Top 50 Advanced PowerShell Commands

Every IT Admin Should Know, For Cloud Engineers, Sysadmins & IT Professionals

PowerShell isn’t just about basic system management — it’s a full-fledged automation and scripting powerhouse. These advanced commands help you manage Active Directory, Cloud, Security, Networking, and Automation at scale.

If you’d like to watch a step‑by‑step walkthrough of Below topics, please visit our post-

1. 1. Create a Virtual Machine and Install Windows server 2022, For YouTube Video Click Here.
  2. Install Windows 11 with or without TPM on a VM, For YouTube Video Click Here.
  3. Started with Microsoft Entra ID.
  4. Azure 4 Plans and How to sign-up.
  5. Introduction to Cloud Computing.

Below are 50 advanced PowerShell commands with quick explanations.

Top 10 Advanced System & Performance Commands

1. Get-Counter – Retrieves performance counters (CPU, memory, disk). Example: Get-Counter '\Processor(_Total)\% Processor Time'
2. Get-WinEvent – Advanced event log queries with filters. Example: Get-WinEvent -LogName Security -MaxEvents 10
3. Measure-Command – Measures execution time of a script/command. Example: Measure-Command { Get-Process }
4. Sort-Object – Sorts objects by property values. Example: Get-Process | Sort-Object CPU -Descending
5. Where-Object – Filters objects based on conditions. Example: Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.CPU -gt 100 }
6. Get-WmiObject – Retrieves detailed system/service info. Example: Get-WmiObject Win32_Service | Select Name, State
7. Get-CimInstance – Modern alternative to WMI queries. Example: Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem
8. Restart-Computer – Restarts local or remote computers. Example: Restart-Computer -ComputerName Server01 -Force
9. Export-Csv – Exports data to CSV files. Example: Get-Process | Export-Csv C:\processes.csv -NoTypeInformation
10. Get-EventSubscriber – Lists registered event handlers. Example: Get-EventSubscriber

Top 10 File, Folder & Registry Commands

1. Get-ItemProperty – Reads registry values.
  Example: Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion"
2. Set-ItemProperty – Updates registry values.
  Example: Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\TestKey" -Name "Value1" -Value "123"
3. Get-FileHash – Generates file checksum (MD5/SHA256).
  Example: Get-FileHash C:\file.txt -Algorithm SHA256
4. Compress-Archive – Creates ZIP archives.
  Example: Compress-Archive -Path C:\Logs -DestinationPath C:\Logs.zip
5. Expand-Archive – Extracts ZIP archives.
  Example: Expand-Archive -Path C:\Logs.zip -DestinationPath C:\ExtractedLogs
6. Get-ChildItem -Recurse – Lists files recursively.
  Example: Get-ChildItem C:\Projects -Recurse
7. Remove-Item -Force – Deletes files/folders forcefully.
  Example: Remove-Item C:\Temp\* -Recurse -Force
8. Get-Acl – Displays file/folder permissions.
  Example: Get-Acl C:\Test | Format-List
9. Set-Acl – Applies custom permissions.
  Example: $acl = Get-Acl D:\Source; Set-Acl C:\Test $acl
10. Get-PSDrive – Lists logical drives including registry.
  Example: Get-PSDrive

Top 10 Active Directory & User Management Commands

1. Get-ADUser – Retrieves AD user details.
  Example: Get-ADUser -Filter * | Select Name, Enabled
2. Set-ADUser – Updates AD user properties.
  Example: Set-ADUser -Identity JohnDoe -Department "IT"
3. Unlock-ADAccount – Unlocks locked AD accounts.
  Example: Unlock-ADAccount -Identity JohnDoe
4. Search-ADAccount – Finds inactive/expired accounts.
  Example: Search-ADAccount -AccountInactive -TimeSpan 90
5. Get-ADGroup – Lists AD groups.
  Example: Get-ADGroup -Filter *
6. Add-ADGroupMember – Adds user to AD group.
  Example: Add-ADGroupMember -Identity "Admins" -Members JohnDoe
7. Remove-ADGroupMember – Removes user from AD group.
  Example: Remove-ADGroupMember -Identity "Admins" -Members JohnDoe -Confirm:$false
8. Get-ADComputer – Retrieves AD computer objects.
  Example: Get-ADComputer -Filter * | Select Name, OperatingSystem
9. New-ADOrganizationalUnit – Creates new OU.
  Example: New-ADOrganizationalUnit -Name "TestOU" -Path "DC=domain,DC=com"
10. Get-ADReplicationPartnerMetadata – Checks AD replication status.
  Example: Get-ADReplicationPartnerMetadata -Target DC01

Top 10 Networking & Cloud Commands

1. Test-NetConnection – Tests connectivity with port check.
  Example: Test-NetConnection google.com -Port 443
2. Resolve-DnsName – DNS lookup.
  Example: Resolve-DnsName microsoft.com
3. Get-NetRoute – Shows routing table.
  Example: Get-NetRoute
4. Get-NetAdapterStatistics – Network adapter stats.
  Example: Get-NetAdapterStatistics -Name "Ethernet"
5. Get-NetFirewallProfile – Firewall profile settings.
  Example: Get-NetFirewallProfile | Format-List
6. New-NetIPAddress – Assigns static IP.
  Example: New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -IPAddress 192.168.1.100 -PrefixLength 24 -DefaultGateway 192.168.1.1
7. Get-AzResource – Lists Azure resources.
  Example: Get-AzResource
8. New-AzVM – Creates Azure VM.
  Example: New-AzVM -ResourceGroupName "RG1" -Name "VM1" -Location "EastUS" -Image "Win2019Datacenter"
9. Get-AzSubscription – Lists Azure subscriptions.
  Example: Get-AzSubscription
10. Get-AzStorageAccount – Lists Azure storage accounts.
  Example: Get-AzStorageAccount

Top 10 Automation & Security Commands

1. Invoke-Command – Runs commands on remote computers.
  Example: Invoke-Command -ComputerName Server01 -ScriptBlock { Get-Service }
2. Enter-PSSession – Interactive remote session.
  Example: Enter-PSSession -ComputerName Server01
3. New-PSSession – Creates reusable remote session.
  Example: New-PSSession -ComputerName Server01
4. Get-Credential – Prompts for secure credentials.
  Example: Get-Credential
5. ConvertTo-SecureString – Encrypts plain text password.
  Example: ConvertTo-SecureString "MyPassword" -AsPlainText -Force
6. Export-Clixml – Exports objects securely.
  Example: Get-Process | Export-Clixml C:\processes.xml
7. Import-Clixml – Imports secure objects.
  Example: Import-Clixml C:\processes.xml
8. Get-ExecutionPolicy – Checks script execution policy.
  Example: Get-ExecutionPolicy
9. Set-ExecutionPolicy – Changes execution policy.
  Example: Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned
10. Get-AuthenticodeSignature – Verifies script signatures.
  Example: Get-AuthenticodeSignature C:\script.ps1

These advanced commands are the backbone of enterprise automation, cloud management, and secure administration. Combine them into scripts for bulk user management, VM provisioning, log analysis, and compliance checks.

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