System Administration

Basic PowerShell commands simplify daily administrative tasks:

• Managing files and directories:

  powershell Copy code Get-ChildItem -Path "C:\\Users\\"

• Monitoring system performance using cmdlets like Get-Process and Get-Service.

2. File and Folder Automation

Automating file management tasks like creating directories, copying files, or renaming them saves time:

powershell Copy code New-Item -Path "C:\\Backup" -ItemType Directory Copy-Item -Path "C:\\Data\\*.*" -Destination "C:\\Backup"

3. User and Group Management

Streamlining the management of user accounts and groups in Active Directory:

powershell Copy code New-ADUser -Name "John Doe" -Path "OU=Users,DC=example,DC=com"

4. Reporting and Auditing

Basic PowerShell scripts generate reports on disk usage, system uptime, or security logs:

powershell Copy code Get-EventLog -LogName Security -Newest 50

5. Task Automation

Schedule simple repetitive tasks using cmdlets or Task Scheduler integration:

powershell Copy code Start-Sleep -Seconds 30

Applications of Advanced PowerShell Scripting

1. Cloud Infrastructure Management

Advanced PowerShell scripting is widely used for managing cloud platforms like Azure and AWS.

• Deploying virtual machines, configuring storage, and managing networks in Azure:

  powershell Copy code New-AzVM -ResourceGroupName "MyResourceGroup" -Name "MyVM"

2. Configuration Management

Automating configuration tasks across multiple servers using Desired State Configuration (DSC).

Example of defining system configuration:

powershell Copy code Configuration MyConfig { Node "Server01" { File FileExample { Ensure = "Present" Type = "File" DestinationPath = "C:\\Config\\File.txt" } } } MyConfig

3. DevOps Automation

PowerShell scripting integrates seamlessly with CI/CD pipelines, enabling tasks like:

• Deploying applications.

• Managing containerized environments with Docker.

4. Advanced Data Manipulation

Extracting, transforming, and analyzing complex data formats like JSON, XML, or CSV for reporting and business insights:

powershell Copy code $data = Import-Csv -Path "C:\\Data\\report.csv" $data | Where-Object {$_.Status -eq "Active"}

5. Network Management and Security

Enhance security by auditing networks and automating vulnerability scans:

powershell Copy code Test-Connection -ComputerName "Server01" -Count 4

6. Remote Administration

Using PowerShell Remoting to manage servers and execute commands remotely:

powershell Copy code Invoke-Command -ComputerName "Server02" -ScriptBlock { Get-Service }

7. Application Management

Installing, updating, and managing applications efficiently across systems. For example, automating Microsoft Office installations:

powershell Copy code Start-Process -FilePath "setup.exe" -ArgumentList "/configure config.xml"

8. API Integration

Fetch and manipulate data from third-party APIs using Invoke-RestMethod:

powershell Copy code $response = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "<https://api.example.com/data>" $response | ConvertTo-Json

9. Advanced Error Handling

Creating robust scripts with structured error handling to prevent runtime failures:

powershell Copy code try { Remove-Item -Path "C:\\InvalidPath" -ErrorAction Stop } catch { Write-Host "Error: $_" }

10. Scheduling Complex Workflows

Combining triggers and conditions to automate end-to-end workflows involving multiple scripts and dependencies.