Win32_NetworkProtocol

The Win32_NetworkProtocol WMI class represents a protocol and its network characteristics on a Win32 computer system.

The Win32_NetworkProtocol WMI class represents a protocol and its network characteristics on a Win32 computer system.

Methods

Win32_NetworkProtocol has no methods.

Properties

Win32_NetworkProtocol returns 23 properties:

'Caption','ConnectionlessService','Description','GuaranteesDelivery',
'GuaranteesSequencing','InstallDate','MaximumAddressSize','MaximumMessageSize','MessageOriented',
'MinimumAddressSize','Name','PseudoStreamOriented','Status','SupportsBroadcasting','SupportsConnectData',
'SupportsDisconnectData','SupportsEncryption','SupportsExpeditedData','SupportsFragmentation',
'SupportsGracefulClosing','SupportsGuaranteedBandwidth','SupportsMulticasting','SupportsQualityofService'

Unless explicitly marked as writeable, all properties are read-only. Read all properties for all instances:

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol -Property *

Most WMI classes return one or more instances.

When Get-CimInstance returns no result, then apparently no instances of class Win32_NetworkProtocol 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).

Caption

STRING MAX 64 CHAR

A short textual description of the object.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name, Caption

ConnectionlessService

BOOLEAN

Protocol supports connectionless service. A connectionless (datagram) service describes a communications protocol or transport in which data packets are routed independently of each other and may follow different routes and arrive in a different order from that in which they were sent. Conversely, a connection-oriented service provides a virtual circuit through which data packets are received in the same order they were transmitted. If the connection between computers fails, the application is notified.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name, ConnectionlessService

Description

STRING

A textual description of the object.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name, Description

GuaranteesDelivery

BOOLEAN

Protocol supports delivery of data packets. If this flag is FALSE, it is uncertain that all of the data sent will reach the intended destination.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name, GuaranteesDelivery

GuaranteesSequencing

BOOLEAN

Protocol ensures that data will arrive in the order in which it was sent. Be aware that this characteristic does not ensure delivery of the data, only its order.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name, GuaranteesSequencing

InstallDate

DATETIME

Indicates when the object was installed. Lack of a value does not indicate that the object is not installed.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name, InstallDate

MaximumAddressSize

UINT32 “CHARACTERS”

Maximum length of a socket address supported by the protocol. Socket addresses may be items such as a URL (www.microsoft.com) or an IP address (130.215.24.1).

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name, MaximumAddressSize

MaximumMessageSize

UINT32 “CHARACTERS”

Maximum message size supported by the protocol. This is the maximum size of a message that can be sent from or received by the host. For protocols that do not support message framing, the actual maximum size of a message that can be sent to a given address may be less than this value.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name, MaximumMessageSize

MessageOriented

BOOLEAN

Protocol is message-oriented. A message-oriented protocol uses packets of data to transfer information. Conversely, stream-oriented protocols transfer data as a continuous stream of bytes.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name, MessageOriented

MinimumAddressSize

UINT32 “CHARACTERS”

Minimum length of a socket address supported by the protocol.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name, MinimumAddressSize

Name

KEY PROPERTY STRING

Name for the protocol.

Example: “TCP/IP”

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name

PseudoStreamOriented

BOOLEAN

Protocol is a message-oriented protocol that can receive variable-length data packets or streamed data for all receive operations. This optional ability is useful when an application does not want the protocol to frame messages, and requires stream-oriented characteristics. If TRUE, the protocol is pseudo stream-oriented.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name, PseudoStreamOriented

Status

STRING MAX 10 CHAR

Current status of an object. Various operational and nonoperational statuses can be defined. Available values:

$values = 'Degraded','Error','Lost Comm','No Contact','NonRecover','OK','Pred Fail','Service','Starting','Stopping','Stressed','Unknown'
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name, Status

SupportsBroadcasting

BOOLEAN

Protocol supports a mechanism for broadcasting messages across the network.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name, SupportsBroadcasting

SupportsConnectData

BOOLEAN

Protocol allows data to be connected across the network.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name, SupportsConnectData

SupportsDisconnectData

BOOLEAN

Protocol allows data to be disconnected across the network.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name, SupportsDisconnectData

SupportsEncryption

BOOLEAN

Protocol supports data encryption.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name, SupportsEncryption

SupportsExpeditedData

BOOLEAN

Protocol supports expedited data (also known as urgent data) across the network. Expedited data can bypass flow control and receive priority over normal data packets.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name, SupportsExpeditedData

SupportsFragmentation

BOOLEAN

Protocol supports transmitting the data in fragments. Physical network maximum transfer unit (MTU) is hidden from applications. Each media type has a maximum frame size that cannot be exceeded. The link layer discovers the MTU and reports it to the protocols used.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name, SupportsFragmentation

SupportsGracefulClosing

BOOLEAN

Protocol supports two-phase close operations, also known as “graceful close operations”. If not, the protocol supports only abortive close operations.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name, SupportsGracefulClosing

SupportsGuaranteedBandwidth

BOOLEAN

Protocol has a mechanism to establish and maintain a bandwidth.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name, SupportsGuaranteedBandwidth

SupportsMulticasting

BOOLEAN

Protocol supports multicasting.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name, SupportsMulticasting

SupportsQualityofService

BOOLEAN

Protocol is capable of Quality of Service (QoS) support by the underlying layered service provider or transport carrier. QoS is a collection of components that enable differentiation and preferential treatment for subsets of data transmitted over the network. QoS means subsets of data get higher priority or guaranteed service when traversing a network.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | Select-Object -Property Name, SupportsQualityofService

Examples

List all instances of Win32_NetworkProtocol
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol

Learn more about Get-CimInstance and the deprecated Get-WmiObject.

View all properties
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol -Property *
View key properties only
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol -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 = 'Caption',
              'ConnectionlessService',
              'Description',
              'GuaranteesDelivery',
              'GuaranteesSequencing',
              'InstallDate',
              'MaximumAddressSize',
              'MaximumMessageSize',
              'MessageOriented',
              'MinimumAddressSize',
              'Name',
              'PseudoStreamOriented',
              'Status',
              'SupportsBroadcasting',
              'SupportsConnectData',
              'SupportsDisconnectData',
              'SupportsEncryption',
              'SupportsExpeditedData',
              'SupportsFragmentation',
              'SupportsGracefulClosing',
              'SupportsGuaranteedBandwidth',
              'SupportsMulticasting',
              'SupportsQualityofService'
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_NetworkProtocol | 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_NetworkProtocol -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_NetworkProtocol -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 MaximumAddressSize, Name, GuaranteesSequencing, MinimumAddressSize FROM Win32_NetworkProtocol 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 MaximumAddressSize, Name, GuaranteesSequencing, MinimumAddressSize FROM Win32_NetworkProtocol WHERE Caption LIKE 'a%'" | Select-Object -Property MaximumAddressSize, Name, GuaranteesSequencing, MinimumAddressSize

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_NetworkProtocol -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_NetworkProtocol -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_NetworkProtocol, 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_NetworkProtocol was introduced on clients with Windows Vista and on servers with Windows Server 2008.

Namespace

Win32_NetworkProtocol 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_NetworkProtocol is implemented in CIMWin32.dll and defined in CIMWin32.mof. Both files are located in the folder C:\Windows\system32\wbem:

explorer $env:windir\system32\wbem
notepad $env:windir\system32\wbem\CIMWin32.mof