Is PowerShell Powerful Enough for Monitoring a Network?

What is PowerShell?

Microsoft developed Windows PowerShell as a tool that helps to simplify tedious and repetitive network administrative tasks.

It is fast replacing the command prompt because of its capability to deliver more power and control over windows operating system.

To give you an idea about how extensively it is used; PowerShell is used across the Microsoft ecosystem for all types of operations now for nearly a decade.

The tool designed by Microsoft stands true to its name. It is powerful beyond doubt and has a shell.

If you are wondering, how a tool for network monitoring relates to a turtle’s shell, well, here’s the thing.

In the world of computer science, shell refers to a user-interface that gives access to various services of an operating system.

But, what is so great about a PowerShell and why should you bother looking at or learning it? Let’s explore.

1. Spot slack and kill processes

When your company works with Microsoft and surrounding ecosystems, having the knowledge to use PowerShell can greatly ease up your mundane IT admin tasks and activities.

PowerShell helps you to fight fires quickly without the need to compile the code.

You can use existing or custom PowerShell commands at the shell and get to the problem as soon as possible.

PowerShell has several other capabilities that allow to highly speeding up your administration tasks.

Using PowerShell it is possible that you can set a time-consuming task to run in the background while you work on something else more important in the mean while.

PowerShell script helps you to monitor hosts, ports, and services on your network.

You can quickly identify and kill processes that do not respond to specific information or command.

2. Quickly gets you to the bottom of the task

The capabilities PowerShell provides for executing IT admin tasks is phenomenal as compared to other tools.

Suppose for a moment that you have eight hundred servers on your current reachable network.

And you need to implement a new security solution that is dependent on a certain service that runs on those servers.

You can, of course, do it manually by logging into each server and checking whether the service is running or not.

However, this could have your manager complaining that you took much longer to complete the task also involving more efforts and sometimes even two times the resources actually needed.

PowerShell makes life easier and effective for an IT administrator.

It has the capability to simplify tedious operations and reduce efforts in large corporate networks.

In the same situation, if you use PowerShell, the task could be completed in a matter of minutes.

Additionally, your manager would rather be impressed with the productivity in terms of efforts being applied and the timely outcomes.

3. Automation brings in a basket of benefits

Fundamentally, PowerShell allows you to automate IT related tasks and activities. This alone brings in a pool of benefits with itself.

One of the obvious benefits is that automation using PowerShell saves you a lot of time and efforts allowing controlled functioning.

We all agree that repetition in no case is fun. Most of the times you need to perform repetitive IT admin tasks wherein with PowerShell you can better manage and avoid repeated activities.

So when you use PowerShell, it helps you to do it much faster than doing it manually.

PowerShell being a scripting solution allows for consistency in executing the required tasks.

You do not have to check for typos or forgetting to complete the task.

The possibilities of inconsistency are next to null. Moreover, it creates an audit trail of the tasks that have been carried out.

The audit trail is useful in finding out important information such as what task was performed, errors that occurred when the task ran, who ran the task and so on.

4. PowerShell is here to stay

If you are responsible for the Microsoft side of the fence, then it is important and in some of the cases a requirement to learn the use of PowerShell.

A few years back, a Microsoft official highlighted that in the coming times one of the most imperative skills for a Windows administrator will be to have proficiency with Windows PowerShell.

While you might have your own doubts about it, it is hard to ignore such a clear emphasis on PowerShell.

Moreover, the new Microsoft certification exams have had questions relating to PowerShell.

This indicates how important it is to have knowledge of PowerShell for Microsoft certification exams.

No one knows what the future holds, but one thing is for sure that PowerShell is not going away anytime soon.

Therefore, the time you invest in learning Microsoft PowerShell will be completely worth it.

5. Competition demands you to learn it

Heated competition is a reality. There are a lot more candidates for few IT jobs.

Maybe at your current employer, you do not see an urgent need to learn PowerShell.

However, if you suddenly find yourself looking for a new job or a better opportunity, learning a new skill will certainly serve you well.

Having PowerShell among your skill set can be a big plus for your candidature.

It gives an impression that you have knowledge of the latest tools and assures your potential employer of your capability to work productively.

This can tremendously increase your chances of cutting through the competition and getting the job.

Moreover, if you still keep thinking about it, someone out there might have already mastered using PowerShell and is earning better than you with much less experience than yours.