Installation guide

WCI internally stores data in a hierarchy, so your collection script must provide the complete data
structure in the standard tree view. The root element in the XML result data set becomes a top-level root
element in the WCI data type node. Child elements appear in the same locations in VCM as the locations
they populate in the XML document returned by the script.
Prerequisites
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Understand how to write and run PowerShell scripts. See "References on PowerShell and Script Signing"
on page 102.
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Plan your data structure to display WCI data in a tree hierarchy based on the data structure specified in
the user-defined collection scripts. For an example, see Windows Custom Information Tree View -
Standard in the online help.
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Review the guidelines to create PowerShell scripts for WCI collections and understand the challenges.
See "Guidelines in PowerShell Scripting for WCI" on page 98.
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Review the example PowerShell script to see a sample script used for a WCI collection. See "Create an
Example PowerShell Script for Scheduled Tasks" on page 102.
Procedure
1. On your VCM Collector or managed Windows machine, click Start.
2. Select All Programs > Accessories > Windows PowerShell.
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On a 64-bit Windows machine, select Windows PowerShell (x86) to run the 32-bit version of
PowerShell.
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On a 32-bit Windows machine, select Windows PowerShell.
3. Create your PowerShell script and save it to the location of your choice.
What to do next
Verify that your PowerShell script adheres to valid XML before you can use the script to collect WCI data
from VCM managed machines. See "Verify that Your Custom PowerShell Script is Valid" on page 109.
Verify that Your Custom PowerShell Script is Valid
Verify that your PowerShell script adheres to valid XML before you use the script to collect Windows
Custom Information (WCI) from VCM managed machines.
To verify that your script is valid, run the script in PowerShell.
Procedure
1. On your VCM Collector or managed Windows machine, open a command prompt.
2. Run powershell.exe from the command line.
3. Paste your script into the PowerShell window.
If your script does not run, press Enter.
4. Make sure that your script runs without errors.
Errors appear in red in the PowerShell window.
5. If errors occur, resolve them.
A valid script returns a set of XML content without any formatting, white space, carriage returns, or
line feeds at the end of elements, nodes, or attributes.
Configuring Windows Machines
VMware, Inc.
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