Namespace root/microsoft/windows/windowsupdate

PowerShell Help
1

The “root/microsoft/windows/windowsupdate” namespace exists on my machine but does not on some servers.

My Machine (windows 10 version 1607, PSversion 5.1.14393.2125):

PS>get-cimclass MSFT_WUOperationsSession -Namespace root/Microsoft/Windows/WindowsUpdate

   NameSpace: ROOT/Microsoft/Windows/WindowsUpdate

CimClassName                        CimClassMethods      CimClassProperties
------------                        ---------------      ------------------
MSFT_WUOperationsSession            {SetCallerID, App... {InstanceID}

Server (Windows Server 2008 standard, PSVersion 3.0):

PS C:\Windows\system32> get-cimclass MSFT_WUOperationsSession -Namespace root/Microsoft/Windows/WindowsUpdate
get-cimclass : Invalid namespace
    + CategoryInfo          : MetadataError: (root/Microsoft/...erationsSession:String) [Get-CimClass], CimException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : HRESULT 0x8004100e,Microsoft.Management.Infrastructure.CimCmdlets.GetCimClassCommand

Server (Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard, PSVersion 4.0):

PS C:\Users\cce0_\Documents> get-cimclass MSFT_WUOperationsSession -Namespace root/Microsoft/Windows/WindowsUpdate
get-cimclass : Invalid namespace
    + CategoryInfo          : MetadataError: (root/Microsoft/...erationsSession:String) [Get-CimClass], CimException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : HRESULT 0x8004100e,Microsoft.Management.Infrastructure.CimCmdlets.GetCimClassCommand

Does this namespace not exist on server operating systems or does this namespace come with a newer version of PowerShell(maybe 5.0)? The purpose of this information is to use methods in the the MSFT_WUOperationsSession class to get info on pending windows updates remotely, which works very well on my machine and other windows 10 computers I’ve tested it on.

My apologies if this is the incorrect place to be asking such as question, it’s more of a ‘why does this namespace not exist here’ instead of a specific powershell question, unless the reasoning is the new version of powershell (hopefully that is the case here).

2

It’s dependent on the Windows OS, not PowerShell per se, I believe. There’s a TON of variability in the CIM repository between different operating systems.

3

Thanks for the information Don. Does that mean this same might be available under a different namespace or class? Or just maybe not available at all, I suppose

4

I’d guess, “not available at all.” Typically, you get new namespaces by installing software (Active Directory does it, for example, as does Office), so whatever machines lack the namespace probably also lack the software (or the version of it that creates the namespace). Windows Update is different on servers than on clients, for example, and newer versions of Windows will have a newer Windows Update subsystem.