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Using the XenServer® PowerShell module

October 14, 2025

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This article describes how to use the XenServer PowerShell module to manage XenServer resource pools, starting with an overview of the module cmdlets and their structure.

Getting Started

For information about the system requirements for the PowerShell module and how to download and install it, see Getting Started - PowerShell.

XenServer PowerShell module overview

XenServer sessions

The first cmdlet you will need is Connect-XenServer to open a session to a server:

Connect-XenServer -Url https://<servername> -UserName user -Password pwd
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It is possible to connect to multiple servers using the same credentials as well as open more than one sessions to the same server. All open sessions can be listed using the cmdlet Get-XenSession. If more than one sessions are to be used, you can set the most frequently used session as the default one as follows:

Connect-XenServer -Server srv -UserName usr -Password pwd -SetDefaultSession
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$XenServer_Default_Session = Get-XenSession -Server srv
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All XenAPI calls are made in the context of a login session, so all cmdlets accept the parameter -SessionOpaqueRef which allows you to specify which of the open XenServer sessions to use:

Verb-Noun [-SessionOpaqueRef [<String>]]
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This parameter is not necessary when only one open session exists or when a default session has been specified.

Once you have finished interacting with a server, it is good practice to log out using the cmdlet Disconnect-XenServer:

Get-XenSession | Disconnect-XenServer
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Managing XenAPI objects

The cmdlets fall into the following categories:

1. Class getters

These retrieve a XenAPI object and have names such as Get-XenT, where T is an exposed XenAPI class. The object to get can be specified by -Ref or, for those that have a uuid or name, -Name or -Uuid. If no parameters are specified, all objects of this type are returned. Example:

Get-XenHost -Name "Demo Host"
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2. Constructors

These create a new XenAPI object and have names such as New-XenT, where T is an exposed XenAPI class. Example:

$vm = Get-XenVM -Name "Demo VM"
New-XenVBD -VM $vm -VDI $null -Userdevice 3 -Bootable $false -Mode RO `
    -Type CD -Unpluggable $true -Empty $true -OtherConfig @{} `
    -QosAlgorithmType "" -QosAlgorithmParams @{}
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3. Class removers

These destroy a XenAPI object and have names such as Remove-XenT, where T is an exposed XenAPI class. To specify the object to remove use the parameter -T, where T is the exposed XenAPI class, or -Ref or, for those objects that have a uuid or name, -UUID or -Name. Example:

Get-XenSR -Name "Demo SR" | Remove-XenSR
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4. Property setters

These set a field of a XenAPI object and have names such as Set-XenT, where T is an exposed XenAPI class. To specify the object use the parameter -T, where T is the exposed XenAPI class, or -Ref or, for those objects that have a uuid or name, -UUID or -Name. The field to set can be specified as an accordingly named parameter. Note that more than one fields at a time can be set in a synchronous call. Example:

Get-XenVM -Name "Demo VM" |`
    Set-XenVM -NameLabel "New name" -NameDescription "New description"
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5. Property adders

These add an element to a field of a XenAPI object and have names such as Add-XenT, where T is an exposed XenAPI class. To specify the object use the parameter -T, where T is the exposed XenAPI class, or -Ref or, for those objects that have a uuid or name, -UUID or -Name. The field to which the element will be added can be specified as an accordingly named parameter. Note that elements can be added to more than one fields at a time in a synchronous call. Example:

Add-XenHost -Name "Demo Host" -Tags "Tag1"
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6. Property removers

These remove an element from a field of a XenAPI object and have names such as Remove-XenTProperty, where T is an exposed XenAPI class. To specify the object use the parameter -T, where T is the exposed XenAPI class, or -Ref or, for those objects that have a uuid or name, -UUID or -Name. The field from which the element will be removed can be specified as an accordingly named parameter. Note that elements can be removed from more than one fields at a time in a synchronous call. Example:

Remove-XenHostProperty -Name "myHost" -Tags "tag1" -OtherConfig "myKey"
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7. Property getters

These retrieve the value of a field of a XenAPI object and have names such as Get-XenTProperty, where T is an exposed XenAPI class. To specify the object use the parameters -T, where T is the exposed XenAPI class, or -Ref. To specify the field use the enum parameter -XenProperty. Example:

Get-XenPIFProperty -Ref OpaqueRef:f433bf7b-2b0c-5f53-7018-7d195addb3ca `
    -XenProperty Network
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8. Invokers

These invoke operations on XenAPI objects and have names such as Invoke-XenT, where T is an exposed XenAPI class. To specify the object use the parameter -T, where T is the exposed XenAPI class, or -Ref or, for those objects that have a uuid or name, -UUID or -Name. To specify the call to invoke, use the enum parameter -XenAction. Example:

Get-XenPBD -Uuid 1871ac51-ce6b-efc3-7fd0-28bc65aa39ff |`
    Invoke-XenPBD -XenAction Unplug
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Most of the XenAPI calls can be run synchronously or asynchronously. To run a cmdlet asynchronously use the parameter -Async where available.

Note that, in the case of the setters, only one field can be set asynchronously at a time, and in the case of the adders and removers, elements can be added or removed asynchronously to only one field at a time.

Also, note that the cmdlets that are not explicit “getters” but return objects, do so only when the standard parameter -PassThru is specified. These cmdlets are Connect-XenServer, the constructors, adders, setters, certain invokers, the property removers, as well as all the asynchronous calls from any category. In the latter case, the cmdlet returns a Task object, the progress of which can be tracked by piping it into the cmdlet Wait-XenTask:

Invoke-XenVM -Name $vm_name -XenAction Start -Async -PassThru |`
    Wait-XenTask -ShowProgress
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Wait-XenTask, too, can be used with the -PassThru parameter and, where applicable, it returns the opaque reference of the object that would be returned if the call were run synchronously.

Finally, as many of the cmdlets handle objects of type XenRef<T>, where T is an exposed API class, the cmldet ConvertTo-XenRef can be used to aid conversion between the two. Example:

Get-XenVM -Name "Demo VM" | ConvertTo-XenRef
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Complete walk-throughs

The following sections include a number of walk-throughs on how to perform certain specialized tasks.

The official version of this product documentation is in English. Any non-English version is solely provided for your convenience and may include machine-translated content. For more information, please refer to the Machine Translation Disclaimer on Cloud Software Group home.

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Using the XenServer® PowerShell module

October 14, 2025

Contributed by:

October 14, 2025

Contributed by:

Using the XenServer® PowerShell module

Getting Started

XenServer PowerShell module overview

XenServer sessions

Managing XenAPI objects

1. Class getters

2. Constructors

3. Class removers

4. Property setters

5. Property adders

6. Property removers

7. Property getters

8. Invokers

Complete walk-throughs

In this article