Take advantage of PowerShell script support in Server Configuration Monitor (SCM)

Created by Microsoft, PowerShell is a task automation and configuration management framework that consists of a command-line shell and associated scripting language, built on the .NET Framework.

Your organization should internally review and assess to what extent PowerShell is incorporated into your environment. This is especially important when importing scripts from third parties, including content posted by other customers in the SolarWinds online IT community, THWACK.

PowerShell does not process text; it processes objects based on the .NET Framework.

You can define custom PowerShell scripts in SCM to capture a wide range of different outputs according to your business needs. Create an SCM profile with the PowerShell script element and assign it to desired nodes. SCM then collects the output of those scripts and alerts you when it changes so that you can compare data outputs over time. This eliminates the need for manual data analysis and enables you to manage your PowerShell scripts from a central location, ensuring consistency throughout your environment.

SolarWinds recommends that you avoid using credentials or other sensitive information in PowerShell or Linux script content, as this information maybe viewable by non-administrator SCM users.

A PowerShell script for an element cannot be executed more than once at the same time. Therefore, if the same script is started again while the PowerShell script is still running, the SCM agent plugin ignores the newer attempt at script execution and waits for the result of the currently running script instead. The frequency of change detection may be lowered to ensure that the target system is not exhausted due to a complicated script.

PowerShell script outputs automatically preserve 4,096 characters. If you have formatting issues, see Display of PowerShell output in SCM does not match console output.