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PowerShell for administrators

Essential PowerShell commands for day-to-day administration of a HolyCloud Windows VPS.

~9 min read Beginner #windows #powershell #administration #vps

PowerShell for administrators

PowerShell is the modern shell for Windows Server. On a HolyCloud VPS, it lets you automate services, network, users, and updates without relying only on the GUI.

Prerequisites

  • RDP or console session on the Windows VPS
  • Account in the Administrators group
  • Suitable execution policy (see below)

Run PowerShell as administrator

  1. Start menu → type PowerShell.
  2. Right-click → Run as administrator.

Check the version:

$PSVersionTable.PSVersion
Get-Host | Select-Object Version

PowerShell 5.1 is included by default; PowerShell 7 (pwsh) can be installed alongside for cross-platform scripts.

Script execution policy

Get-ExecutionPolicy -List
Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope LocalMachine

RemoteSigned: local scripts allowed; downloaded scripts must be signed.

Get-Location
Set-Location C:\inetpub\wwwroot
Get-ChildItem -Force
New-Item -Path 'C:\Logs' -ItemType Directory
Copy-Item 'C:\source\app.config' -Destination 'C:\app\'
Remove-Item 'C:\Temp\old.log' -Force

System information

Get-ComputerInfo | Select-Object CsName, WindowsProductName, OsBuildNumber, OsLastBootUpTime
Get-CimInstance Win32_Processor | Select-Object Name, NumberOfLogicalProcessors
Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem | Select-Object TotalVisibleMemorySize, FreePhysicalMemory
Get-Volume

Windows services

Get-Service | Where-Object { $_.Status -eq 'Running' } | Sort-Object DisplayName
Get-Service W3SVC, TermService
Restart-Service W3SVC -Force
Stop-Service 'Spooler' -Force
Set-Service 'Spooler' -StartupType Disabled

Processes and performance

Get-Process | Sort-Object CPU -Descending | Select-Object -First 10 Name, CPU, WS
Stop-Process -Name 'notepad' -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Get-Counter '\Processor(_Total)\% Processor Time' -SampleInterval 2 -MaxSamples 5

Network

Get-NetIPAddress -AddressFamily IPv4 | Where-Object { $_.IPAddress -notlike '127.*' }
Get-NetTCPConnection -State Listen | Select-Object LocalAddress, LocalPort, OwningProcess
Test-NetConnection -ComputerName 8.8.8.8 -Port 53
Resolve-DnsName www.holycloud.fr

Local users

Get-LocalUser
$Secure = Read-Host -AsSecureString 'Nouveau mot de passe'
New-LocalUser -Name 'deploy' -Password $Secure -Description 'Compte deploiement'
Add-LocalGroupMember -Group 'Administrators' -Member 'deploy'

Windows updates (overview)

Install-Module PSWindowsUpdate -Force -Scope AllUsers
Get-WindowsUpdate
Install-WindowsUpdate -AcceptAll -AutoReboot

Schedule reboots in a maintenance window.

Event log

Get-WinEvent -LogName System -MaxEvents 20 | Format-Table TimeCreated, Id, LevelDisplayName, Message -Wrap
Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{LogName='Application'; Level=2; StartTime=(Get-Date).AddDays(-1)}

Level 2 = Error.

Pipeline and CSV export

Get-Service | Where-Object { $_.StartType -eq 'Automatic' } |
  Select-Object Name, Status, DisplayName |
  Export-Csv -Path 'C:\Reports\services-auto.csv' -NoTypeInformation -Encoding UTF8

Variables and simple scripts

File C:\Scripts\Disk-Alert.ps1:

param([int]$SeuilGo = 10)
$Disque = Get-PSDrive C
$LibreGo = [math]::Round($Disque.Free / 1GB, 2)
if ($LibreGo -lt $SeuilGo) {
  Write-Warning "Espace disque C: faible ($LibreGo Go libres)"
}

Run:

& 'C:\Scripts\Disk-Alert.ps1' -SeuilGo 15

Built-in help

Get-Command *-NetFirewall*
Get-Help New-NetFirewallRule -Examples
Update-Help -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

Best practices

  • Use -WhatIf on destructive cmdlets when supported.
  • Log production scripts to C:\Logs\.
  • Do not store passwords in plain text in scripts; prefer SecretManagement or interactive input.
  • Test on a snapshot before large changes.

Troubleshooting

| Problem | Solution |

|----------|----------|

| « running scripts is disabled » | Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned |

| Access denied | Run PowerShell as administrator |

| Module not found | Install-Module / Import-Module |

| Broken UTF-8 characters | [Console]::OutputEncoding = [Text.UTF8Encoding]::UTF8 |

Need help?

For automation scripts related to HolyCloud infrastructure (API, snapshots), see VPS documentation or support with your specific use case.