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Windows Server
Mastering Windows Server requires more than just following documentation; it’s about navigating the real-world complexities of deployment, security, and performance. From optimizing IIS for high-traffic environments and hardening OpenSSH configurations to managing PHP on Windows, this section provides deep-dive tutorials and battle-tested scripts. Whether you are managing legacy builds or the latest Windows Server 2025 releases, these guides focus on efficiency and stability for the modern infrastructure.
As environments shift toward hybrid setups, the integration between Windows Server and Linux-based tools has never been more critical. Here, you will find specialized knowledge on bridging that gap, including DevOps workflows, automation via PowerShell, and hardware-backed security. These articles are written by a sysadmin for sysadmins – cutting through the noise to deliver the specific configurations you need to keep your production environments running smoothly.
Update SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) automatically
2025-07-07
The fire-and-forget method to update SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) automatically by uninstalling any installed version and downloading & installing the newest available version from Microsoft.
Disable ECDH public server param reuse in Windows Server IIS
2024-04-09
Windows Server IIS is known for reusing DH key values, but there is a way to disable ECDH public server param reuse in Windows Server IIS and here is how.
Create strong passwords in Windows
2024-03-29
Learn how to create strong and unique passwords in Windows using PowerShell, because the use of those unique and strong passwords is important.
Install IIS in Windows 11 using PowerShell
2024-02-06
Have a need for IIS in your Windows 11 development station, and now you wonder how to install IIS? Here I describe how you can easily install IIS and some modules using PowerShell
Monitor website performance in IIS with Zabbix
2024-01-29
Zabbix is a great tool to monitor your website performance on IIS using Performance Counters, PowerShell and WMI.
IPv6 support for WSL2! 🥳
2023-09-19
Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) 2 now has native support for IPv6! 🥳
Windows SID to username and vice versa
2023-09-03
Old school: learn how to convert a Windows SID (security identifier) to an username, or vice versa (username to SID) using PowerShell and VBScript. Because sometimes you just need to convert a Windows SID to an username, don't you?
Get SQL database backup details with PowerShell
2023-08-21
Whenever I need to restore an SQL Server .bak backup file, I want to know some properties of the backup file to make sure I'm working with the correct file(s). Luckily, the .bak file and PowerShell provide all the information I need, so I don't have to start a Restore procedure in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) just to view the header information. As you know, SSMS is slow...
Get IIS Current Connections using PowerShell
2023-08-12
Use PowerShell, Performance Counters and WMI to get the current number of active connections to IIS websites. Monitor IIS servers in Zabbix
Install SSL / TLS certificates in Windows Server using PowerShell
2023-08-10
The following PowerShell snippet can be used to quickly install an SSL (or TLS) certificate in Windows Server. It assumes you have a PFX file and its password. The default location is Cert:\LocalMachine\My, to use for IIS websites.
Tune Windows Server TCP/IP and IIS
2023-06-21
In this small post I'll guide you through the various Windows Server and IIS configuration settings, for an optimized network performance, high performance websites and high volume of web requests.
Install Windows Updates using PowerShell
2023-03-15
You can use PowerShell to install Windows Updates automatically, unattended and simple. Neat, right? For this, you don't have to have an enterprise environment with WSUS, or Windows Server, but since this is Sysadmins of the North, I assume you do. In this post I show you how to install Windows Updates with PowerShell and the PSWindowsUpdate module.
Create an additional SQL Server Login
2022-12-27
Sometimes you need to create an additional SQL Server Login (user) for your database (databases). Here is a small T-SQL snippet that creates such a login for contained databases in SQL Server and adds memberships.
Monitor SQL Server and databases in depth using Zabbix
2022-12-20
Monitor Microsoft SQL Server, databases and performance with Zabbix, PowerShell, Performance Counters and WMI. Keep SQL Server and databases in top shape and performance up! In this post I show you how you can use Zabbix to monitor those important aspects for database administrators (DBA).
Configure Windows Debugging Symbols in WinDbg
2022-11-15
Set up debugging symbols for WinDbg in Windows and debug BSOD like a boss. Set symbol path for WinDbg.
Extract files from an MSI package
2022-11-02
Stop hunting for command-line arguments. Learn the definitive way to extract files from an MSI package using the msiexec /a switch, TARGETDIR, and PowerShell for automated deployments.
Connect to a KVM host through an ssh tunnel and arbitrary port in Windows 11 and WSL 2
2022-10-21
Connect virt-manager to a KVM host through an ssh tunnel and arbitrary port in Windows using Windows 11 and WSL 2.
Windows 11 and WSL 2 DevOps environment
2022-08-15
In this post I describe some of the settings and changes I made to make my Windows 11 and Ubuntu WSL2 into a fully fledged development environment. Here are the settings and tools I use for DevOps / SysOps on Windows.
YubiKey support in OpenSSH for Windows 11
2022-08-14
Secure your Windows 11 environment by moving SSH private keys to hardware. Learn how to configure YubiKey FIDO2/U2F support in native OpenSSH, manage the ssh-agent, and eliminate file-based credential risks.