server-overview

name	server-overview
description	Quick system summary including OS, uptime, hardware, and overall health

Server Overview - Quick System Summary

Purpose

Get a high-level overview of the target Windows Server including hostname, OS version, uptime, last boot time, domain membership, and basic hardware information.

PowerShell Code

Complete System Overview

$ServerName = "TARGET_SERVER"
# For current user (default): no credential needed
# For explicit credentials: check if $credential variable exists (user must create BEFORE running gh copilot)

$scriptBlock = {
    try {
        # Operating System Info
        $os = Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_OperatingSystem -ErrorAction Stop
        
        # Computer System Info
        $cs = Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ComputerSystem -ErrorAction Stop
        
        # BIOS Info
        $bios = Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS -ErrorAction Stop
        
        # Calculate uptime
        $bootTime = $os.LastBootUpTime
        $uptime = (Get-Date) - $bootTime
        
        # Build structured result
        [PSCustomObject]@{
            Hostname           = $cs.Name
            FQDN               = "$($cs.Name).$($cs.Domain)"
            Domain             = $cs.Domain
            DomainRole         = switch ($cs.DomainRole) {
                0 { "Standalone Workstation" }
                1 { "Member Workstation" }
                2 { "Standalone Server" }
                3 { "Member Server" }
                4 { "Backup Domain Controller" }
                5 { "Primary Domain Controller" }
                default { "Unknown ($($cs.DomainRole))" }
            }
            PartOfDomain       = $cs.PartOfDomain
            
            OSName             = $os.Caption
            OSVersion          = $os.Version
            OSBuild            = $os.BuildNumber
            OSArchitecture     = $os.OSArchitecture
            ServicePackMajor   = $os.ServicePackMajorVersion
            InstallDate        = $os.InstallDate
            
            LastBootTime       = $bootTime
            UptimeDays         = [math]::Round($uptime.TotalDays, 2)
            UptimeFormatted    = "$($uptime.Days)d $($uptime.Hours)h $($uptime.Minutes)m"
            
            Manufacturer       = $cs.Manufacturer
            Model              = $cs.Model
            TotalPhysicalRAM_GB = [math]::Round($cs.TotalPhysicalMemory / 1GB, 2)
            NumberOfProcessors = $cs.NumberOfProcessors
            NumberOfLogicalProc = $cs.NumberOfLogicalProcessors
            
            BIOSVersion        = $bios.SMBIOSBIOSVersion
            BIOSManufacturer   = $bios.Manufacturer
            
            TimeZone           = $os.CurrentTimeZone / 60  # Hours from UTC
            LocalDateTime      = Get-Date
            
            Status             = "Online"
        }
    } catch {
        [PSCustomObject]@{
            Hostname = $env:COMPUTERNAME
            Status   = "Error"
            Error    = $_.Exception.Message
        }
    }
}

try {
    $invokeParams = @{
        ComputerName = $ServerName
        ScriptBlock  = $scriptBlock
        ErrorAction  = 'Stop'
    UseSSL        = $true
    Port          = 5986
    SessionOption = (New-PSSessionOption -SkipCACheck -SkipCNCheck)
    }
    
    if ($credential) {
        $invokeParams['Credential'] = $credential
    }
    
    $result = Invoke-Command @invokeParams
    
    # Display results
    Write-Host "`n=== Server Overview: $ServerName ===" -ForegroundColor Cyan
    Write-Host ""
    Write-Host "System Identity:" -ForegroundColor Yellow
    Write-Host "  Hostname:        $($result.Hostname)"
    Write-Host "  FQDN:            $($result.FQDN)"
    Write-Host "  Domain:          $($result.Domain)"
    Write-Host "  Domain Role:     $($result.DomainRole)"
    Write-Host ""
    Write-Host "Operating System:" -ForegroundColor Yellow
    Write-Host "  OS:              $($result.OSName)"
    Write-Host "  Version:         $($result.OSVersion) (Build $($result.OSBuild))"
    Write-Host "  Architecture:    $($result.OSArchitecture)"
    Write-Host "  Installed:       $($result.InstallDate)"
    Write-Host ""
    Write-Host "Uptime:" -ForegroundColor Yellow
    Write-Host "  Last Boot:       $($result.LastBootTime)"
    Write-Host "  Uptime:          $($result.UptimeFormatted) ($($result.UptimeDays) days)"
    
    if ($result.UptimeDays -gt 90) {
        Write-Host "  ⚠ Server has been up for $($result.UptimeDays) days - consider patching/reboot" -ForegroundColor Yellow
    } elseif ($result.UptimeDays -lt 1) {
        Write-Host "  ℹ Recent reboot detected" -ForegroundColor Cyan
    }
    
    Write-Host ""
    Write-Host "Hardware:" -ForegroundColor Yellow
    Write-Host "  Manufacturer:    $($result.Manufacturer)"
    Write-Host "  Model:           $($result.Model)"
    Write-Host "  Total RAM:       $($result.TotalPhysicalRAM_GB) GB"
    Write-Host "  Processors:      $($result.NumberOfProcessors) physical, $($result.NumberOfLogicalProc) logical"
    Write-Host "  BIOS:            $($result.BIOSManufacturer) $($result.BIOSVersion)"
    Write-Host ""
    
    # Return structured object for further processing
    $result
    
} catch {
    Write-Error "Failed to get server overview from $ServerName : $($_.Exception.Message)"
}

Lightweight Version (Fast Check)

$ServerName = "TARGET_SERVER"
# For current user (default): no credential needed
# For explicit credentials: check if $credential variable exists (user must create BEFORE running gh copilot)

try {
    $result = Invoke-Command -ComputerName $ServerName -Credential $Credential -UseSSL -Port 5986 -SessionOption (New-PSSessionOption -SkipCACheck -SkipCNCheck) -ScriptBlock {
        $os = Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem
        $cs = Get-CimInstance Win32_ComputerSystem
        
        [PSCustomObject]@{
            Name    = $cs.Name
            OS      = $os.Caption
            Build   = $os.BuildNumber
            Boot    = $os.LastBootUpTime
            Uptime  = [math]::Round(((Get-Date) - $os.LastBootUpTime).TotalDays, 1)
            Domain  = $cs.Domain
            RAM_GB  = [math]::Round($cs.TotalPhysicalMemory / 1GB, 1)
        }
    } -ErrorAction Stop
    
    Write-Host "$($result.Name): $($result.OS) | Up $($result.Uptime)d | $($result.RAM_GB) GB RAM"
    $result
    
} catch {
    Write-Warning "Cannot reach $ServerName : $($_.Exception.Message)"
}

Interpreting Results

Key Health Indicators

Metric	Good	Warning	Critical
Uptime	7-60 days	60-90 days	>90 days or <1 day (frequent reboots)
Domain Role	Member Server/DC	Standalone	Wrong role type
Install Date	Recent patches	>6 months old	>1 year old

What to Look For

1. Uptime Concerns

   • >90 days: Likely missing Windows Updates that require reboot
   • <1 day with issues: Recent reboot might indicate crash or problem
   • Very long uptime: Security risk; patches not applied

2. Domain Membership

   • Not in domain when expected: Group Policy not applying, authentication issues
   • Wrong domain: Configuration error
   • Domain role mismatch: Server configured incorrectly

3. OS Version/Build

   • Check against Microsoft lifecycle: https://aka.ms/windowsserver-lifecycle
   • Out-of-support versions are security risks
   • Old builds missing critical patches

4. Hardware

   • Low RAM (<4GB): Likely performance issues
   • Manufacturer "VMware" or "Microsoft Corporation": Virtual machine
   • Physical vs Virtual matters for troubleshooting

Common Issues Revealed

Finding	Likely Problem	Action
Uptime >100 days	Missing patches, updates not applied	Schedule maintenance window
PartOfDomain = False	Not domain joined	Check network, rejoin domain
Recent boot (<1 hour) with errors	System crashed and auto-rebooted	Check event logs for crash dump
Old OS build	Unpatched system	Run Windows Update
Low RAM with high page file use	Memory pressure	Add RAM or reduce workload

Error Handling

# Timeout after 30 seconds if server is slow/hung
$ServerName = "TARGET_SERVER"

$job = Start-Job -ScriptBlock {
    param($srv)
    Invoke-Command -ComputerName $srv -UseSSL -Port 5986 -SessionOption (New-PSSessionOption -SkipCACheck -SkipCNCheck) -ScriptBlock {
        Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem | Select-Object Caption, Version, LastBootUpTime
    }
} -ArgumentList $ServerName

if (Wait-Job -Job $job -Timeout 30) {
    $result = Receive-Job -Job $job
    $result
} else {
    Write-Warning "Connection to $ServerName timed out after 30 seconds"
    Stop-Job -Job $job
}

Remove-Job -Job $job -Force

Next Steps

Based on overview results, proceed to:

• High uptime → Check services and event-logs for deferred issues
• Recent reboot → Check event-logs for crash/unexpected shutdown
• Domain issues → Check network connectivity and DNS
• Low RAM → Check processes and performance for memory usage
• Physical server → Check disk-storage for hardware health (SMART)