I work with servers around the globe, and one of the things I was trying to do was update multiple of our core servers remotely. The problem with RDP connections if you make them too small you can’t read the screen, with Powershell I can work on any number of servers, and it will all fit on one screen using a number of Powershell windows. You are able to do all this with modules like this. I always like to start small and work my way up to running larger modules; it gives me a better understanding of what’s happening. My current method allows me to act as if I was running on the machine which is more management friendly. It does require psexec as it calls on the built-in script.
My current process is run two Powershell windows; one with a remote PSSession to shut down any VM’s and any checking of the status of the server, a second with the below. Which if you have updated core server before is the script that asks which updates you would like to install which I found from scrolling through the VB scripts on the server.
.\psexec.exe \\Hostname -s cscript c:\windows\system32\en-us\WUA_SearchDownloadInstall.vbs
Another reason for the two PowerShell windows is the only bug I have hit is once you download and install the options the option to reboot doesn’t show. All I have to do is open the other PowerShell window and do
restart-computer -force
Or hit the below to stop the psexec process and you can enter your PS remote session and do it from there if you prefer one window per server.
Ctrl + Pause break
None of this provides automation but does improve the workflow and keeps that manual control if you need it.