Tag Archives: psconfasia

A Pretty PowerBi Pester Results Template File

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I have left the heat and humidity of Singapore where I have been presenting at the PowerShell Conference Asia and DevOpsDays Singapore to travel to Seattle for PASS Summit. During my Green is Good – Red is Bad session someone asked me if the PowerBi that I showed at the end would work with any Pester Test Results object and I said (without thinking) that it would.

It turns out that the PowerBi that I had set up for that session will work with my function to run Pester Tests against an Ola Hallengren installation but some of the formatting and custom columns were specific to that test.

I said that I would share a Power Bi file that people could plug any Pester Test Results into. This is the first iteration of that. I doubt that it will work for every single test but I think it will be a good starting point for people to use.

This is how to use it

Download the file from here.

Run your Pester Tests using the PassThru Parameter and set the results to a variable, you can also use the Show Parameter to reduce the output of the tests to the screen (and also speed up the tests)

$PesterResults = Invoke-Pester -Script  C:\temp\PBI-Test01.ps1 -Show Summary -PassThru

Then we convert the $PesterResults object into a JSON file

$PesterResults.TestResult | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 5 | Out-File C:\temp\pbi-test.json

Open the Power Bi file you downloaded

Click Home

then the words “Edit Queries”

then data source settings,

highlight the filename and click change source

then navigate to the JSON file you just created, click ok and close and the apply changes.

Which will load the data from the JSON file and display your pester results. You can then save this file with a new name and keep the template for other tests.

It’s not going to be perfect

It’s not going to work in all circumstances and I expect that with some test results it will display the results in a less than optimal manner but you should be able to modify this to suit your needs.

Please give it a try and see how you get on

Here is a sample report created with Demo 1 from my Green is Good session

You can click around and change the data you can see and also look at the other 4 pages

Here is another one that I created using my dbatools-scripts repo and a config file. Again, have a click around and see what it does.

$Config = (Get-Content GIT:\dbatools-scripts\TestConfig.json) -join "`n" | ConvertFrom-Json
$PesterResults = Invoke-Pester .\dbatools-scripts\ -PassThru
$PesterResults.TestResult | Convertto-Json |Out-File C:\temp\dbatools-scripts-pester.json

 

I also created a quick video showing the process too which I will upload when I am not at 35000 feet!!

Enjoy šŸ™‚ Also, let me know if you think it would be better to have the file in Github which would allow contributions but it would only be seen as a binary file and therefore merging will be difficult. I am happy to do so.

Announcing PSDay.UK – Whats a PSDay?

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On Thursday evening I attended the joint London WinOps and PowerShell User Group. It was an excellent evening with two great sessions by Jaap Brasser and Filip Verloy.

PSDay.UK

There was also an exciting announcement about PSDay.UKĀ  https://psday.uk

PSDay.UK is a one day PowerShell event providing the opportunity for you to spend a whole day learning PowerShell from renowned experts from the UK and international speaking community. It will be held at

Skills Matter | CodeNode, 10 South Place, London, EC2M 7EB, GB

on

Friday 22nd September 2017Ā  .ics

We will be running two tracks

  • PowerShell Zero to Hero
  • DevOps with PowerShell

Register your interest

Please go and visit the website and have a look and register your interest to get further notifications about the event.

Follow the @PSDayUK twitter account and Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/PSDayUK/ and keep yourself informed on this fantastic new event.

Want to Speak at PSDay.UK ?

We already have some fantastic speakers lined up but we would like to invite people to send us submissions for more sessions. If you have a PowerShell talk that will fit into one of the tracks and experience of delivering sessions at events please send us submissions via the website.
If you have questions about speaking feel free to contact me via twitter at @sqldbawithbeard

What is a PSDay ?

The International PowerShell community has three main global events which run over a number of days with top notch international speakers and Microsoft PowerShell team members, delivering in-depth information about the latest PowerShell trends and technologies, and connecting national communities with another.

There are a number of other PowerShell events that have been organised by wonderful volunteers in numerous countries and we feel there is an opportunity to create national events which complement the global events and help PowerShell passionates and professionals to get in touch and learn from another with a similar branding of PSDay.

We foresee PSDays to be smaller one day national events promoting speakers from the host country supported by other international speakers with the aim of increasing the exposure of national PowerShell user groups as well as providing excellent PowerShell training.

There will be a board of PowerShell community folk set up who will approve requests to use the PSDay name and shield logo providing the event is professionally organized and offer help with technical questions, viral marketing, and experience. We hope that this will enable people to set up their own PSDay in their own country and increase the exposure of the PowerShell community as well as PowerShell knowledge whilst sharing resources, knowledge, experience and skills and ensuring a good standard of PowerShell community national events.

Further details of this will be forthcoming and we welcome offers of assistance from people with relevant experience

 

 

2016 – That was a Year :-)

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ItsĀ the time of year for reflection and I have had the most amazing 2016, I am blessed that I love what I do so much. I thoroughly enjoy writing and talking and sharing and commenting and supporting and cherishing all the SQL and PowerShell things. I wrote about using Power Bi to display my checkins. I only started thisĀ in June and this is where I have been šŸ™‚

swarm

IĀ learnt about Pester and ended the year incorporating it into dbatools and dbareports. I also started using GitHubĀ It is quite surprising to me how much time I now spend using both. I also had to start learning DSCĀ for the client I was working with because as ‘the PowerShell guy’ I was the one who could the easiest. I learnt things and then forgot them causing me to find this Pester post via google later in the year!!Ā (That’s a big reason for blogging by the way)

Early in the year we organised with SQL Saturday Exeter

Helping to organise a SQL Saturday is a lot of fun, especially when you do it with good friends, but choosing sessions is by far the most challenging part of it for me. I could have chosen at least 60 of these sessions and I know people were disappointed not to have been chosen. I was also the first person many saw at SQL Bits in Liverpool manning the front of house and getting asked the best question ever

The Beard says

When you go to an event –Ā  Say thank you to the organisers and volunteers

and a TERRIBLE thing happened – I broke my DBA Team mug

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Luckily the fine folk at redgate sorted me out with a replacement from deep in the stores somewhere and gave it to me at SQL Saturday Exeter šŸ™‚ Thank you.

I spoke at the PowerShell Conference Europe and met and made some great friends which lead to me speaking at the PowerShell Monday in Munich and the Dutch PowerShell Usergroup. SQL Saturday Dublin was a blast, its a wonderful city, Manchester had a whole PowerShell Track šŸ™‚ and Cambridge was memorable for the appalling journey as well as the chance to share a stage with Chrissy. PowerShell Conference Asia in the sovereign city-state of Singapore was such a good event and place. Lastly of course was Slovenia with its fantastic Christmas lights and awesome event organisation. I visited some user groups too. Southampton run by my good friends John MartinĀ and Steph Middleton Congratulations to John on his first MVP award yesterday, Cardiff for the Return of the Battle of the Beards with Terry McCann and Tobiasz Koprowski where the projector threw its toys out of the pram and Birmingham in the school hall which was slightly chilly (theres a joke there for some people)

Amazing things happened

We created https://sqlps.io/vote and https://sqlps.io/ssms and https://sqlps.io/powerbi to enable anyone to influence Microsoft and help to improve the PowerShell SQL experience

and lo and behold there was a new sqlserver module šŸ™‚

I was also invited by Aaron and Chrissy to become an officer for the PASS PowerShell Virtual ChapterĀ oh and we madeĀ https://sqlps.io/slackĀ to enable people to talk about all things Data PlatformĀ – Another addition to my life that I didn’t have at the beginning of the year. I spend a lot of time in there in the #dbatools and #dbareports channels and have made some fantastic friends. Chrissy and I created the SQL Community Collaborative GitHub team and added dbatools and dbareports and even more friendships were born

And that’s the biggest and bestest thing about this year. Some amazing new friends and spendingĀ time with all my other friends. I started writing out a list but was terrified I would have missed someone out, so to all my friends

THANK YOU for a brilliant 2016 and 2017 shall be just as good šŸ™‚

Here are a few of my pics from the year with a lot of my friends

Terry waving hishands
John in Dublin
The PowerShell track in Manchester
Having a meal in Manchester
Big John doing indexes with cups in Exeter
Thank you Microsoft
Bearded Buddy Tobiasz
Munich with the scripting wife and Jeff
PowerShell Monday in Munich
Mr Snover joined us in Munich via Skype
Jeff giving out prizes in Munich
Drinks after Munich
Gael met me in London when I had an hour to spare.
Me and the smiliest PowerShell man in the world Irwin
Dutch PowerShell User Group
Dutch PowerShell User Group
Lunch at Dutch PowerShell User Group
Cambridge breakfast room!!
SQL Saturday Cambridge
Two Cajuns and an Englishman
Awesome Chrissy in Cambridge
Chrissy and Deep Fat Fryer in Cambridge
Two great beards its SQL WareWolf
We had a fabulous meal in Cambridge. Me, Chrissy,Lu and Dan
A great place to work
SQL relay Cardiff – there were people sitting on the floor
Not the session you were expecting by Richard and I in Cardiff at SQL Relay
SQL relay Reading
The first Sentry One Prize at SQL Relay in Reading
I met some apes in Singapore
A fabuilous evening natter
Matt and Milton – 2 of the PS Conf Asia organisers in the AWS building
Jason Yoder pre-con in Singapore
The Shy and Retiring Jason at Singapore User Group
Speakers on the metro in Singapore
PowerShell team in Singapore
Flynn talked containers in Singapore
Trevor Hess
An evening with friends in Singapore
Angel, June and Kenneth
A great buddy Mathias
The coolest man in Singapore Jaap
Aaron during the PowerShell 10th Anniversary
Even Jake the dog watched the PowerShell 10th Anniversary
Jonathan šŸ™‚
Southampton User group in December
Alex was disappointed
The glitter beard in Slovenia. even the next day there was glitter on many speakers
A win for Andre and Alex
Slovenia Sessions
The Speakers in Ljubljana being ‘taught’ by Matija
Andre showing magic in Slovenia
ljubljana is beautiful
John is demonstrating indexes with cups in Exeter
Andrew the man who taught me
John in Dublin
My amazing wife made me this PowerShell rug
Manning the front of house at SQL Bits with armed protection
My buddy Mark
SQL Bits
Andre didnt put much thought into his costume. I try not to think about Kevins!!
Sensible times at SQL Bits
Terry goes old school
Errm!!! Buck being Buck
Inside the space bubbles at SQL Bits
Happy Birthday Alex
Yay its Andre
Steph of the Locke
Is it the new Karla? No its the original Catherine
Just a chat with a few friends
PSConfEU keynote
PSConfEU
I borrowed Christians Hat
Is he French? Is he English? He’s just Gael and I love him
Northern people are strange (I’m allowed to say that I’m northern too!!)
Jeff with the EU flag
The amazing opening for PSConfEU
Return of battle of the beards with Tobiasz and Terry
My PSConfEU shirt
Terry enjoying the SQL Sat Exeter food
The SQL South West Flag hanging proud
The SanDisk competition at SQL Sat Exeter was brilliant
Choosing sessions is tough
SQL Sat Exeter
The waizardry of Terry McCann
Speaking at Southampton in a shirt and tie
SQL Sat Exeter
Disaster! My DBA Team mug smashed
SQL Sat Exeter

 

PSConfAsia 2016

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I have just got back to the UK from Singapore following the amazing PSConfAsia conference. I must say that Matt, Milton, Sebastian and Ben did a fantastic job organising this conference and were proud that there was aĀ notable increase in attendees from last year.

sebastians-photo

 

The conference began (unofficially) with a PowerShell User group session in the Microsoft Offices on Wednesday where Ravi Chaganti spoke about DSC

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and then Desmond Lee lead a Q and A session. In the end we decided that all the answers were

It Depends and Test in your Environment

That evening, I even managed to jump on the PASS PowerShell Virtual Chapter session by Scott Sutherland Hacking SQL Servers on Scale using PowerShell the recording of which is hereĀ Ā AĀ session organised and managed onlineĀ in three different time zones by Aaron Chrissy and myself :-).

On Thursday the conference proper started with a pre-con day at the Amazon Web Services office. Yes, you read that right. This conference really highlighted the cross-platformĀ directionĀ and adoption of open-source that Microsoft is taking.Ā Ā Jason Yoder spent all day teaching a group “PowerShell for Beginners” in one room

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while The Amazon Web Services Team showed DevOps on AWS with PowerShell in the morning and June Blender gave a SAPIEN Toolmaking Seminar.fter this we went back to the Microsoft Offices for another User Group where Jason Yoder gave a (nother) session with Jaap Brasser on PowerShell Tips and Tricks (Demo)

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Friday started with The PowerShell Team represented by Kenneth Hansen & Angel Calvo talking about PowerShell Past, Present and Future. It was really good that there was such great access to the product team at the conference and I saw lots of interaction around the conference as well, in addition to the sessions they provided.

Next up for me was anotherĀ session from the PowerShell Team, this time Hemant Mahawar & Jason Shirk taking us onĀ a Journey Through the Ages of PowerShell Security

Execution Policy is not a security feature

That took us to lunch, we were treated to excellent lunches at this conference

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After lunch I sat in the PowerShell Teams Ask Us Anything session although I was mainly preparing for my own session Powershell Profile Prepares Perfect Production Purlieu which followed. There were excellent sessions on JEA, Nano Server, Chef and DSC, Containers, ETS and securing PowerShell against malware whilst I attended Flynn Bundy’s session about Windows Containers and Building GUIs with XAML with David Das Neves

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That evening, organisers, speakers and attendees all went to the Penny Black pub on Marina Bay and enjoyed some food, refreshments and networking

Saturday started slowly after the rain (another impressive ‘feature’ of Singapore)Ā  but the first session was a brilliant one with Hemant Mahawar & Jason Shirk talking Pragmatic PowerShell and answering questions. I am glad Jason used CarnacĀ to show what he was typing so that people could (just aboutĀ šŸ™‚ ) keep up. I then attended the excellent session about contribution with Microsoft.

The rest of the day had amazing sessions on Azure Automation, IoT, AWS Cloud Formation, Centralised Repository Server, Chef, Puppet, Professional Help, Nano Server, Docker, DSC, Release Pipeline and of course some bearded fella talking about Installing SQL Scripts and creating Pester Tests for them and combining PowerShell, SQL, SSRS, PowerBi and Cortana šŸ™‚

Jason Yoder's photo.jpg

My takeaways from the conference were that Microsoft is very open to all members of the open source community, DevOps is a very important topicĀ and also the following points from the PowerShell team

PowerShell Team want YOU to contribute.
Interact with them
File bugs
Feature Requests
Documentation
Tests
Code

and

Fixing is better than complaining šŸ™‚ @HemanMahawar #psconfasia You can help fix the documentation. Use the contribute button on the doc

and

If you are thinking of starting or runĀ a PowerShell usergroup Microsoft would like help. TagĀ 1 of the team such as @ANGELCALVOS #psconfasia

Special thanks and congratulations must go to Matt, Milton, Sebastian and Ben for their excellent organisation and for creating an awesome event. I am looking forward to seeing how they can better it next year and also hoping that seeing all the fabulous speakers and sessions will inspire some attendees from this years event to share their own knowledge and experience at local user groups and even next years conference.