Using psExec to Open a Remote Command Window
System Center Essentials provides several ways to remotely manage computers, including:
- Computer Management MMC
- Remote Desktop
- Remote Assistance
- Tasks to show current information, such as process usage
Sometimes though what is wanted is just a remote command window without the overhead of opening a full remote desktop session.
The PsExec tool which is one of the SysInternals tools provides a way to open a remote command window without needing to install anything on the remote computer.
You can find out more about PsExec from:
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897553.aspx
With psExec installed you can open a remote command prompt by calling it as follows:
psExec \\computer cmd
If you have psExec installed on your computer with the Essentials console you can create a task in Essentials to open a remote command window from within Essentials.
To create this task:
- Go to the Authoring workspace
- In the navigation pane on the left hand side, expand Management Pack Objects and select Tasks
- From the Tasks pane, select Create a New Task
- Select Command Line from the Console Tasks folder and click Next
- In the Task Name field, type "Remote Command Window"
- In the Description type "Use the SysInternals PsExec tool to open a remote command window for the selected computer. PsExec must be installed on the computer with the Essentials console."
- In the Task Target, click Select and then choose Windows Computer and click OK
- Click Next
- In the Application field, type the full path the psexec.exe on the Essentials console (e.g. C:\pstools\psexec.exe). If you have the console on multiple computers you will need psExec installed in the same location on each of them.
- Enter \\ then Click the arrow at the end of the Parameters field and select Net BIOS Computer Name, then add a space and enter cmd
- Uncheck the Display output when this task is run box
- Click Create
In the Computers workspace, with a computer selected there is now a "Remote Command Window" task that is available. Selecting this task will open a remote command window for the selected computer.