Having software consistently deployed across the fleet of computers is one of the key points that can be automated. If I have a choice (and it makes sense), I will always choose GPO over any other solution because it’s embedded into Active Directory thus not requiring installation, learning and maintenance of additional management tool. MSI – Software Installation One of the main advantages of MSI installers is that in 99% of cases you can just use the “Software Installation” option in GPO, and GPO will take care of the silent installation....

Deploying a new server is always fun! Well, at least the part after ISO download, installation, patching. Having said that, why not create a template so that you jump right into the fun? So we are essentially going to create a preconfigured VHDX file that can be attached to the newly created VM, and it will take you straight to the login screen. What’s needed Windows server or Windows 10 with Hyper-V role and management tools enabled Windows Assessment and Deployment Toolkit (ADK) – I always pick the latest version available, at the moment of writing this – Windows 10, version 1903 – is latest....

VSS Writers are responsible for backups – if they stop working, then backups might fail. The solution to that is restarting VSS Writers, but the problem here is that there are many, and at least out of the box, there’s no mechanism to make this automatic… but there’s PowerShell. I’m not interested in your code, I just want to restart these VSS Writers In that case, head on to: mygithub, use the code and run:...

It’s Friday. 5.20PM. So close to the long weekend. Monday is bank holiday – thus three days off. Very happy Friday. You’re going to the server room to check some minor details. Upon opening the main door, you can feel that cold breeze and characteristic noise of hundreds of spinning fans. You quickly skim through all flashy lights, as it’s a good habit. And then you notice there’s something wrong. An orange light – why is there an orange light?...

This will be a high level experience I’ve been gaining whenever automating manual processes. What does it mean to automate? Simply put, is to remove a person from equation in order to complete the task. It can go as far as automating the whole process, or just part of it. The main goal here is to release the resource – that is a person’s time and energy – and redirect it toward something more valuable....