PsExec and Remote Environment Variables, Logging, Etc.
- by alharaka
When I run PsExec on a remote computer, I always fall short of what I want. What I would like ideally in most situations is a) a log on an admin server where each individual log has the name of each the remote computer it was generated from (e.g. COMPNAME1.log, COMPNAME2.log, etc.) or b) a log file on each remote computer with whatever name I specify.
When I try scenario (a), I use the following command.
%SystemDrive%\path\to\psexec.exe @listofcomputers.txt -u DOMAIN\username cmd /c echo TEST >> \\server.company.tld\share\%computername%.log
Problem is that it never works. All the computers just write to the log where %computername% is just the computer I execute PsExec from in my office. What I want are unique logs for each computer specific in the listofcomputers.txt that will correctly use the hostname from the remote environment variable without issue. Is that even possible? It does not seem to work for me. I tried this, and the syntax is clearly wrong.
%SystemDrive%\path\to\psexec.exe @listofcomputers.txt -u DOMAIN\username "cmd /c echo TEST >> \\server.company.tld\share\%computername%.log"
PsExec just fails saying the system file cannot be found (read: syntax fail).
As for scenario (b), it appears to be a variation of a similar problem. When I run a command like this, it does not work.
%SystemDrive%\path\to\psexec.exe @listofcomputers.txt -u DOMAIN\username "cmd /c echo %computername% >> \\server.company.tld\share\aggregated.log"
Is there something I do not understand about remote path and environment variables with PsExec on the cmd.exe console (I have not even tried the dreaded PowerShell yet). I know such things work in a batch file (cmd /c \\server.company.tld\share\runthis.bat), but is there a reason it will not work when executing commands as arguments? I always need this, and can never get it!
