Technology

  A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about using PowerShell for logging script outputs and mentioned there’d be a part two. So here we go, finally. PowerShell logging is great for keeping track of data, but log files can quickly get too big. This makes it hard to find what you need or manage storage. With a simple script, you can split logs into separate files when needed. $logPath = "c:\Scripts\NICPingCheck.log" #Check if old log files exist and delete them if (Test-Path "$logPath.old") { Remove-Item "$logPath.old" -Force Write-Host "Old log file removed." } else { Write-Host "No old log file found to remove." } #Rename the current log file to .old if (Test-Path $logPath) { Rename-Item -Path $logPath -NewName "$logPath.old" -Force Write-Host "Current log file renamed to .old." } The script starts by deleting any files ending in .old. Next, it renames the current log file to add .old, so you al...

PowerShell is one of the most powerful tools in an administrator's toolbox, and I use it daily. The more I do with PowerShell, the more I need to record my script and save my script output as reference or proof of the changes made. For example, when did that condition-based automation fire, and what did it do, or what data did you update from that data extract from HR against AD? PowerShell provides several options, and here are my favorites. Write-Host The simplest option is the "Write-Host" command, which returns the output to the command window. This is great for returning simple values; you can watch as the script runs. By including the variable after the write host command, you can print its value at that point in the code for reference- $timestamp = (Get-Date).ToString("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss") $message = "Logging Blog" Write-Host "$timestamp - $message" Typically, this wouldn't record the output anywhere other than i...