Automate RVTools Report Generation with PowerShell

One of my colleagues was manually running RVTools every day on five vCenter servers and exporting the results to Excel files on his client system. To streamline this process, I created a PowerShell script that automates the task. Here’s how you can set it up:

Step 1: Install RVTools

First, install RVTools on the system where you want to run the script.

Step 2: Test the RVTools Command

Open a command prompt (cmd) and run the following command to test the RVTools CLI:

"c:\program files (x86)\robware\rvtools\rvtools.exe" -s <vcenter ip address> -u <vcenter user> -p <vcenter password> -c ExportAll2xlsx -d <path to save the file> -f <file name>.xlsx

If the command works, proceed to the next step. If not, troubleshoot the credentials, network connectivity, or try installing another version of RVTools.

Step 3: Create the PowerShell Script

Open PowerShell ISE and copy the following script:

# Define variables
$vcenters = @("vcenter IP", "vcenter2 IP", "vcenter3 IP") # Add vCenter IP addresses
$RVToolsPath = "C:\Program Files (x86)\Robware\RVTools\RVTools.exe" # Path to RVTools.exe
$BaseReportPath = "C:\Users\fardad\Desktop\rvreport" # Destination folder
$LogFile = "$BaseReportPath\script_log.txt" # Log file

# Function to log messages
function Log-Message {
    param (
        [string]$message
    )
    $timestamp = Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss"
    Add-Content -Path $LogFile -Value "$timestamp - $message"
}

# Function to create folder for the current month and year
function Get-ReportPath {
    $currentDate = Get-Date
    $folderName = $currentDate.ToString("yyyy-MM")
    $reportPath = Join-Path -Path $BaseReportPath -ChildPath $folderName
    if (-not (Test-Path -Path $reportPath)) {
        New-Item -Path $reportPath -ItemType Directory | Out-Null
        Log-Message "Created folder: $reportPath"
    }
    return $reportPath
}

# Function to delete reports older than one year
function Cleanup-OldReports {
    $cutoffDate = (Get-Date).AddYears(-1)
    $folders = Get-ChildItem -Path $BaseReportPath -Directory
    foreach ($folder in $folders) {
        if ($folder.LastWriteTime -lt $cutoffDate) {
            Remove-Item -Path $folder.FullName -Recurse -Force
            Log-Message "Deleted old folder: $($folder.FullName)"
        }
    }
}

# Generate new reports
$reportPath = Get-ReportPath
$currentDate = Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MM-dd"
foreach ($vcenter in $vcenters) {
    $reportFile = "$reportPath\$currentDate-$vcenter.xlsx"
    $Arguments = "-s $vcenter -u user -p pass -c ExportAll2xlsx -d $reportPath -f $reportFile"
    Log-Message "Executing: $RVToolsPath $Arguments"
    try {
        $process = Start-Process -FilePath $RVToolsPath -ArgumentList $Arguments -Wait -NoNewWindow -PassThru
        if ($process -ne $null) {
            $process.WaitForExit()
            $exitCode = $process.ExitCode
            if ($exitCode -eq 0) {
                Log-Message "Report generated for $vcenter"
            } else {
                Log-Message "RVTools exited with code $exitCode for $vcenter"
            }
        } else {
            Log-Message "Failed to start RVTools process for $vcenter"
        }
    } catch {
        Log-Message "Failed to generate report for $vcenter $($_.Exception.Message)"
    }
}

# Cleanup old reports
Cleanup-OldReports

This script creates a new folder each month and a subfolder every day, retaining the exported files for one year. Additionally, it generates a log each time the command runs.
Change the “vCenter IP addresses, user and password and any part of this script you wish and run a test.
If the test run successfuly you can save it as a .ps1 file.

Step 4: Schedule the Script

You can schedule this script to run daily using Windows Task Scheduler to ensure the reports are generated automatically.

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Feel free to adjust the content as needed! If you have any questions or need further assistance, let me know.