Windows Server Administration

Windows Server management and PowerShell automation for production workloads including IIS web hosting, Active Directory domain services, and system maintenance.

When to Use

• Provisioning or configuring Windows Server 2019/2022 instances
• Setting up IIS websites, application pools, and bindings
• Managing Active Directory users, groups, and Group Policy
• Automating administrative tasks with PowerShell
• Reviewing Windows Event Logs for troubleshooting
• Applying and managing Windows Updates on servers

Prerequisites

• Administrator account on the target server
• PowerShell 5.1+ (built-in) or PowerShell 7+ installed
• Remote Desktop or WinRM access configured
• Windows Server 2019 or 2022 (Desktop Experience or Server Core)

PowerShell Administration Essentials

# Check PowerShell version
$PSVersionTable.PSVersion

# Get system information
Get-ComputerInfo | Select-Object CsName, OsName, OsVersion, OsArchitecture

# List running processes sorted by CPU
Get-Process | Sort-Object CPU -Descending | Select-Object -First 20

# List all services and their status
Get-Service | Where-Object { $_.Status -eq 'Running' }

# Restart a service
Restart-Service -Name W3SVC -Force

# Get disk space on all drives
Get-PSDrive -PSProvider FileSystem | Select-Object Name, @{N='Used(GB)';E={[math]::Round($_.Used/1GB,2)}}, @{N='Free(GB)';E={[math]::Round($_.Free/1GB,2)}}

# Check uptime
(Get-Date) - (Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem).LastBootUpTime

# Open firewall port
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Allow HTTPS" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 443 -Action Allow

# List firewall rules
Get-NetFirewallRule | Where-Object { $_.Enabled -eq 'True' -and $_.Direction -eq 'Inbound' } | Select-Object DisplayName, Action

# Set DNS client server addresses
Set-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -ServerAddresses ("10.0.0.2","10.0.0.3")

# PowerShell remoting to another server
Enter-PSSession -ComputerName server02 -Credential (Get-Credential)

# Run a command on multiple remote servers
Invoke-Command -ComputerName server01,server02,server03 -ScriptBlock { Get-Service W3SVC }

Server Roles and Features

# List all available roles and features
Get-WindowsFeature

# Install IIS with management tools
Install-WindowsFeature -Name Web-Server -IncludeManagementTools -IncludeAllSubFeature

# Install Active Directory Domain Services
Install-WindowsFeature -Name AD-Domain-Services -IncludeManagementTools

# Install DNS Server
Install-WindowsFeature -Name DNS -IncludeManagementTools

# Install DHCP Server
Install-WindowsFeature -Name DHCP -IncludeManagementTools

# Install File Server with deduplication
Install-WindowsFeature -Name FS-FileServer, FS-Data-Deduplication

# List installed features only
Get-WindowsFeature | Where-Object Installed | Select-Object Name, InstallState

# Remove a feature
Uninstall-WindowsFeature -Name Telnet-Client

IIS Web Server Setup

# Import the IIS administration module
Import-Module WebAdministration

# Create a new application pool
New-WebAppPool -Name "ProductionPool"
Set-ItemProperty IIS:\AppPools\ProductionPool -Name processModel.identityType -Value 3  # NetworkService
Set-ItemProperty IIS:\AppPools\ProductionPool -Name managedRuntimeVersion -Value ""     # No managed code (reverse proxy)

# Create a new website
New-Website -Name "MyApp" `
  -Port 443 `
  -Protocol https `
  -PhysicalPath "C:\inetpub\myapp" `
  -ApplicationPool "ProductionPool" `
  -SslFlags 1

# Add an HTTP binding that redirects to HTTPS
New-WebBinding -Name "MyApp" -Protocol http -Port 80

# Bind an SSL certificate to the HTTPS site
$cert = Get-ChildItem -Path Cert:\LocalMachine\My | Where-Object { $_.Subject -like "*example.com*" }
New-Item IIS:\SslBindings\0.0.0.0!443 -Value $cert

# Create a virtual directory
New-WebVirtualDirectory -Site "MyApp" -Name "static" -PhysicalPath "C:\inetpub\static"

# Start, stop, and restart a site
Start-Website -Name "MyApp"
Stop-Website  -Name "MyApp"
Restart-WebAppPool -Name "ProductionPool"

# List all websites and their state
Get-Website | Select-Object Name, State, PhysicalPath, @{N='Bindings';E={$_.Bindings.Collection.bindingInformation}}

# Enable IIS logging with W3C format
Set-WebConfigurationProperty -PSPath "IIS:\Sites\MyApp" `
  -Filter "system.webServer/httpLogging" `
  -Name "dontLog" -Value $false

# URL Rewrite: redirect HTTP to HTTPS (requires URL Rewrite module)

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