Import-csv, Psremoting, tjek if service is stopped and start it

PowerShell Help
1

Hello PowerShell Scripting supporters

I need help with this little script.

I would like to import a csv file containing a list of servers where I want tjek if a specific service is running and if it is not then start this service. Show the result in powershell

$Serverlist = Import-Csv C:\Path-To-Severlist.csv

Get-ChildItem $Serverlist | ForEach-Object  Invoke-Command -ScriptBlock { Get-service -Name BackupExecAgentAccelerator } 

If {$_.Status -eq "stopped" -then Start-Service -Name BackupExecAgentAccelerator} | Format-Table name,status,ComputerName

I did also had an idea that the approach beneath could work, but I need some to get on the right track here.

$Serverlist = C:\Path-to-file.csv
ForEach-Object { $_.Serverlist New-PSSession }
Invoke-Command -Session $servelist -ScriptBlock { Get-service -Name BackupExecAgentAccelerator } | Format-Table name,status,PsComputerName

If {$_.Status -eq "stopped" -then Start-Service -Name BackupExecAgentAccelerator}
2

So… if $ServerList is a CSV file, I’m not sure why Get-ChildItem is in use. Get-ChildItem doesn’t read the contents of a file… I’m not sure what your intent was, there. Maybe I don’t understand the question. But you’re using $_ in some places that make no sense to me, I’m unsure why Format-Table is involved, and I don’t see where you’re passing a computer name to Invoke-Command.

Let’s maybe start over.

If ServerList.csv looks like:

ComputerName
SERVER1
SERVER2

This assumes I have a column header named “ComputerName,” which lets me reference the column. Then…

$ServerList = Import-CSV ServerList.csv
foreach ($Server in $ServerList) {
  $ComputerName = $Server.ComputerName
  Invoke-Command -ComputerName $ComputerName -ScriptBlock { 
    $service = Get-Service -Name BackupExecAgentWhateverThing
    if ($service.status -ne 'Running') { 
      Start-Service -Name BackupThingAgentExectWhatever
    }
  }
}

That’s the long way.

Invoke-Command -ScriptBlock { Start-Service -Name AgentBackupExecThing } -ComputerName (Import-CSV serverlist.csv | Select -expand ComputerName)

Would be the short way. You’d get errors for ones where the service was already started, since I didn’t actually check first on that second example, but hopefully that’s an illustration.

3

Thanks for the help:

You did understand the question.

My issue is that foreach-object and get-childitem confuses me a lot. And also when to use { } or when to use ( ).

The format-table, was something I used in another script with PSremoting, where I had listed of a few servers comma-seperated, so in order to make it look nice I added the Format-table.

Btw, I don’t mind taking the long way as long as I learn something during that process. Thats the most important thing for me right now regarding powershell.

I’m very happy that you didn’t replaced Foreach with a % sign.

And thank you so much for your help.

Kind regard
TechGismo

4

ForEach-Object: Takes one or more object, and runs a hunk of code for each object you give it. It is NOT the same as the ForEach language construct, although they have the same purpose.

Get-ChildItem: Gets a directory listing. It’s the real command behind “dir.”

{} encloses executable code. () encloses an expression. More on that in a minute.

Be really careful with formatting - see “The Big Book of PowerShell Gotchas.” Formatting can break more than it fixes when it’s in a script.

And I am not a huge fan of % as an alias, at least not when I’m trying to explain stuff ;).

{} and () confuses everybody. () is for expressions you want evaluated first - just like in math. For example:

if (5 -gt 10) { Do-This }

The () gets evaluated first, so this simplifies to (this isn’t real code, but it’s what goes in in PowerShell’s head):

if $false { Do-This }

OK, it’s False, so I won’t Do-This. The {} is a hunk of code - it’s what would have executed had the expression been True. It’s contained in {} so PowerShell can tell where the code begins and ends.