CODEWITHSUNDEEP
powershell
elgabito
elgabito

Reputation: 418

Problems with out-file (empty pipe element)

I have the output I want, but my problem is with getting it to an out-file. I don't care what cmdlet is called, I just need it to be able to append to a CSV.

Here is my current solution, which provides the proper output (just doesn't write to a file):

Param(
    [string]$clusterName
    )

Import-Module failoverclusters

get-cluster -name $clusterName | get-clusterresource | where-object {
    $_.ResourceType.name -eq "SQL Server"
        } |
        %{
            $virtualServerName = get-clusterparameter -InputObject $_ VirtualServerName; 
            $instanceName = get-clusterparameter -InputObject $_ InstanceName; 
            $nodeName = $_.OwnerNode;
            $IPAddress = [System.Net.Dns]::GetHostAddresses($virtualServerName.Value) | where-object {$_.IsIPv6LinkLocal -eq $False}
            echo ("{0},{1}\{2},{3},{4},{5},{6}" -f $nodeName,$virtualServerName.Value, $instanceName.Value,$virtualServerName.Value,$instanceName.Value,$IPAddress,$clusterName);
        }

I've added this to then end, which returns an error:

| out-file -filepath "D:\Path\To\File\ClusterInstances.txt" -Encoding ASCII -append

returns: An empty pipe element is not allowed.

How can I get this to output to a CSV file and Append? It will be run multiple times.

Upvotes: 3

Views: 9464

Answers (1)

Adi Inbar
Adi Inbar

Reputation: 12323

Are you adding the line with the | out-file on the same line as the last "}" or on a separate line? If you have a "|" as the first non-whitespace character on a new line, you need to escape the preceding newline, otherwise you get the "empty pipe element" error.

Your code should look like this (note the backtick after the "}" on the second to last line):

Param(
    [string]$clusterName
    )

Import-Module failoverclusters

get-cluster -name $clusterName | get-clusterresource | where-object {
    $_.ResourceType.name -eq "SQL Server"
        } |
        %{
            $virtualServerName = get-clusterparameter -InputObject $_ VirtualServerName; 
            $instanceName = get-clusterparameter -InputObject $_ InstanceName; 
            $nodeName = $_.OwnerNode;
            $IPAddress = [System.Net.Dns]::GetHostAddresses($virtualServerName.Value) | where-object {$_.IsIPv6LinkLocal -eq $False}
            echo ("{0},{1}\{2},{3},{4},{5},{6}" -f $nodeName,$virtualServerName.Value, $instanceName.Value,$virtualServerName.Value,$instanceName.Value,$IPAddress,$clusterName);
        } `
        | out-file -filepath "D:\Path\To\File\ClusterInstances.txt" -Encoding ASCII -append

Or this, though I think the above is more elegant:

Param(
    [string]$clusterName
    )

Import-Module failoverclusters

get-cluster -name $clusterName | get-clusterresource | where-object {
    $_.ResourceType.name -eq "SQL Server"
        } |
        %{
            $virtualServerName = get-clusterparameter -InputObject $_ VirtualServerName; 
            $instanceName = get-clusterparameter -InputObject $_ InstanceName; 
            $nodeName = $_.OwnerNode;
            $IPAddress = [System.Net.Dns]::GetHostAddresses($virtualServerName.Value) | where-object {$_.IsIPv6LinkLocal -eq $False}
            echo ("{0},{1}\{2},{3},{4},{5},{6}" -f $nodeName,$virtualServerName.Value, $instanceName.Value,$virtualServerName.Value,$instanceName.Value,$IPAddress,$clusterName);
        } | out-file -filepath "D:\Path\To\File\ClusterInstances.txt" -Encoding ASCII -append

In fact, the following should work too, in keeping with the style you're using:

Param(
    [string]$clusterName
    )

Import-Module failoverclusters

get-cluster -name $clusterName | get-clusterresource | where-object {
    $_.ResourceType.name -eq "SQL Server"
        } |
        %{
            $virtualServerName = get-clusterparameter -InputObject $_ VirtualServerName; 
            $instanceName = get-clusterparameter -InputObject $_ InstanceName; 
            $nodeName = $_.OwnerNode;
            $IPAddress = [System.Net.Dns]::GetHostAddresses($virtualServerName.Value) | where-object {$_.IsIPv6LinkLocal -eq $False}
            echo ("{0},{1}\{2},{3},{4},{5},{6}" -f $nodeName,$virtualServerName.Value, $instanceName.Value,$virtualServerName.Value,$instanceName.Value,$IPAddress,$clusterName);
        } |
        out-file -filepath "D:\Path\To\File\ClusterInstances.txt" -Encoding ASCII -append

The bottom line is that "|" can't be the first character unless you've escaped the preceding newline, because then it's interpreted as a new command, so the first pipe element is missing, hence the "empty pipe element" error.

Upvotes: 2

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