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PowerShell Jobs: Asynchronous Execution, WMI, and Scheduling

Jobs in PowerShell are extension points that allow tasks to run asynchronously in the background. Introduced in v3, jobs fall into three main categories: Remoting-based jobs, WMI/CIM jobs, and Scheduled jobs. Each type has unique mechanics but shares the same purpose—executing units of work without blocking the interactive session. Administrators can start jobs, monitor their status, retrieve results, and manage failures, making jobs a powerful tool for automation and remote management.

PowerShell JobsStart-Job and Invoke-CommandWMI JobsScheduled Jobs

~2 min read • Updated Dec 21, 2025

1. Remoting-Based Jobs


Two primary ways to start jobs:


  • Start-Job: Runs locally in the background.
  • Invoke-Command -AsJob: Executes commands on remote computers, tracked locally.

Jobs consist of a parent and child jobs. Use Get-Job to check status, Receive-Job to retrieve results, Wait-Job to pause until completion, and Stop-Job to terminate jobs.


2. Managing Job Results


  • Results are cached temporarily; -Keep preserves them for multiple retrievals.
  • Jobs expose streams: Error, Progress, Verbose, Debug, and Warning.
  • Failed jobs can be investigated via JobStateInfo and Reason properties.

3. WMI Jobs


WMI cmdlets such as Get-WmiObject support -AsJob, enabling parallel execution across multiple computers. These jobs communicate via RPC, not Remoting. Use -ThrottleLimit to control concurrency.


4. Scheduled Jobs


Introduced in PowerShell v3, scheduled jobs persist beyond the console session and integrate with Windows Task Scheduler.


  • Register-ScheduledJob: Creates jobs with triggers and options.
  • New-JobTrigger: Defines when jobs run (e.g., daily at 3 a.m.).
  • New-ScheduledJobOption: Configures behavior (e.g., require network).

Results are stored on disk in \AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\PowerShell\ScheduledJobs. Use Receive-Job to retrieve outputs and Remove-Job to clear history.


5. Job Processes


  • Start-Job: Creates child PowerShell.exe processes.
  • Invoke-Command -AsJob: Runs under wsmprovhost.exe via WSMAN.
  • WMI Jobs: Execute through RPC with child jobs per computer.

Conclusion


PowerShell Jobs provide robust asynchronous execution, remote management, and scheduling capabilities. By mastering job creation, monitoring, and troubleshooting, administrators can automate complex tasks efficiently across local and remote environments.


Written & researched by Dr. Shahin Siami

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