windows-server

# Windows Server Administration ## What I Do I am Windows Server, Microsoft's enterprise server operating system providing directory services, file sharing, virtualization, and application hosting. I offer Active Directory for centralized identity management, Hyper-V for virtualization, and seamless integration with Microsoft ecosystem. I provide GUI and PowerShell-based administration, supporting both traditional and containerized workloads. My licensing model includes per-core and per-user options. I support Windows Admin Center for modern web-based management. I integrate with Azure for hybrid cloud scenarios. I provide enterprise-grade security with Windows Defender, BitLocker, and Group Policy. ## When to Use Me - Active Directory domain management - File and print services - Hyper-V virtualization - IIS web hosting - SQL Server hosting - Exchange/Teams infrastructure - Print/document management - Hybrid Azure integration - Windows container workloads ## Core Concepts **Active Directory**: LDAP-based directory services for user and computer management. **Group Policy**: Centralized configuration management for domain-joined systems. **PowerShell**: Command-line shell and scripting language with module ecosystem. **Hyper-V**: Native hypervisor for Windows virtualization. **IIS**: Internet Information Services for web hosting. **Windows Defender**: Built-in antivirus and endpoint protection. **Remote Desktop Services**: Multi-user desktop and application virtualization. ## Code Examples ### Example 1: PowerShell Administration Module ```powershell # Windows Server Administration Module function Get-SystemInfo { <# .SYNOPSIS Get comprehensive system information #> [CmdletBinding()] param( [Parameter()] [string]$ComputerName = $env:COMPUTERNAME ) $params = @{ ClassName = 'Win32_OperatingSystem' ComputerName = $ComputerName } $os = Get-CimInstance @params $systemInfo = [PSCustomObject]@{ ComputerName = $os.CSName OS = $os.Caption Version = $os.Version Build = $os.BuildNumber InstallDate = $os.InstallDate2 LastBootUpTime = $os.LastBootUpTime Uptime = (Get-Date) - $os.LastBootUpTime TotalMemoryGB = [math]::Round($os.TotalVisibleMemorySize / 1MB, 2) FreeMemoryGB = [math]::Round($os.FreePhysicalMemory / 1MB, 2) CPU = (Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Processor -ComputerName $ComputerName).Name } return $systemInfo } function Get-DiskInfo { <# .SYNOPSIS Get disk usage and health information #> [CmdletBinding()] param( [Parameter()] [string]$ComputerName = $env:COMPUTERNAME ) Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_LogicalDisk -ComputerName $ComputerName | Where-Object {$_.DriveType -eq 3} | ForEach-Object { [PSCustomObject]@{ Drive = $_.DeviceID VolumeName = $_.VolumeName SizeGB = [math]::Round($_.Size / 1GB, 2) FreeSpaceGB = [math]::Round($_.FreeSpace / 1GB, 2) UsedGB = [math]::Round(($_.Size - $_.FreeSpace) / 1GB, 2) PercentFree = [math]::Round(($_.FreeSpace / $_.Size) * 100, 2) Health = if ($_.Status -eq 'OK') { 'Healthy' } else { 'Warning' } } } } function Get-ServiceStatus { <# .SYNOPSIS Check status of critical services #> [CmdletBinding()] param( [Parameter()] [string[]]$ServiceName = @('WinRM', 'Dhcp', 'Dns', 'Netlogon', 'DFS', 'wuauserv'), [Parameter()] [string]$ComputerName = $env:COMPUTERNAME ) foreach ($service in $ServiceName) { $svc = Get-Service -Name $service -ComputerName $ComputerName -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue if ($svc) { [PSCustomObject]@{ Name = $svc.Name DisplayName = $svc.DisplayName Status = $svc.Status StartType = (Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Service -Filter "Name='$service'" -ComputerName $ComputerName).StartMode } } else { Write-Warning "Service '$service' not found on $ComputerName" } } } function Test-NetworkConnectivity { <# .SYNOPSIS Test network connectivity to hosts #> [CmdletBinding()] param( [Parameter(Mandatory)] [string[]]$ComputerName, [Parameter()] [int]$Count = 4, [Parameter()] [int]$Timeout = 1000 ) foreach ($computer in $ComputerName) { $result = Test-Connection -ComputerName $computer -Count $Count -TimeoutSeconds ($Timeout / 1000) -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue if ($result) { [PSCustomObject]@{ ComputerName = $computer IPAddress = $result.IPV4Address.IPAddressToString ResponseTime = $result.ResponseTime Status = 'Online' } } else { [PSCustomObject]@{ ComputerName = $computer IPAddress = $null ResponseTime = $null Status = 'Offline' } } } } function Install-WindowsFeature { <# .SYNOPSIS Install Windows Server features #> [CmdletBinding()] param( [Parameter(Mandatory)] [string[]]$FeatureName, [Parameter()] [switch]$Restart, [Parameter()] [string]$SourcePath ) foreach ($feature in $FeatureName) { Write-Output "Installing $feature..." $params = @{ Name = $feature IncludeManagementTools = $true ErrorAction = 'Stop' } if ($SourcePath) { $params.Source = $SourcePath } if ($Restart) { $params.Restart = $true } try { Install-WindowsFeature @params | Out-Null Write-Output "Successfully installed $feature" } catch { Write-Error "Failed to install $feature: $_" } } } function New-UserAccount { <# .SYNOPSIS Create new Active Directory user #> [CmdletBinding()] param( [Parameter(Mandatory)] [string]$FirstName, [Parameter(Mandatory)] [string]$LastName, [Parameter(Mandatory)] [string]$OU, [Parameter()] [string]$Description, [Parameter()] [string]$Password, [Parameter()] [string[]]$Groups ) $samAccountName = "$($FirstName.Substring(0,1))$LastName" $userPrincipalName = "$samAccountName@$((Get-ADDomain).DNSRoot)" $displayName = "$FirstName $LastName" $params = @{ GivenName = $FirstName Surname = $LastName Name = $displayName DisplayName = $displayName SamAccountName = $samAccountName UserPrincipalName = $userPrincipalName Path = $OU AccountPassword = (ConvertTo-SecureString $Password -AsPlainText -Force) Enabled = $true Description = $Description } New-ADUser @params foreach ($group in $Groups) { Add-ADGroupMember -Identity $group -Members $samAccountName } Write-Output "User $displayName created successfully" } function Backup-SystemState { <# .SYNOPSIS Backup Windows Server system state #> [CmdletBinding()] param( [Parameter(Mandatory)] [string]$BackupPath, [Parameter()] [int]$RetentionDays = 30 ) if (-not (Test-Path $BackupPath)) { New-Item -Path $BackupPath -ItemType Directory -Force | Out-Null } $timestamp = Get-Date -Format 'yyyyMMdd_HHmmss' $backupFolder = Join-Path $BackupPath "Backup_$timestamp" Write-Output "Starting system state backup to $backupFolder" try { # Create system state backup using Windows Server Backup $backupParams = @{ BackupTarget = New-Object -TypeName Microsoft.Internal.IO.DirectoryString -ArgumentList $backupFolder SystemState = $true ErrorAction = 'Stop' } Start-WBBackup -Backup $backupParams | Out-Null Write-Output "Backup completed successfully" # Clean old backups $cutoffDate = (Get-Date).AddDays(-$RetentionDays) Get-ChildItem -Path $BackupPath -Directory | Where-Object {$_.CreationTime -lt $cutoffDate} | Remove-Item -Recurse -Force Write-Output "Old backups cleaned up" } catch { Write-Error "Backup failed: $_" } } # Export module functions Export-ModuleMember -Function @( 'Get-SystemInfo', 'Get-DiskInfo', 'Get-ServiceStatus', 'Test-NetworkConnectivity', 'Install-WindowsFeature', 'New-UserAccount', 'Backup-SystemState' ) ``` ### Example 2: Active Directory Management ```powershell # Active Directory Administration # Get AD User Report function Get-ADUserReport { Get-ADUser -Filter * -Properties * | Select-Object Name, SamAccountName, UserPrincipalName, Enabled, LastLogonDate, PasswordLastSet, Created, Modified, MemberOf | Export-Csv -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\ADUserReport.csv" -NoTypeInformation } # Find Inactive Users function Find-InactiveUsers { param( [Parameter()] [int]$DaysInactive = 90 ) $inactiveDate = (Get-Date).AddDays(-$DaysInactive) Get-ADUser -Filter {LastLogonDate -lt $inactiveDate} -Properties LastLogonDate | Select-Object Name, SamAccountName, LastLogonDate | Sort-Object LastLogonDate } # Group Policy Reporting function Get-GPOReport { Get-GPO -All | ForEach-Object { [PSCustomObject]@{ DisplayName = $_.DisplayName Id = $_.Id Owner = $_.Owner CreationTime = $_.CreationTime ModificationTime = $_.ModificationTime Status = $_.Status GpoStatus = $_.GpoStatus } } | Export-Csv -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\GPOReport.csv" -NoTypeInformation } # Computer Inventory function Get-ADComputerInventory { Get-ADComputer -Filter * -Properties * | Select-Object Name, DNSHostName, OperatingSystem, OperatingSystemVersion, LastLogonDate, IPv4Address, Enabled | Export-Csv -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\ComputerInventory.csv" -NoTypeInformation } ``` ### Example 3: IIS Administration ```powershell # IIS Administration # Get IIS Sites function Get-IISSiteStatus { Get-Website | Select-Object Name, Id, State, PhysicalPath, Bindings, ApplicationDefaults | Format-Table -Auto } # Create IIS Website function New-IISWebsite { param( [Parameter(Mandatory)] [string]$Name, [Parameter(Mandatory)] [string]$PhysicalPath, [Parameter()] [string]$Binding = 'http/*:80:', [Parameter()] [string]$AppPoolName, [Parameter()] [string]$DotNetVersion = 'v4.0', [Parameter()] [switch]$EnableSSL ) # Create application pool if (-not $AppPoolName) { $AppPoolName = $Name } New-WebAppPool -Name $AppPoolName -Force | Out-Null Set-ItemProperty -Path "IIS:\AppPools\$AppPoolName" ` -Name managedRuntimeVersion ` -Value $DotNetVersion # Create website $params = @{ Name = $Name PhysicalPath = $PhysicalPath ApplicationPool = $AppPoolName Force = $true } if ($EnableSSL) { $binding = "https/*:443:$Name" } else { $binding = $Binding } New-Website @params # Configure bindings if ($EnableSSL) { Get-Website -Name $Name | Set-WebBinding -Name $Name ` -PropertyName bindingInformation ` -Value $binding ` -Protocol 'https' # Get or create SSL certificate $cert = Get-ChildItem -Path Cert:\LocalMachine\My | Where-Object {$_.Subject -eq "CN=$Name"} | Select-Object -First 1 if (-not $cert) { $cert = New-SelfSignedCertificate -DnsName $Name, 'localhost' -CertStoreLocation 'cert:\LocalMachine\My' } Set-WebBinding -Name $Name ` -PropertyName 'sslFlags' ` -Value 0 ` -Protocol 'https' $binding = Get-WebBinding -Name $Name -Protocol 'https' $binding.AddSslCertificate($cert.Thumbprint, 'My') } Write-Output "Website $Name created successfully" } # Get IIS Logs function Get-IISLogs { param( [Parameter()] [string]$SiteName = 'Default Web Site', [Parameter()] [int]$LastHours = 24 ) $logPath = "$env:SystemDrive\inetpub\logs\LogFiles\W3SVC1" Get-ChildItem -Path $logPath -Filter '*.log' | Where-Object {$_.LastWriteTime -gt (Get-Date).AddHours(-$LastHours)} | Get-Content | Select-Object -Last 1000 } # Monitor IIS Performance function Get-IISPerformance { $counters = @( '\Web Service(_Total)\Current Connections', '\Web Service(_Total)\Total Connection Attempts', '\ASP.NET Applications(__Total__)\Requests/sec', '\ASP.NET v4.0.30319\Request Execution Time' ) Get-Counter -Counter $counters -SampleInterval 2 -MaxSamples 5 | ForEach-Object {$_.CounterSamples} | Select-Object Path, CookedValue } ``` ## Best Practices - Keep Windows Server updated through Windows Update or WSUS - Use Active Directory for centralized management - Implement least privilege for service accounts