In this article, I will explore two PowerShell scripts that test network connectivity (Ping) and port availability (Port Query) on multiple computers. I will discuss the scripts, their differences, and how to use them effectively. First Script is used for Synchronous Network Testing. The first script uses a simple foreach loop to iterate over a list of computers and test their network connectivity (ICMP) and port availability.
$computers = "ad001", "psdomain02", "192.168.34.39","server1" foreach ($com in $computers) { $ping = Test-Connection -computername $com -Quiet -Count 1 $portcheck = Test-NetConnection -Port 445 -ComputerName $com -WarningAction SilentlyContinue $overall = "Ping = $ping | Port = $($portcheck.TcpTestSucceeded)" [pscustomobject]@{ ServerName = $com Success = $overall PingSucceeded = $ping } }
In both the script is uses the Test-Connection cmdlet to ping each computer and the Test-NetConnection cmdlet to test port 445 connectivity. The results are stored in a custom object with properties for the server name, overall success, and ping success.
Advanced Version of this Article: High-Performance Network Auditing: Custom Ping and TCP Port Testing in PowerShell .Net Objects and Parallel Ping and Port Testing in PowerShell Using Runspaces
Second script is Asynchronous Network Testing which uses PowerShell jobs to test network connectivity and port availability asynchronously.
$computers = "ad001", "psdomain02", "192.168.34.39", "server1" $jobs = foreach ($com in $computers) { Start-Job -ArgumentList $com -ScriptBlock { param($ComputerName) $ping = Test-Connection -ComputerName $ComputerName -Quiet -Count 1 $portcheck = Test-NetConnection -Port 445 -ComputerName $ComputerName -WarningAction SilentlyContinue [pscustomobject]@{ ServerName = $ComputerName PingSucceeded = $ping PortSucceeded = $portcheck.TcpTestSucceeded Overall = "Ping = $ping | Port = $($portcheck.TcpTestSucceeded)" } } } # Wait for all jobs to finish Wait-Job $jobs # Collect results $results = Receive-Job $jobs | Select-Object ServerName, PingSucceeded, PortSucceeded, Overall # Cleanup Remove-Job $jobs $results
This script starts a job for each computer in the list, which tests network connectivity and port availability. The results are collected using the Receive-Job cmdlet and stored in a variable.
Download this script ping_port_scanner_powershell.ps1 or it is also available on github.com.
Key differences
The main difference between the two scripts is the way they handle the testing process. The first script tests each computer synchronously, one after the other, while the second script uses jobs to test multiple computers asynchronously. This makes the second script much faster for large lists of computers.
I had an question when I shared this script with few people. What will happen if there are errors in Test-Connection and Test-NetConnection? Just to note when using -Quiet parameter with Test-Connection and running Test-NetConnection does not generate any error hence you don't require try catch block.
This script is created on the PowerShell version 5.1 (Install and Import threadjob module), If you want more faster way use PowerShell v7 and use Start-ThreadJob instead of Start-Job command.
In conclusion, both scripts provide a useful way to test network connectivity (ping / ICMP) and port availability (telnet / port query) on multiple computers. The choice of script depends on the specific requirements of your environment. By using PowerShell jobs, you can significantly speed up the testing process for large lists of computers.
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