PowerCLI script to report VMtools version(s)

UPDATE 2018-02-05: I have just been told about very nice PowerCLI command-lets allowing to manage VMtools.  Leveraging command-lets Get-VMToolsInfo, Get-VMToolsGuestInfo and Get-VMByToolsInfo is definitely the better way then my script below. All VMtools management command-lets are available on GitHub here
https://github.com/vmware/PowerCLI-Example-Scripts/blob/master/Modules/VMToolsManagement/VMToolsManagement.psm1

But if you are interested in my approach and simple script below I will be more than happy if it helps you.

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This week I had a talk with one of my customers about VMtools versions and benefits of VMtools updates/upgrades. Few months ago I wrote another blog post discussing centralized version of VMtools repository (aka shared productLocker) so you can read it here.

Nevertheless, in large environments with multiple vCenters and thousands of VMs it is pretty handy to have single report with all VMtools versions to be able to asset and plan potential VMtools update/upgrade.

The problem with VMtools versions is that APIs reports just a single integer number of VMtools identification like 9354, 10246, etc. These numbers are also visible as Tools version on NGC/VI Client. However, vSphere admins are more familiar with human readable VMtools version also visible in guest OS which looks like 8.3.19, 9.4.6, 10.0.8, etc. For all VMtools version numbers and mapping you can check text file at https://packages.vmware.com/tools/versions

I have invested an hour or so to write simple PowerCLI script reporting VMtools identification and also human readable version for all VMs in particular vCenter or even across multiple vCenters. I have also included VM hardware version which can be handy information as well.

So initial PowerCLI code is below and the latest version will always appear on github here.

 ######################################################################################################################################  
 # Author: David Pasek  
 # E-mail: david.pasek@gmail.com  
 # Twitter: david_pasek  
 # Creation Date: 2016-11-25  
 #  
 # Use case:  
 #  Key use case of this script is to report VMtools from all VMs in vCenter  
 #  
 # Disclaimer:  
 #  Use it on your own risk. Author is not responsible for any impacts caused by this script.   
 ######################################################################################################################################  
 #   
 # CHANGE FOLLOWING VARIABLES BASED ON YOUR SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS   
 # vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv  
 #  
 # Report type - table, grid, file, csv-file  
  $REPORT_TYPE = "csv-file"  
 # Report file name without file extension. Extension is automatically added. File is created in current working directory.   
  $REPORT_FILE_NAME = "report-vmtools"  
 ######################################################################################################################################  
 Clear-Host  
 # We need VMware PowerCLI snapin  
 $o = Add-PSSnapin VMware.VimAutomation.Core  
 $o = Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -InvalidCertificateAction Ignore -Confirm:$false  
 # Connect to vCenter  
 Write-Host "Connecting to vCenter ..."  
 $VC = Read-Host "Enter one vCentre Server or multiple vCenter servers delimited by comma."  
 Write-Host "Enter vCenter credentials ..."  
 $CRED = Get-Credential  
 Connect-VIServer -Server $VC -Credential $CRED -ErrorAction Stop | Out-Null  
 # Add new property (ToolsVersion) to VM  
 New-VIProperty -Name ToolsVersion -ObjectType VirtualMachine -ValueFromExtensionProperty 'Config.tools.ToolsVersion' -Force | Out-Null  
 # Initalize report  
 $Report = @()  
 foreach ($vm in Get-VM) {  
  # Numbers mapping is from https://packages.vmware.com/tools/versions  
  Switch ($vm.ToolsVersion) {  
      7302 {$GuestToolsVersion = "7.4.6"}  
      7303 {$GuestToolsVersion = "7.4.7"}  
   7304 {$GuestToolsVersion = "7.4.8"}  
   8192 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.0.0"}  
   8194 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.0.2"}  
   8195 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.0.3"}  
   8196 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.0.4"}  
   8197 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.0.5"}  
   8198 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.0.6"}  
   8199 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.0.7"}  
   8290 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.3.2"}  
   8295 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.3.7"}  
   8300 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.3.12"}  
   8305 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.3.17"}  
   8306 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.3.18"}  
   8307 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.3.19"}  
   8384 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.6.0"}  
   8389 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.6.5"}  
   8394 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.6.10"}  
   8395 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.6.11"}  
   8396 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.6.12"}  
   8397 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.6.13"}  
   8398 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.6.14"}  
   8399 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.6.15"}  
   8400 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.6.16"}  
   8401 {$GuestToolsVersion = "8.6.17"}  
   9216 {$GuestToolsVersion = "9.0.0"}  
   9217 {$GuestToolsVersion = "9.0.1"}  
   9221 {$GuestToolsVersion = "9.0.5"}  
   9226 {$GuestToolsVersion = "9.0.10"}  
   9227 {$GuestToolsVersion = "9.0.11"}  
   9228 {$GuestToolsVersion = "9.0.12"}  
   9229 {$GuestToolsVersion = "9.0.13"}  
   9231 {$GuestToolsVersion = "9.0.15"}  
   9232 {$GuestToolsVersion = "9.0.16"}  
   9233 {$GuestToolsVersion = "9.0.17"}  
   9344 {$GuestToolsVersion = "9.4.0"}  
   9349 {$GuestToolsVersion = "9.4.5"}  
   9350 {$GuestToolsVersion = "9.4.6"}  
   9354 {$GuestToolsVersion = "9.4.10"}  
   9355 {$GuestToolsVersion = "9.4.11"}  
   9356 {$GuestToolsVersion = "9.4.12"}  
   9359 {$GuestToolsVersion = "9.4.15"}  
   9536 {$GuestToolsVersion = "9.10.0"}  
   9537 {$GuestToolsVersion = "9.10.1"}  
   9541 {$GuestToolsVersion = "9.10.5"}  
   10240 {$GuestToolsVersion = "10.0.0"}  
   10245 {$GuestToolsVersion = "10.0.5"}  
   10246 {$GuestToolsVersion = "10.0.6"}  
   10247 {$GuestToolsVersion = "10.0.8"}  
   10249 {$GuestToolsVersion = "10.0.9"}  
   10252 {$GuestToolsVersion = "10.0.12"}  
   10272 {$GuestToolsVersion = "10.1.0"}  
   0   {$GuestToolsVersion = "Not installed"}  
   2147483647 {$GuestToolsVersion = "3rd party - guest managed"}  
      default {$GuestToolsVersion = "Unknown"}  
      }  
  $vminfo = New-Object -Type PSObject -Property @{  
             Name = $vm.Name  
     VMhardwareVersion = $vm.Version  
           ToolsVersion = $vm.ToolsVersion  
           GuestToolsVersion = $GuestToolsVersion  
      }  
  $Report += $vminfo  
 }  
 # Show report  
 Switch ($REPORT_TYPE) {  
      "grid"   { $Report | select Name,VMhardwareVersion,ToolsVersion,GuestToolsVersion | Out-GridView }  
   "file"   { $Report | select Name,VMhardwareVersion,ToolsVersion,GuestToolsVersion | Out-File -FilePath "$REPORT_FILE_NAME.txt" }  
   "csv-file" { $Report | select Name,VMhardwareVersion,ToolsVersion,GuestToolsVersion | export-csv "$REPORT_FILE_NAME.csv" }  
   default  { $Report | select Name,VMhardwareVersion,ToolsVersion,GuestToolsVersion | Format-Table }  
 }  
 Disconnect-VIserver -Server $VC -Force -Confirm:$false  

The script can be configured for different report types by changing variable $REPORT_TYPE

Following report types are supported:

• Standard PowerShell table report to output terminal (table)
• PowerShell GridView (grid)
• Standard text file including same content as table (file)
• Comma separated values file (csv-file)

Different sample reports are visible in screenshots below

CSV-FILE

FILE

GRID

Hope this helps some other folks in VMware community. Any feedback or feature requests are welcome.

Related links:

• VMware Tools 10 and "shared productLocker"
• VMware Tools 10.0.8 is now GA
• Powershell Script Upgrade VMware tools without a reboot - looks interesting but I did not test it so far.