The Win32_DFSNodeTarget association WMI class relates a Distributed file system (DFS) node to one of its targets.
Methods
Win32_DFSNodeTarget has no methods.
Properties
Win32_DFSNodeTarget returns 2 properties:
'Antecedent','Dependent'
Unless explicitly marked as writeable, all properties are read-only. Read all properties for all instances:
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_DFSNodeTarget -Property *
Most WMI classes return one or more instances.
When
Get-CimInstance
returns no result, then apparently no instances of class Win32_DFSNodeTarget exist. This is normal behavior.Either the class is not implemented on your system (may be deprecated or due to missing drivers, i.e. CIM_VideoControllerResolution), or there are simply no physical representations of this class currently available (i.e. Win32_TapeDrive).
Antecedent
Reference to the instance representing a target for a DFS node. Each node has one or more targets. This property overrides the Antecedent property inherited from CIM_Dependency.
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_DFSNodeTarget | Select-Object -Property Antecedent, Dependent
Dependent
Reference to an instance representing a DFS node. This property overrides the Dependent property inherited from CIM_Dependency.
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_DFSNodeTarget | Select-Object -Property Antecedent, Dependent
Examples
List all instances of Win32_DFSNodeTarget
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_DFSNodeTarget
Learn more about Get-CimInstance
and the deprecated Get-WmiObject
.
View all properties
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_DFSNodeTarget -Property *
View key properties only
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_DFSNodeTarget -KeyOnly
Selecting Properties
To select only some properties, pipe the results to Select-Object -Property a,b,c
with a comma-separated list of the properties you require. Wildcards are permitted.
Get-CimInstance
always returns all properties but only retrieves the ones that you specify. All other properties are empty but still present. That’s why you need to pipe the results into Select-Object
if you want to limit the visible properties, i.e. for reporting.
Selecting Properties
The code below lists all available properties. Remove the ones you do not need:
$properties = 'Antecedent',
'Dependent'
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_DFSNodeTarget | Select-Object -Property $properties
Limiting Network Bandwidth
If you work remotely, it makes sense to limit network bandwidth by filtering the properties on the server side, too:
Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_DFSNodeTarget -Property $property |
Select-Object -Property $property
Selecting Instances
To select some instances, use Get-CimInstance and a WMI Query. The wildcard character in WMI Queries is % (and not “*”).
The parameter -Filter runs a simple query.
Listing all instances where the property Caption starts with “A”
Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_DFSNodeTarget -Filter 'Caption LIKE "a%"'
Using a WQL Query
The parameter -Query uses a query similar to SQL and combines the parameters -Filter and -Property. This returns all instances where the property Caption starts with “A”, and returns the properties specified:
Get-CimInstance -Query "SELECT Antecedent, Dependent FROM Win32_DFSNodeTarget WHERE Caption LIKE 'a%'"
Any property you did not specify is still present but empty. You might need to use
Select-Object
to remove all unwanted properties:Get-CimInstance -Query "SELECT Antecedent, Dependent FROM Win32_DFSNodeTarget WHERE Caption LIKE 'a%'" | Select-Object -Property Antecedent, Dependent
Accessing Remote Computers
To access remote systems, you need to have proper permissions. User the parameter -ComputerName to access one or more remote systems.
Authenticating as Current User
# one or more computer names or IP addresses:
$list = 'server1', 'server2'
# authenticate with your current identity:
$result = Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_DFSNodeTarget -ComputerName $list
$result
Authenticating as Different User
Use a CIMSession object to authenticate with a new identity:
# one or more computer names or IP addresses:
$list = 'server1', 'server2'
# authenticate with a different identity:
$cred = Get-Credential -Message 'Authenticate to retrieve WMI information:'
$session = New-CimSession -ComputerName $list -Credential $cred
$result = Get-CimInstance Win32_DFSNodeTarget -CimSession $session
# remove the session after use (if you do not plan to re-use it later)
Remove-CimSession -CimSession $session
$result
Learn more about accessing remote computers.
Requirements
To use Win32_DFSNodeTarget, the following requirements apply:
PowerShell
Get-CimInstance
was introduced with PowerShell Version 3.0, which in turn was introduced on clients with Windows 8 and on servers with Windows Server 2012.
If necessary, update Windows PowerShell to Windows PowerShell 5.1, or install PowerShell 7 side-by-side.
Operating System
Win32_DFSNodeTarget was introduced on clients with Windows Vista and on servers with Windows Server 2008.
Namespace
Win32_DFSNodeTarget lives in the Namespace Root/CIMV2. This is the default namespace. There is no need to use the -Namespace parameter in Get-CimInstance
.
Implementation
Win32_DFSNodeTarget is implemented in Wmipdfs.dll and defined in Wmipdfs.mof. Both files are located in the folder C:\Windows\system32\wbem
:
explorer $env:windir\system32\wbem
notepad $env:windir\system32\wbem\Wmipdfs.mof