Managing remote systems can often feel like navigating a maze. Interactive sessions may be the answer if you get stuck trying to troubleshoot a server issue. With the right approach, you can connect to remote machines effortlessly, interact with them in real time, and even maintain connections for longer-term work.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to unlock the full potential of PowerShell sessions to move from frustration to mastery.
Streamline your remote management game and make those tedious tasks a breeze!
Opening an Interactive Session
Sometimes, you may need to troubleshoot or interact with a remote computer in real-time. For instance, to diagnose a configuration issue or verify services. Remote management tools often allow connections, but switching between systems can be cumbersome.
Interactive sessions in PowerShell provide a solution by letting you seamlessly connect to a remote machine and run commands as if working in a local console.
Before starting an interactive session, ensure the remote system has Windows Remote Management (WinRM) enabled and properly configured. Use the following command to enable WinRM on the remote system: Enable-PSRemoting -Force
To begin an interactive session, use the Enter-PSSession command:
Enter-PSSession -ComputerName SRV2
Notice the prompt now includes the remote computer’s name, indicating an active connection.
Confirm the session is running on the remote machine:
hostname
After completing your tasks, you can exit the session:
exit
When using Enter-PSSession, the session ends once you exit it.
Verify the session with the following:
Get-PSSession
No sessions should be listed, as they no longer exist.
Creating and Managing Persistent Sessions
While interactive sessions are helpful for real-time tasks, they disappear once closed, which limits flexibility for ongoing work. Imagine needing to automate some commands, temporarily disconnect, and then reconnect to continue from where you left off.
Worry not. Persistent sessions fill this gap by maintaining a connection between your local machine and the remote computer, even when you exit the console or reboot.
To combine non-interactive and interactive use cases, create a persistent session:
$session = New-PSSession -ComputerName SRV2
Once created, interact with the new session using the Session parameter:
Enter-PSSession -Session $session
Exit the session and check again for open sessions:
exit Get-PSSession
The New-PSSession command keeps the session available it created.
You can also use the session non-interactively:
Invoke-Command -Session $session -ScriptBlock {'Yay! I am in the remote computer!'}
Disconnecting and Reconnecting Sessions
Ongoing work requires you to disconnect temporarily from a session without terminating it entirely at some point. One example is when you need to restart your local console, disconnecting preserves the session state, allowing you to reconnect later.
PowerShell allows you to disconnect from a remote session while keeping it active and reconnect later.
To disconnect from the session:
Disconnect-PSSession -Session $session
The session now appears Disconnected.
You can reconnect to the session even after restarting the PowerShell console:
Connect-PSSession -ComputerName SRV2
This process allows the resumption of tasks in the same session.
Finally, clean up and remove all sessions:
Get-PSSession | Remove-PSSession
💡 Tip: Persistent sessions can be powerful, but leaving them running can consume system resources on the local or remote machine. Always clean up sessions when no longer needed to maintain optimal performance.
Conclusion
Interactive and persistent PowerShell sessions offer powerful tools for remote system management, providing flexibility and efficiency.
Whether you’re troubleshooting in real-time, automating commands, or preserving work across restarts, these techniques enable seamless control over remote systems.
Master session management and equip yourself with skills to handle various administrative tasks efficiently!
