignedCertificateExScript. Updated unit test for helper function Find-Certificate to check for multiple subject names in different orders.

How to Find Released DSC Resource Modules


To see a list of all released DSC Resource Kit modules, go to the PowerShell Gallery and display all modules tagged as DSCResourceKit. You can also enter a module’s name in the search box in the upper right corner of the PowerShell Gallery to find a specific module.

Of course, you can also always use PowerShellGet (available starting in WMF 5.0) to find modules with DSC Resources:


#To list all modules that tagged as DSCResourceKit
Find-Module -Tag DSCResourceKit
#To list all DSC resources from all sources
Find-DscResource

Please note only those modules released by the PowerShell Team are currently considered part of the ‘DSC Resource Kit’ regardless of the presence of the ‘DSC Resource Kit’ tag in the PowerShell Gallery.

To find a specific module, go directly to its URL on the PowerShell Gallery:
PowerShell Gallery | Packages:< module name >
For example:
xWebAdministration 2.6.0.0

How to Install DSC Resource Modules From the PowerShell Gallery


We recommend that you use PowerShellGet to install DSC resource modules:


Install-Module -Name < module name >

For example:


Install-Module -Name xWebAdministration

To update all previously installed modules at once, open an elevated PowerShell prompt and use this command:


Update-Module

After installing modules, you can discover all DSC resources available to your local system with this command:


Get-DscResource
How to Find DSC Resource Modules on GitHub


All resource modules in the DSC Resource Kit are available open-source on GitHub.
You can see the most recent state of a resource module by visiting its GitHub page at:
PowerShell Team< module name >
For example, for the CertificateDsc module, go to:
PowerShell/CertificateDsc.

All DSC modules are also listed as submodules of the DscResources repository in the DscResources folder and the xDscResources folder.

How to Contribute


You are more than welcome to contribute to the development of the DSC Resource Kit! There are several different ways you can help. You can create new DSC resources or modules, add test automation, improve documentation, fix existing issues, or open new ones.
See our contributing guide for more info on how to become a DSC Resource Kit contributor.

If you would like to help, please take a look at the list of open issues for the DscResources repository.
You can also check issues for specific resource modules by going to:
PowerShell Team< module name >/issues
For example:
PowerShell/xPSDesiredStateConfiguration

Your help in developing the DSC Resource Kit is invaluable to us!

Questions, comments?


If you’re looking into using PowerShell DSC, have questions or issues with a current resource, or would like a new resource, let us know in the comments below, on Twitter (@PowerShell_Team), or by creating an issue on GitHub.

Katie Kragenbrink
Software Engineer
PowerShell DSC Team
@katiedsc (Twitter)
@kwirkykat (GitHub)


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