Thursday, June 18, 2015

Announcing the release of my SQL Server DSC Resource Module mlSqlPs on PowerShellGallery and Github

I've been automating the installation of SQL Server components for 10+ years now so it's no surprise I am a fan of PowerShell and Desired State Configuration (DSC). Given my background in large, high volume, and diverse environments, the main objective I always think about is how the process can be easily replicated time and time again but also easily adapted to fit the needs of diverse configurations.

Unfortunately to date I have found the xSqlPs DSC module falls just short of these needs, but that was also the intent of the DSC Resource Kit Waves so that it would provide the "starting blocks" for organizations to customize and extend the resources. I had already started talking with the team about how to improve the SQL resources, but now that the DSC Resource Kit modules has been made open source on github this opens the door for the community to contribute into the standard set of resources. All changes I mention below are pending pull requests back into the main branch of the xSqlPs resource on Github.

The PowerShell Team is also working on their nuget gallery at PowerShellGallery.com, which is going to greatly assist with the new PowerShellGet feature in PowerShell 5.0. The gallery is still in preview however I am starting to contribute to it and this module will be available there (link below).



To provide these features to everyone straight away I have also launched my own version of the SQL DSC module called mlSqlPs. This will allow me to get changes out quickly, while also working to merge the best of my work back into the main branch.

Version 1.0.0.0 of mlSqlPs DSC Module provides the following resources and enhancements.
  • xSqlServerInstall - Enhanced
    Installs SQL Enterprise on target machine.
    This resource has been enhanced to provide capabilities for aligning to SQL best practices (e.g. Data, Log, TempDb paths)
  • xSqlHAService
    Enables SQL high availability (HA) service on a given SQL instance.
  • xSqlHAEndpoint
    Configures the given instance of SQL high availability service to listen port 5022 with given name, and assigns users that are allowed to communicate through the SQL endpoint.
  • xSqlHAGroupconfigures
    An SQL HA group. If the HA group does not exist it will create one with the given name on given SQL instance and add the HA group database(s) to local SQL instance.
  • xWaitForSqlHAGroup
    Waits for an SQL HA group to be ready by checking the state of the HA group of a given name in a given interval till either the HA group is discoverable or the number of retries reached its maximum.
  • xSqlAlias - New
    Configures Client Aliases in both native and wow6432node paths. Supports both tcp and named pipe protocols.
The module contains a help file in both HTML and MD format, as well as some Sample files.



You can get the module at the following locations:

PowerShell Gallery
https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages/mlSqlPs/

GitHub - Want to contribute let me know
https://github.com/matticusau/mlSqlPs


Are you running Windows PowerShell 5.0? You can also get the module with the new Install-Module cmdlet.
#Search for the module on the default gallery
Find-Module -Name mlSqlPs -Repository PSGallery;

#Install the module from the gallery
Install-Module -Name mlSqlPs -Repository PSGallery;



#Get the list of resources
Get-DscResource -Module mlSqlPs;



And there you go, create your configuration, push or pull the mof to the node and watch the magic.


Keep checking the GitHub repository and PowerShell Gallery for updates on this module.


Legal Stuff: As always the contents of this blog is provided “as-is”. The information, opinions and views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily state or reflect those of any other company with affiliation to the products discussed. This includes any URLs or Tools. The author does not accept any responsibility from the use of the information or tools mentioned within this blog, and recommends adequate evaluation against your own requirements to measure suitability.

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