The Win32_ServerSession WMI class represents the sessions that have been established with the local computer by users on a remote computer.
Methods
Win32_ServerSession has no methods.
Properties
Win32_ServerSession returns 13 properties:
'ActiveTime','Caption','ClientType','ComputerName','Description','IdleTime',
'InstallDate','Name','ResourcesOpened','SessionType','Status','TransportName','UserName'
Unless explicitly marked as writeable, all properties are read-only. Read all properties for all instances:
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ServerSession -Property *
Most WMI classes return one or more instances.
When
Get-CimInstance
returns no result, then apparently no instances of class Win32_ServerSession 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).
ActiveTime
Number of seconds since this session was established.
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ServerSession | Select-Object -Property ComputerName, UserName, ActiveTime
Caption
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ServerSession | Select-Object -Property ComputerName, UserName, Caption
ClientType
Type of the connected client.
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ServerSession | Select-Object -Property ComputerName, UserName, ClientType
ComputerName
Name of the computer from which the session is established.
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ServerSession | Select-Object -Property ComputerName, UserName
Description
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ServerSession | Select-Object -Property ComputerName, UserName, Description
IdleTime
Number of seconds that the session has been idle.
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ServerSession | Select-Object -Property ComputerName, UserName, IdleTime
InstallDate
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ServerSession | Select-Object -Property ComputerName, UserName, InstallDate
Name
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ServerSession | Select-Object -Property ComputerName, UserName, Name
ResourcesOpened
Number of files, devices, and pipes opened during this session.
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ServerSession | Select-Object -Property ComputerName, UserName, ResourcesOpened
SessionType
Method of opening the session.
Possible values:
SessionType returns a numeric value. To translate it into a meaningful text, use any of the following approaches:
Use a PowerShell Hashtable
$SessionType_map = @{
0 = 'Guest'
1 = 'NoEncryption'
2 = 'Other'
}
Use a switch statement
switch([int]$value)
{
0 {'Guest'}
1 {'NoEncryption'}
2 {'Other'}
default {"$value"}
}
Use Enum structure
Enum EnumSessionType
{
Guest = 0
NoEncryption = 1
Other = 2
}
Examples
Use $SessionType_map in a calculated property for Select-Object
<#
this example uses a hashtable to translate raw numeric values for
property "SessionType" to friendly text
Note: to use other properties than "SessionType", look up the appropriate
translation hashtable for the property you would like to use instead.
#>
#region define hashtable to translate raw values to friendly text
# Please note: this hashtable is specific for property "SessionType"
# to translate other properties, use their translation table instead
$SessionType_map = @{
0 = 'Guest'
1 = 'NoEncryption'
2 = 'Other'
}
#endregion define hashtable
#region define calculated property (to be used with Select-Object)
<#
a calculated property is defined by a hashtable with keys "Name" and "Expression"
"Name" defines the name of the property (in this example, it is "SessionType", but you can rename it to anything else)
"Expression" defines a scriptblock that calculates the content of this property
in this example, the scriptblock uses the hashtable defined earlier to translate each numeric
value to its friendly text counterpart:
#>
$SessionType = @{
Name = 'SessionType'
Expression = {
# property is an array, so process all values
$value = $_.SessionType
$SessionType_map[[int]$value]
}
}
#endregion define calculated property
# retrieve the instances, and output the properties "Caption" and "SessionType". The latter
# is defined by the hashtable in $SessionType:
Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_ServerSession | Select-Object -Property Caption, $SessionType
# ...or dump content of property SessionType:
$friendlyValues = Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_ServerSession |
Select-Object -Property $SessionType |
Select-Object -ExpandProperty SessionType
# output values
$friendlyValues
# output values as comma separated list
$friendlyValues -join ', '
# output values as bullet list
$friendlyValues | ForEach-Object { "- $_" }
Use $SessionType_map to directly translate raw values from an instance
<#
this example uses a hashtable to manually translate raw numeric values
for property "Win32_ServerSession" to friendly text. This approach is ideal when
there is just one instance to work with.
Note: to use other properties than "Win32_ServerSession", look up the appropriate
translation hashtable for the property you would like to use instead.
#>
#region define hashtable to translate raw values to friendly text
# Please note: this hashtable is specific for property "Win32_ServerSession"
# to translate other properties, use their translation table instead
$SessionType_map = @{
0 = 'Guest'
1 = 'NoEncryption'
2 = 'Other'
}
#endregion define hashtable
# get one instance:
$instance = Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_ServerSession | Select-Object -First 1
<#
IMPORTANT: this example processes only one instance to illustrate
the number-to-text translation. To process all instances, replace
"Select-Object -First 1" with a "Foreach-Object" loop, and use
the iterator variable $_ instead of $instance
#>
# query the property
$rawValue = $instance.SessionType
# translate raw value to friendly text:
$friendlyName = $SessionType_map[[int]$rawValue]
# output value
$friendlyName
Use a switch statement inside a calculated property for Select-Object
<#
this example uses a switch clause to translate raw numeric
values for property "SessionType" to friendly text. The switch
clause is embedded into a calculated property so there is
no need to refer to external variables for translation.
Note: to use other properties than "SessionType", look up the appropriate
translation switch clause for the property you would like to use instead.
#>
#region define calculated property (to be used with Select-Object)
<#
a calculated property is defined by a hashtable with keys "Name" and "Expression"
"Name" defines the name of the property (in this example, it is "SessionType", but you can rename it to anything else)
"Expression" defines a scriptblock that calculates the content of this property
in this example, the scriptblock uses the hashtable defined earlier to translate each numeric
value to its friendly text counterpart:
#>
$SessionType = @{
Name = 'SessionType'
Expression = {
# property is an array, so process all values
$value = $_.SessionType
switch([int]$value)
{
0 {'Guest'}
1 {'NoEncryption'}
2 {'Other'}
default {"$value"}
}
}
}
#endregion define calculated property
# retrieve all instances...
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ServerSession |
# ...and output properties "Caption" and "SessionType". The latter is defined
# by the hashtable in $SessionType:
Select-Object -Property Caption, $SessionType
Use the Enum from above to auto-translate the code values
<#
this example translates raw values by means of type conversion
the friendly names are defined as enumeration using the
keyword "enum" (PowerShell 5 or better)
The raw value(s) are translated to friendly text by
simply converting them into the enum type.
Note: to use other properties than "Win32_ServerSession", look up the appropriate
enum definition for the property you would like to use instead.
#>
#region define enum with value-to-text translation:
Enum EnumSessionType
{
Guest = 0
NoEncryption = 1
Other = 2
}
#endregion define enum
# get one instance:
$instance = Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_ServerSession | Select-Object -First 1
<#
IMPORTANT: this example processes only one instance to focus on
the number-to-text type conversion.
To process all instances, replace "Select-Object -First 1"
with a "Foreach-Object" loop, and use the iterator variable
$_ instead of $instance
#>
# query the property:
$rawValue = $instance.SessionType
#region using strict type conversion
<#
Note: strict type conversion fails if the raw value is
not defined by the enum. So if the list of allowable values
was extended and the enum does not match the value,
an exception is thrown
#>
# convert the property to the enum **SessionType**
[EnumSessionType]$rawValue
# get a comma-separated string:
[EnumSessionType]$rawValue -join ','
#endregion
#region using operator "-as"
<#
Note: the operator "-as" accepts values not defined
by the enum and returns $null instead of throwing
an exception
#>
$rawValue -as [EnumSessionType]
#endregion
Enums must cover all possible values. If SessionType returns a value that is not defined in the enum, an exception occurs. The exception reports the value that was missing in the enum. To fix, add the missing value to the enum.
Status
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_ServerSession | Select-Object -Property ComputerName, UserName, Status
TransportName
Name of the transport that the client is using to communicate with the server.
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ServerSession | Select-Object -Property ComputerName, UserName, TransportName
UserName
Name of the user that established the session.
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ServerSession | Select-Object -Property ComputerName, UserName
Examples
List all instances of Win32_ServerSession
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ServerSession
Learn more about Get-CimInstance
and the deprecated Get-WmiObject
.
View all properties
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ServerSession -Property *
View key properties only
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ServerSession -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 = 'ActiveTime',
'Caption',
'ClientType',
'ComputerName',
'Description',
'IdleTime',
'InstallDate',
'Name',
'ResourcesOpened',
'SessionType',
'Status',
'TransportName',
'UserName'
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ServerSession | 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_ServerSession -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_ServerSession -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 Name, Description, Caption, UserName FROM Win32_ServerSession 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 Name, Description, Caption, UserName FROM Win32_ServerSession WHERE Caption LIKE 'a%'" | Select-Object -Property Name, Description, Caption, UserName
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_ServerSession -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_ServerSession -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_ServerSession, 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_ServerSession was introduced on clients with Windows Vista and on servers with Windows Server 2008.
Namespace
Win32_ServerSession 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_ServerSession is implemented in Wmipsess.dll and defined in Wmipsess.mof. Both files are located in the folder C:\Windows\system32\wbem
:
explorer $env:windir\system32\wbem
notepad $env:windir\system32\wbem\Wmipsess.mof