PowerShell functions for IoT Edge for Linux on Windows

Article
07/01/2024

Applies to: IoT Edge 1.4

Important

Azure IoT Edge 1.5 LTS and IoT Edge 1.4 are supported releases. IoT Edge 1.4 LTS is reaching the end of service on November 12, 2024. If you're on an earlier release, see Update IoT Edge.

Understand the PowerShell functions that deploy, provision, and get the status of your IoT Edge for Linux on Windows (EFLOW) virtual machine.

Prerequisites

The commands described in this article are from the AzureEFLOW.psm1 file, which can be found on your system in your WindowsPowerShell directory under C:\Program Files\WindowsPowerShell\Modules\AzureEFLOW.

If you don't have the AzureEflow folder in your PowerShell directory, use the following steps to download and install Azure IoT Edge for Linux on Windows:

In an elevated PowerShell session, run each of the following commands to download IoT Edge for Linux on Windows.

X64/AMD64

$msiPath = $([io.Path]::Combine($env:TEMP, 'AzureIoTEdge.msi'))
$ProgressPreference = 'SilentlyContinue'
Invoke-WebRequest "https://aka.ms/AzEFLOWMSI_1_4_LTS_X64" -OutFile $msiPath

ARM64

$msiPath = $([io.Path]::Combine($env:TEMP, 'AzureIoTEdge.msi'))
$ProgressPreference = 'SilentlyContinue'
Invoke-WebRequest "https://aka.ms/AzEFLOWMSI_1_4_LTS_ARM64" -OutFile $msiPath

Install IoT Edge for Linux on Windows on your device.
```
Start-Process -Wait msiexec -ArgumentList "/i","$([io.Path]::Combine($env:TEMP, 'AzureIoTEdge.msi'))","/qn"
```
You can specify custom installation and VHDX directories by adding INSTALLDIR="<FULLY_QUALIFIED_PATH>" and VHDXDIR="<FULLY_QUALIFIED_PATH>" parameters to the install command.
Set the execution policy on the target device to at least AllSigned.
```
Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy AllSigned -Force
```

Add-EflowNetwork

The Add-EflowNetwork command adds a new network to the EFLOW virtual machine. This command takes two parameters.

Parameter	Accepted values	Comments
vswitchName	Name of the virtual switch	Name of the virtual switch assigned to the EFLOW VM.
vswitchType	Internal or External	Type of the virtual switch assigned to the EFLOW VM.

It returns an object that contains four properties:

Name
AllocationMethod
Cidr
Type

For more information, use the command Get-Help Add-EflowNetwork -full.

Add-EflowVmEndpoint

The Add-EflowVmEndpoint command adds a new network endpoint to the EFLOW virtual machine. Use the optional parameters to set a Static IP.

Parameter	Accepted values	Comments
vswitchName	Name of the virtual switch	Name of the virtual switch assigned to the EFLOW VM.
vendpointName	Name of the virtual endpoint	Name of the virtual endpoint assigned to the EFLOW VM.
ip4Address	IPv4 Address in the range of the DCHP Server Scope	Static Ipv4 address of the EFLOW VM.
ip4PrefixLength	IPv4 Prefix Length of the subnet	Ipv4 subnet prefix length, only valid when static Ipv4 address is specified.
ip4GatewayAddress	IPv4 Address of the subnet gateway	Gateway Ipv4 address, only valid when static Ipv4 address is specified.

It returns an object that contains four properties:

Name
MacAddress
HealthStatus
IpConfiguration

For more information, use the command Get-Help Add-EflowVmEndpoint -full.

Add-EflowVmSharedFolder

The Add-EflowVmSharedFolder command allows sharing one or more Windows host OS folders with the EFLOW virtual machine.

Parameter	Accepted values	Comments
sharedFoldersJsonPath	String	Path to the Shared Folders JSON configuration file.

The JSON configuration file must have the following structure:

sharedFOlderRoot : Path to the Windows root folder that contains all the folders to be shared with the EFLOW virtual machine.
hostFolderPath: Relative path (to the parent root folder) of the folder to be shared with the EFLOW VM.
readOnly: Defines if the shared folder is writeable or read-only from the EFLOW virtual machine - Values: false or true.
targetFolderOnGuest : Folder path inside the EFLOW virtual machine where Windows host OS folder is mounted.

[
   {
      "sharedFolderRoot": "<shared-folder-root-windows-path>",
      "sharedFolders": [ 
        { "hostFolderPath": "<path-shared-folder>", 
            "readOnly": "<read-only>", 
            "targetFolderOnGuest": "<linux-mounting-point>" 
        }
      ]
   }
]

For more information, use the command Get-Help Add-EflowVmSharedFolder -full.

Connect-EflowVm

The Connect-EflowVm command connects to the virtual machine using SSH. The only account allowed to SSH to the virtual machine is the user that created it.

This command only works on a PowerShell session running on the host device. It won't work when using Windows Admin Center or PowerShell ISE.

For more information, use the command Get-Help Connect-EflowVm -full.

Copy-EflowVmFile

The Copy-EflowVmFile command copies file to or from the virtual machine using SCP. Use the optional parameters to specify the source and destination file paths and the direction of the copy.

The user iotedge-user must have read permission to any origin directories or write permission to any destination directories on the virtual machine.

Parameter	Accepted values	Comments
fromFile	String representing path to file	Defines the file to be read from.
toFile	String representing path to file	Defines the file to be written to.
pushFile	None	This flag indicates copy direction. If present, the command pushes the file to the virtual machine. If absent, the command pulls the file from the virtual machine.

For more information, use the command Get-Help Copy-EflowVMFile -full.

Deploy-Eflow

The Deploy-Eflow command is the main deployment method. The deployment command creates the virtual machine, provisions files, and deploys the IoT Edge agent module. While none of the parameters are required, they can be used to modify settings for the virtual machine during creation.

Parameter	Accepted values	Comments
acceptEula	Yes or No	A shortcut to accept/deny EULA and bypass the EULA prompt.
acceptOptionalTelemetry	Yes or No	A shortcut to accept/deny optional telemetry and bypass the telemetry prompt.
cpuCount	Integer value between 1 and the device's CPU cores	Number of CPU cores for the VM. Default value: 1 vCore.
memoryInMB	Integer even value between 1024 and the maximum amount of free memory of the device	Memory allocated for the VM. Default value: 1024 MB.
vmDiskSize	Between 21 GB and 2 TB	Maximum logical disk size of the dynamically expanding virtual hard disk. Default value: 29 GB. Note: Either vmDiskSize or vmDataSize can be used, but not both together.
vmDataSize	Between 2 GB and 2 TB	Maximum data partition size of the resulting hard disk, in GB. Default value: 10 GB. Note: Either vmDiskSize or vmDataSize can be used, but not both together.
vmLogSize	Small or Large	Specify the log partition size. Small = 1GB, Large = 6GB. Default value: Small.
vswitchName	Name of the virtual switch	Name of the virtual switch assigned to the EFLOW VM.
vswitchType	Internal or External	Type of the virtual switch assigned to the EFLOW VM.
ip4Address	IPv4 Address in the range of the DCHP Server Scope	Static Ipv4 address of the EFLOW VM.
ip4PrefixLength	IPv4 Prefix Length of the subnet	Ipv4 subnet prefix length, only valid when static Ipv4 address is specified.
ip4GatewayAddress	IPv4 Address of the subnet gateway	Gateway Ipv4 address, only valid when static Ipv4 address is specified.
gpuName	GPU Device name	Name of GPU device to be used for passthrough.
gpuPassthroughType	DirectDeviceAssignment, ParaVirtualization, or none (CPU only)	GPU Passthrough type
gpuCount	Integer value between 1 and the number of the device's GPU cores	Number of GPU devices for the VM. Note: If using ParaVirtualization, make sure to set gpuCount = 1
customSsh	None	Determines whether user wants to use their custom OpenSSH.Client installation. If present, ssh.exe must be available to the EFLOW PSM
sharedFoldersJsonPath	String	Path to the Shared Folders JSON configuration file.

For more information, use the command Get-Help Deploy-Eflow -full.

Get-EflowHostConfiguration

The Get-EflowHostConfiguration command returns the host configuration. This command takes no parameters. It returns an object that contains four properties:

FreePhysicalMemoryInMB
NumberOfLogicalProcessors
DiskInfo
GpuInfo

For more information, use the command Get-Help Get-EflowHostConfiguration -full.

Get-EflowLogs

The Get-EflowLogs command collects and bundles logs from the IoT Edge for Linux on Windows deployment and installation. It outputs the bundled logs in the form of a .zip folder.

For more information, use the command Get-Help Get-EflowLogs -full.

Get-EflowNetwork

The Get-EflowNetwork command returns a list of the networks assigned to the EFLOW virtual machine. Use the optional parameter to get a specific network.

Parameter	Accepted values	Comments
vswitchName	Name of the virtual switch	Name of the virtual switch assigned to the EFLOW VM.

It returns a list of objects that contains four properties:

Name
AllocationMethod
Cidr
Type

For more information, use the command Get-Help Get-EflowNetwork -full.

Get-EflowVm

The Get-EflowVm command returns the virtual machine's current configuration. This command takes no parameters. It returns an object that contains four properties:

VmConfiguration
VmPowerState
EdgeRuntimeVersion
EdgeRuntimeStatus
SystemStatistics

To view a specific property in a readable list, run the Get-EflowVM command with the property expanded. For example:

Get-EflowVM | Select -ExpandProperty VmConfiguration | Format-List

For more information, use the command Get-Help Get-EflowVm -full.

Get-EflowVmAddr

The Get-EflowVmAddr command is used to query the virtual machine's current IP and MAC address. This command exists to account for the fact that the IP and MAC address can change over time.

For additional information, use the command Get-Help Get-EflowVmAddr -full.

Get-EflowVmEndpoint

The Get-EflowVmEndpoint command returns a list of the network endpoints assigned to the EFLOW virtual machine. Use the optional parameter to get a specific network endpoint.

Parameter	Accepted values	Comments
vswitchName	Name of the virtual switch	Name of the virtual switch assigned to the EFLOW VM.

It returns a list of objects that contains four properties:

Name
MacAddress
HealthStatus
IpConfiguration

For more information, use the command Get-Help Get-EflowVmEndpoint -full.

Get-EflowVmFeature

The Get-EflowVmFeature command returns the status of the enablement of IoT Edge for Linux on Windows features.

Parameter	Accepted values	Comments
feature	DpsTpm	Feature name to query.

For more information, use the command Get-Help Get-EflowVmFeature -full.

Get-EflowVmName

The Get-EflowVmName command returns the virtual machine's current hostname. This command exists to account for the fact that the Windows hostname can change over time.

For more information, use the command Get-Help Get-EflowVmName -full.

Get-EflowVmSharedFolder

The Get-EflowVmSharedFolder command returns the information about one or more Windows host OS folders shared with the EFLOW virtual machine.

Parameter	Accepted values	Comments
sharedfolderRoot	String	Path to the Windows host OS shared root folder.
hostFolderPath	String or List	Relative path/paths (to the root folder) to the Windows host OS shared folder/s.

It returns a list of objects that contains three properties:

hostFolderPath: Relative path (to the parent root folder) of the folder shared with the EFLOW VM.
readOnly: Defines if the shared folder is writeable or read-only from the EFLOW virtual machine - Values: false or true.
targetFolderOnGuest: Folder path inside the EFLOW virtual machine where the Windows folder is mounted.

For more information, use the command Get-Help Get-EflowVmSharedFolder -full.

Get-EflowVmTelemetryOption

The Get-EflowVmTelemetryOption command displays the status of the telemetry (either Optional or Required) inside the virtual machine.

For more information, use the command Get-Help Get-EflowVmTelemetryOption -full.

Get-EflowVmTpmProvisioningInfo

The Get-EflowVmTpmProvisioningInfo command returns the TPM provisioning information. This command takes no parameters. It returns an object that contains two properties:

Endorsement Key
Registration ID

For more information, use the command Get-Help Get-EflowVmTpmProvisioningInfo -full.

Invoke-EflowVmCommand

The Invoke-EflowVMCommand command executes a Linux command inside the virtual machine and returns the output. This command only works for Linux commands that return a finite output. It cannot be used for Linux commands that require user interaction or that run indefinitely.

The following optional parameters can be used to specify the command in advance.

Parameter	Accepted values	Comments
command	String	Command to be executed in the VM.
ignoreError	None	If this flag is present, ignore errors from the command.

For more information, use the command Get-Help Invoke-EflowVmCommand -full.

Provision-EflowVm

The Provision-EflowVm command adds the provisioning information for your IoT Edge device to the virtual machine's IoT Edge config.yaml file.

Parameter	Accepted values	Comments
provisioningType	ManualConnectionString, ManualX509, DpsTPM, DpsX509, or DpsSymmetricKey	Defines the type of provisioning you wish to use for your IoT Edge device.
devConnString	The device connection string of an existing IoT Edge device	Device connection string for manually provisioning an IoT Edge device (ManualConnectionString).
iotHubHostname	The host name of an existing IoT hub	Azure IoT Hub hostname for provisioning an IoT Edge device (ManualX509).
deviceId	The device ID of an existing IoT Edge device	Device ID for provisioning an IoT Edge device (ManualX509).
scopeId	The scope ID for an existing DPS instance.	Scope ID for provisioning an IoT Edge device (DpsTPM, DpsX509, or DpsSymmetricKey).
symmKey	The primary key for an existing DPS enrollment or the primary key of an existing IoT Edge device registered using symmetric keys	Symmetric key for provisioning an IoT Edge device (DpsSymmetricKey).
registrationId	The registration ID of an existing IoT Edge device	Registration ID for provisioning an IoT Edge device (DpsSymmetricKey, DpsTPM).
identityCertPath	Directory path	Absolute destination path of the identity certificate on your Windows host machine (ManualX509, DpsX509).
identityPrivKeyPath	Directory path	Absolute source path of the identity private key on your Windows host machine (ManualX509, DpsX509).

For more information, use the command Get-Help Provision-EflowVm -full.

Remove-EflowNetwork

The Remove-EflowNetwork command removes an existing network attached to the EFLOW virtual machine. This command takes one parameter.

Parameter	Accepted values	Comments
vswitchName	Name of the virtual switch	Name of the virtual switch assigned to the EFLOW VM.

For more information, use the command Get-Help Remove-EflowNetwork -full.

Remove-EflowVmEndpoint

The Remove-EflowVmEndpoint command removes an existing network endpoint attached to the EFLOW virtual machine. This command takes one parameter.

Parameter	Accepted values	Comments
vendpointName	Name of the virtual endpoint	Name of the virtual endpoint assigned to the EFLOW VM.

For more information, use the command Get-Help Remove-EflowVmEndpoint -full.

Remove-EflowVmSharedFolder

The Remove-EflowVmSharedFolder command stops sharing the Windows host OS folder to the EFLOW virtual machine. This command takes two parameters.

Parameter	Accepted values	Comments
sharedfolderRoot	String	Path to the Windows host OS shared root folder.
hostFolderPath	String or List	Relative path/paths (to the root folder) to the Windows host OS shared folder/s.

For more information, use the command Get-Help Remove-EflowVmSharedFolder -full.

Set-EflowVM

The Set-EflowVM command updates the virtual machine configuration with the requested properties. Use the optional parameters to define a specific configuration for the virtual machine.

Parameter	Accepted values	Comments
cpuCount	Integer value between 1 and the device's CPU cores	Number of CPU cores for the VM.
memoryInMB	Integer value between 1024 and the maximum amount of free memory of the device	Memory allocated for the VM.
gpuName	GPU device name	Name of the GPU device to be used for passthrough.
gpuPassthroughType	DirectDeviceAssignment, ParaVirtualization, or none (no passthrough)	GPU Passthrough type
gpuCount	Integer value between 1 and the device's GPU cores	Number of GPU devices for the VM Note: Only valid when using DirectDeviceAssignment
headless	None	If this flag is present, it determines whether the user needs to confirm in case a security warning is issued.

For more information, use the command Get-Help Set-EflowVM -full.

Set-EflowVmDNSServers

The Set-EflowVmDNSServers command configures the DNS servers for EFLOW virtual machine.

Parameter	Accepted values	Comments
vendpointName	String value of the virtual endpoint name	Use the Get-EflowVmEndpoint to obtain the virtual interfaces assigned to the EFLOW VM. E.g. DESKTOP-CONTOSO-EflowInterface
dnsServers	List of DNS server IPAddress to use for name resolution	E.g. @("10.0.10.1")

For more information, use the command Get-Help Set-EflowVmDNSServers -full.

Set-EflowVmFeature

The Set-EflowVmFeature command enables or disables the status of IoT Edge for Linux on Windows features.

Parameter	Accepted values	Comments
feature	DpsTpm, Defender	Feature name to toggle.
enable	None	If this flag is present, the command enables the feature.

For more information, use the command Get-Help Set-EflowVmFeature -full.

Set-EflowVmTelemetryOption

The Set-EflowVmTelemetryOption command enables or disables the optional telemetry inside the virtual machine.

Parameter	Accepted values	Comments
optionalTelemetry	True or False	Whether optional telemetry is selected.

For more information, use the command Get-Help Set-EflowVmTelemetryOption -full.

Start-EflowVm

The Start-EflowVm command starts the virtual machine. If the virtual machine is already started, no action is taken.

For more information, use the command Get-Help Start-EflowVm -full.

Stop-EflowVm

The Stop-EflowVm command stops the virtual machine. If the virtual machine is already stopped, no action is taken.

For more information, use the command Get-Help Stop-EflowVm -full.

Verify-EflowVm

The Verify-EflowVm command is an exposed function that checks whether the IoT Edge for Linux on Windows virtual machine was created. It takes only common parameters, and it returns True if the virtual machine was created and False if not.

For more information, use the command Get-Help Verify-EflowVm -full.

Next steps

Learn how to use these commands to install and provision IoT Edge for Linux on Windows in the following article:

Install Azure IoT Edge for Linux on Windows