windows-server

## What I do - Manage Windows Server roles and features - Configure Active Directory and Group Policy - Monitor server performance and health - Manage Hyper-V virtualization - Configure file and storage services - Implement backup and disaster recovery - Automate administrative tasks with PowerShell - Configure network services (DNS, DHCP, NPS) - Harden server security - Troubleshoot Windows-specific issues ## When to use me When administering Windows Server environments, managing Active Directory, or automating Windows infrastructure tasks with PowerShell. ## Core Concepts - Active Directory management - Group Policy configuration - Hyper-V and VM management - Windows Server roles (AD DS, DNS, DHCP, File Services) - PowerShell scripting and Desired State Configuration - Windows Defender and security - Storage spaces and ReFS - Failover clustering - Windows Admin Center management - Event log analysis ## Code Examples ### Server Management ```powershell # Get comprehensive server health function Get-ServerHealth { [CmdletBinding()] param( [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)] [string[]]$ComputerName ) foreach ($computer in $ComputerName) { $health = [PSCustomObject]@{ ComputerName = $computer Status = "Unknown" Uptime = $null CPU = $null Memory = $null Disk = @() Services = @() Updates = $null } try { $os = Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_OperatingSystem -ComputerName $computer -ErrorAction Stop $health.Uptime = (Get-Date) - $os.LastBootUpTime $health.Status = "Online" # CPU and Memory $cpu = Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Processor -ComputerName $computer $health.CPU = [PSCustomObject]@{ LoadPercent = $cpu.LoadPercentage Cores = $cpu.NumberOfCores } $memory = Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ComputerSystem -ComputerName $computer $health.Memory = [PSCustomObject]@{ TotalGB = [math]::Round($memory.TotalPhysicalMemory / 1GB, 2) UsedGB = [math]::Round(($memory.TotalPhysicalMemory - (Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_OperatingSystem -ComputerName $computer).FreePhysicalMemory * 1KB) / 1GB, 2) } # Disk usage $disks = Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_LogicalDisk -ComputerName $computer -Filter "DriveType=3" foreach ($disk in $disks) { $health.Disk += [PSCustomObject]@{ Drive = $disk.DeviceID SizeGB = [math]::Round($disk.Size / 1GB, 2) FreeGB = [math]::Round($disk.FreeSpace / 1GB, 2) PercentFree = [math]::Round($disk.FreeSpace / $disk.Size * 100, 1) } } # Critical services $services = Get-Service -ComputerName $computer | Where-Object {$_.Status -eq "Stopped" -and $_.StartType -eq "Automatic"} $health.Services = $services | Select-Object -First 10 Name, DisplayName } catch { $health.Status = "Offline - $($_.Exception.Message)" } Write-Output $health } } # Get-WindowsServerHealth -ComputerName "SRV01", "SRV02" ``` ### Active Directory Management ```powershell # Create new AD user function New-ADUserEnhanced { [CmdletBinding()] param( [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)] [string]$FirstName, [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)] [string]$LastName, [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)] [string]$Username, [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)] [string]$OU, [string]$Description, [string]$Email, [string[]]$Groups, [string]$Password = (ConvertTo-SecureString -AsPlainText "ChangeMe123!" -Force) ) $displayName = "$FirstName $LastName" $samAccountName = $Username try { $userParams = @{ GivenName = $FirstName Surname = $LastName Name = $displayName DisplayName = $displayName SamAccountName = $samAccountName UserPrincipalName = "$Username@$((Get-ADDomain).DNSRoot)" Path = $OU AccountPassword = $Password Enabled = $true ChangePasswordAtLogon = $true Description = $Description EmailAddress = $Email } $newUser = New-ADUser @userParams -ErrorAction Stop # Add to groups foreach ($group in $Groups) { Add-ADGroupMember -Identity $group -Members $samAccountName -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue } Write-Host "Created user: $displayName" -ForegroundColor Green return $newUser } catch { Write-Error "Failed to create user: $($_.Exception.Message)" return $null } } # Bulk create users from CSV function Import-ADUsersBulk { param( [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)] [string]$CSVPath ) $users = Import-Csv -Path $CSVPath foreach ($user in $users) { New-ADUserEnhanced ` -FirstName $user.FirstName ` -LastName $user.LastName ` -Username $user.Username ` -OU $user.OU ` -Description $user.Description ` -Groups $user.Groups.Split(',') } } ``` ### Hyper-V Management ```powershell # Get VM health and performance function Get-VMHealthReport { [CmdletBinding()] param( [string[]]$VMNames = (Get-VM | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Name), [int]$HistoryMinutes = 5 ) $report = @() foreach ($vmName in $VMNames) { try { $vm = Get-VM -Name $vmName -ErrorAction Stop $vmReport = [PSCustomObject]@{ Name = $vm.Name State = $vm.State Uptime = $vm.Uptime CPUUsage = (Get-VMProcessor -VMName $vmName).CombinedAverageLoadPercent MemoryAssigned = [math]::Round($vm.MemoryAssigned / 1GB, 2) MemoryDemand = [math]::Round($vm.MemoryDemand / 1GB, 2) NetworkUsage = ($vm.NetworkAdapters | Measure-Object -Property BytesReceived -Sum).Sum / 1MB DiskUsage = ($vm.HardDrives | Measure-Object -Property DiskSize -Sum).Sum / 1GB Checkpoints = ($vm | Get-VMCheckpoint).Count } $report += $vmReport } catch { Write-Warning "Could not get status for $vmName: $_" } } return $report | Format-Table -AutoSize } # Quick VM operations function Invoke-VMQuickAction { [CmdletBinding()] param( [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)] [string]$VMName, [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)] [ValidateSet('Start', 'Stop', 'Restart', 'Save', 'Snapshot')] [string]$Action ) switch ($Action) { 'Start' { Start-VM -Name $VMName -Force Write-Host "Started VM: $VMName" -ForegroundColor Green } 'Stop' { Stop-VM -Name $VMName -Force -TurnOff Write-Host "Stopped VM: $VMName" -ForegroundColor Yellow } 'Restart' { Stop-VM -Name $VMName -Force -TurnOff Start-VM -Name $VMName Write-Host "Restarted VM: $VMName" -ForegroundColor Cyan } 'Save' { Save-VM -Name $VMName Write-Host "Saved VM: $VMName" -ForegroundColor Green } 'Snapshot' { $snapshotName = "$VMName-$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyyMMdd-HHmmss')" Checkpoint-VM -Name $VMName -SnapshotName $snapshotName Write-Host "Created snapshot: $snapshotName" -ForegroundColor Green } } } ``` ### Group Policy Management ```powershell # Get GPO report function Get-GPOReport { [CmdletBinding()] param( [string]$GPOName = "All", [string]$OutputPath = ".\GPOReports" ) if (-not (Test-Path $OutputPath)) { New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $OutputPath -Force | Out-Null } $gpos = if ($GPOName -eq "All") { Get-GPO -All } else { Get-GPO -Name $GPOName } foreach ($gpo in $gpos) { $reportPath = Join-Path -Path $OutputPath -ChildPath "$($gpo.DisplayName).html" Get-GPOReport -Name $gpo.DisplayName -Path $reportPath -HTML Write-Host "Generated report: $reportPath" -ForegroundColor Green } } # Find GPO applying to a specific OU function Find-GPOForOU { [CmdletBinding()] param( [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)] [string]$OUPath ) $ou = Get-ADOrganizationalUnit -Identity $OUPath # Get inherited GPOs $gpResults = Get-GPInheritance -Target $ou.DistinguishedName [PSCustomObject]@{ OU = $ou.Name GPOs = $gpResults.InheritedGpoLinks | Select-Object DisplayName, Enforced, GpoStatus } } ``` ## Best Practices - Use Server Core installations when GUI is not required - Enable Windows Defender and keep definitions updated - Use Just Enough Admin (JEA) for delegation - Implement proper backup strategies using Windows Server Backup - Use SMB signing and encryption for file shares - Enable SMBv1 only when absolutely necessary - Use Group Policy Preferences with item-level targeting - Monitor event logs with Windows Event Forwarding - Use DSC for configuration management - Keep patch management automated and tested