SQL Server instance discovery using SqlServer PowerShell module

Question

The dbatools module's Find-DbaInstance can accept a computer name and return a list of instances on that machine. Is there an equivalent in the SqlServer module that does this? I tried Get-SqlInstance, but it seems to need actual instance names, as opposed to being able to use it for instance discovery. I'd prefer to use dbatools, but the SqlServer module is what I have consistent access to in the current environment.

Answer 1

There are many good results that dont even depend on the sqlserver module in this article

eg.

$SQLInstances = Invoke-Command -ComputerName "localhost" {
    (Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server').InstalledInstances
}

foreach ($sql in $SQLInstances) {
    [PSCustomObject]@{
        ServerName = $sql.PSComputerName
        InstanceName = $sql
    }
}