SharePoint MinimaList Blog

Using Colors in PowerShell Forms

Robert Gullick — Mon, 10 Apr 2017 17:56:26 GMT

I have been playing around with PowerShell forms lately and wanted to use colors for buttons and backgrounds. There are a bunch of predefined colors that you can use, but the names are not associated with a color chart to help you decide. With that in mind I wrote this little form with a dropdown menu of the predefined colors that will display the color in an output box. You can scroll through the dropdown menu until you find the color you want. Copy and paste the name into your form and Robert is your fathers brother. Happy PowerShelling!

[void] [System.Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("System.Drawing") 
[void] [System.Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("System.Windows.Forms") 

$Form = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Form 
$Form.Size = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(370,470)
$Form.Text = "Color Form"
$Icon = [system.drawing.icon]::ExtractAssociatedIcon("C:\Windows\System32\mspaint.exe")
$Form.Icon = $Icon

#region Colors
$Colors = @()
$Colors += "AliceBlue"
$Colors += "AntiqueWhite"
$Colors += "Aqua"
$Colors += "Aquamarine"
$Colors += "Azure"
$Colors += "Beige"
$Colors += "Bisque"
$Colors += "Black"
$Colors += "BlanchedAlmond"
$Colors += "Blue"
$Colors += "BlueViolet"
$Colors += "Brown"
$Colors += "BurlyWood"
$Colors += "CadetBlue"
$Colors += "Chartreuse"
$Colors += "Chocolate"
$Colors += "Coral"
$Colors += "CornflowerBlue"
$Colors += "Cornsilk"
$Colors += "Crimson"
$Colors += "Cyan"
$Colors += "DarkBlue"
$Colors += "DarkCyan"
$Colors += "DarkGoldenrod"
$Colors += "DarkGray"
$Colors += "DarkGreen"
$Colors += "DarkKhaki"
$Colors += "DarkMagenta"
$Colors += "DarkOliveGreen"
$Colors += "DarkOrange"
$Colors += "DarkOrchid"
$Colors += "DarkRed"
$Colors += "DarkSalmon"
$Colors += "DarkSeaGreen"
$Colors += "DarkSlateBlue"
$Colors += "DarkSlateGray"
$Colors += "DarkTurquoise"
$Colors += "DarkViolet"
$Colors += "DeepPink"
$Colors += "DeepSkyBlue"
$Colors += "DimGray"
$Colors += "DodgerBlue"
$Colors += "Firebrick"
$Colors += "FloralWhite"
$Colors += "ForestGreen"
$Colors += "Fuchsia"
$Colors += "Gainsboro"
$Colors += "GhostWhite"
$Colors += "Gold"
$Colors += "Goldenrod"
$Colors += "Gray"
$Colors += "Green"
$Colors += "GreenYellow"
$Colors += "Honeydew"
$Colors += "HotPink"
$Colors += "IndianRed"
$Colors += "Indigo"
$Colors += "Ivory"
$Colors += "Khaki"
$Colors += "Lavender"
$Colors += "LavenderBlush"
$Colors += "LawnGreen"
$Colors += "LemonChiffon"
$Colors += "LightBlue"
$Colors += "LightCoral"
$Colors += "LightCyan"
$Colors += "LightGoldenrodYellow"
$Colors += "LightGray"
$Colors += "LightGreen"
$Colors += "LightPink"
$Colors += "LightSalmon"
$Colors += "LightSeaGreen"
$Colors += "LightSkyBlue"
$Colors += "LightSlateGray"
$Colors += "LightSteelBlue"
$Colors += "LightYellow"
$Colors += "Lime"
$Colors += "LimeGreen"
$Colors += "Linen"
$Colors += "Magenta"
$Colors += "Maroon"
$Colors += "MediumAquamarine"
$Colors += "MediumBlue"
$Colors += "MediumOrchid"
$Colors += "MediumPurple"
$Colors += "MediumSeaGreen"
$Colors += "MediumSlateBlue"
$Colors += "MediumSpringGreen"
$Colors += "MediumTurquoise"
$Colors += "MediumVioletRed"
$Colors += "MidnightBlue"
$Colors += "MintCream"
$Colors += "MistyRose"
$Colors += "Moccasin"
$Colors += "NavajoWhite"
$Colors += "Navy"
$Colors += "OldLace"
$Colors += "Olive"
$Colors += "OliveDrab"
$Colors += "Orange"
$Colors += "OrangeRed"
$Colors += "Orchid"
$Colors += "PaleGoldenrod"
$Colors += "PaleGreen"
$Colors += "PaleTurquoise"
$Colors += "PaleVioletRed"
$Colors += "PapayaWhip"
$Colors += "PeachPuff"
$Colors += "Peru"
$Colors += "Pink"
$Colors += "Plum"
$Colors += "PowderBlue"
$Colors += "Purple"
$Colors += "Red"
$Colors += "RosyBrown"
$Colors += "RoyalBlue"
$Colors += "SaddleBrown"
$Colors += "Salmon"
$Colors += "SandyBrown"
$Colors += "SeaGreen"
$Colors += "SeaShell"
$Colors += "Sienna"
$Colors += "Silver"
$Colors += "SkyBlue"
$Colors += "SlateBlue"
$Colors += "SlateGray"
$Colors += "Snow"
$Colors += "SpringGreen"
$Colors += "SteelBlue"
$Colors += "Tan"
$Colors += "Teal"
$Colors += "Thistle"
$Colors += "Tomato"
$Colors += "Turquoise"
$Colors += "Violet"
$Colors += "Wheat"
$Colors += "White"
$Colors += "WhiteSmoke"
$Colors += "Yellow"
$Colors += "YellowGreen"
#endregion Colors

#region Funcitons
Function Change-ButtonColor{
$n = $UserNameBox.Text
$ColorOutputBox.BackColor = $Colors[$n]
$outputBox.text = $Colors[$n]

}

Function Set-Color{
 If ($ColorDropDownBox.SelectedItem -lt 0){
 $ColorSelected = "No color was selected"
 Write-host $ColorSelected -ForegroundColor Red
 }
 Else {
 $ColorSelected = $ColorDropDownBox.SelectedItem.ToString()
 $ColorOutputBox.BackColor = $ColorSelected
 Write-host "Color Selected: $ColorSelected" -ForegroundColor Green
 }
}
#endregion Funcitons

#region Color Selection
#region Color Selection Dropdown Box Label
$ColorDropdownBoxLabel = New-Object system.windows.Forms.Label
$ColorDropdownBoxLabel.Text = "Color Choices"
$ColorDropdownBoxLabel.AutoSize = $true
$ColorDropdownBoxLabel.Width = 25
$ColorDropdownBoxLabel.Height = 10
$ColorDropdownBoxLabel.location = new-object system.drawing.point(20,10)
$ColorDropdownBoxLabel.Font = "Microsoft Sans Serif,10"
$Form.controls.Add($ColorDropdownBoxLabel)
#endregion Color Selection Dropdown Box Label
#region Color Selection Dropdown Box
$ColorDropDownBox = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.ComboBox
$ColorDropDownBox.Location = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(20,30) 
$ColorDropDownBox.Size = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(180,20) 
$ColorDropDownBox.DropDownHeight = 200 

foreach($Color in $Colors)
{
 $ColorDropDownBox.Items.add($Color)
}
$ColorDropDownBox.Add_SelectedValueChanged({Set-Color})
$Form.Controls.Add($ColorDropDownBox)
#endregion Color Selection Dropdown Box
#endregion Color Selection Selection

#region Color Output Box
#region Color Output Box Label
$ColorOutputBoxLabel = New-Object system.windows.Forms.Label
$ColorOutputBoxLabel.Text = "Color Output"
$ColorOutputBoxLabel.AutoSize = $true
$ColorOutputBoxLabel.Width = 25
$ColorOutputBoxLabel.Height = 10
$ColorOutputBoxLabel.location = new-object system.drawing.point(20,70)
$ColorOutputBoxLabel.Font = "Microsoft Sans Serif,10"
$Form.controls.Add($ColorOutputBoxLabel)
#endregion Color Output Box Label
$ColorOutputBox = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.TextBox 
$ColorOutputBox.Location = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(20,90) 
$ColorOutputBox.Size = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(320,320) 
$ColorOutputBox.MultiLine = $true 
$ColorOutputBox.ScrollBars = "Vertical" 
$Form.Controls.Add($ColorOutputBox) 
#endregion Color Output Box 


$Form.Add_Shown({$Form.Activate()})
Clear-Host
[void] $Form.ShowDialog()

Run a PowerShell script multi-threaded. I mean in parallel!

Robert Gullick — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 21:27:43 GMT

Have you ever wanted to run a PowerShell script in parallel? Here is a functions that I created to run a script in parallel or multi-threaded. Invoke-ScriptMultiThreaded.ps1 has been uploaded to the TechNet Script Repository here: I want to give a shout out to the SCOO'er at Ramstein AB Germany for their outstanding dedication and work. Hope this PowerShell helps! Note: There error handling puts an EventID 100 in the Windows PowerShell event log. It will capture the last error thrown.

Function Invoke-ScriptMultithreaded{

<#
  .SYNOPSIS
  This function is for running a PowerShell script in multiple threads simultaneously.
  .DESCRIPTION
  The function requires an array of at least one element to work properly.  The Foreach statement will parsed the array into elements and feed them into individual jobs.
  The element will be the first argument in the script.  The Arguments parameter is used for any arguments (up to 21) that the script requires to run. 
  .PARAMETER Script
  The Script parameter is the file path and PowerShell script that will be run.
  .PARAMETER Arguments
  The Arguments parameter will feed up to 21 variables as input for the PowerShell script. 
  The Arguments parameter should be an array with the elements in the same order as the invoked scripts parameters.
  The Arguments parameter is not required.
  .PARAMETER Array
  The Array parameter is an array of elements that will be used as input for the script. An example would be an array of computer names.
  .EXAMPLE
  Invoke-ScriptMultithreaded -Script ".\Test-Ping.ps1" -Array $Computers
  
  Description
  -----------
  The PowerShell script that will be invoked must be the first parameter. The Array parameter must have at least one element.
  .EXAMPLE
  Invoke-ScriptMultithreaded -Script ".\Test-Ping.ps1" -Arguments $Arguments -Array $Computers
  
  Description
  -----------
  The Arguments parameter must be an array with the elements in the same order that the invoked script requires.
  .EXAMPLE
  Get-ADComputer -SearchBase "OU=Computers,DC=CONTOSO,DC=Local" -Filter '*' | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Name | Invoke-ScriptMultithreaded -Script .\Test-Ping.ps1 $Arguments
  
  Description
  -----------
  The Invoke-ScriptMultithreaded function can use objects that are piped in from other commands for the Array.
  The Arguments parameter does not have to be used or defined when piping objects.
  .INPUTS
  This function requires that a PowerShell script and at least one array object be provided.
  IMPORTANT:  The PowerShell script that will be invoked must require the array object as its first parameter.
  .OUTPUTS
  This function creates a job or PowerShell process for each element defined in the array parameter.
  .NOTES
  Invoke-ScriptMultithreaded
  Advanced function for running a PowerShell script multiple times in parallel
  Author: Robert Gullick
  Creation Date: 7/01/2016
  Modified Date: 7/20/2016
  Version: 1.0.0
  .LINK
  https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/rgullick/
  https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/rgullick/2017/01/10/run-a-powershell-script-multi-threaded-i-mean-in-parallel
  https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/Run-a-PowerShell-script-991c8a42
  .COMPONENT
  No additional components are required for this script to run.  However, the invoked script may need modules loaded or other components to work properly.
  .ROLE
  No elevated permissions are required for this script to run.  However, the invoked script may require elevated permissions for work properly.
  .FUNCTIONALITY
  This function is designed to run a script multiple time in parallel and in separate worker processes.  Each invoked script will have its own process and memory.
#>

  [cmdletbinding()]
  param(  
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,ValueFromPipeline=$false)]
    [String]$Script,
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,ValueFromPipeline=$false)]
    [String[]]$Arguments,
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,ValueFromPipeline=$true)]
    [Object[]]$Array
    )
    BEGIN{
    If($Arguments -eq $NULL){$Arguments = @()}
    $a = $Arguments   # This is to make the script more readable
     } # end BEGIN
    
    PROCESS{
        Foreach($Element in $Array){
            try{
            Start-Job -name $Element -FilePath $Script -ArgumentList $Element, $a[0], $a[1], $a[2], $a[3], $a[4], $a[5], $a[6], $a[7], $a[8], $a[9], $a[10], $a[11], $a[12], $a[13], $a[14], $a[15], $a[16], $a[17], $a[18], $a[19], $a[20]
            } #end try
            catch{
            $Exception = $error[0]
            $FunctionError =    "`r`n" + "Function:"  + "`t"   + "Invoke-ScriptMultithreaded " + 
                                "`r`n" + "Script:"    + "`t`t" + $Script + 
                                "`r`n" + "Element:"   + "`t`t" + $Element + 
                                "`r`n" + "Arguments:" + "`t"   + $Arguments + 
                                "`r`n" + "Error:"     + "`t`t" + $Exception
            Write-EventLog -LogName "Windows PowerShell" -Source "PowerShell" -EventId 100 -Message $FunctionError -EntryType Error
            }#end catch
        }#end Foreach
    } #end PROCESS
    
    END {
    } #end END
}# end Function

Function Invoke-ScriptMultithreaded{ 
<# 
  .SYNOPSIS 
  This function is for running a PowerShell script in multiple threads simultaneously. 
  .DESCRIPTION 
  The function requires an array of at least one element to work properly.  The Foreach statement will parsed the array into elements and feed them into individual jobs. 
  The element will be the first argument in the script.  The Arguments parameter is used for any arguments (up to 21) that the script requires to run.  
  .PARAMETER Script 
  The Script parameter is the file path and PowerShell script that will be run. 
  .PARAMETER Arguments 
  The Arguments parameter will feed up to 21 variables as input for the PowerShell script.  
  The Arguments parameter should be an array with the elements in the same order as the invoked scripts parameters. 
  The Arguments parameter is not required. 
  .PARAMETER Array 
  The Array parameter is an array of elements that will be used as input for the script. An example would be an array of computer names. 
  .EXAMPLE 
  Invoke-ScriptMultithreaded -Script ".\Test-Ping.ps1" -Array $Computers 
   
  Description 
  ----------- 
  The PowerShell script that will be invoked must be the first parameter. The Array parameter must have at least one element. 
  .EXAMPLE 
  Invoke-ScriptMultithreaded -Script ".\Test-Ping.ps1" -Arguments $Arguments -Array $Computers 
   
  Description 
  ----------- 
  The Arguments parameter must be an array with the elements in the same order that the invoked script requires. 
  .EXAMPLE 
  Get-ADComputer -SearchBase "OU=Computers,DC=CONTOSO,DC=Local" -Filter '*' | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Name | Invoke-ScriptMultithreaded -Script .\Test-Ping.ps1 $Arguments 
   
  Description 
  ----------- 
  The Invoke-ScriptMultithreaded function can use objects that are piped in from other commands for the Array. 
  The Arguments parameter does not have to be used or defined when piping objects. 
  .INPUTS 
  This function requires that a PowerShell script and at least one array object be provided. 
  IMPORTANT:  The PowerShell script that will be invoked must require the array object as its first parameter. 
  .OUTPUTS 
  This function creates a job or PowerShell process for each element defined in the array parameter. 
  .NOTES 
  Invoke-ScriptMultithreaded 
  Advanced function for running a PowerShell script multiple times in parallel 
  Author: Robert Gullick 
  Creation Date: 7/01/2016 
  Modified Date: 7/20/2016 
  Version: 1.0.0 
  .LINK 
  https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/rgullick/ 
  https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/rgullick/2017/01/10/run-a-powershell-script-multi-threaded-i-mean-in-parallel 
  https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/Run-a-PowerShell-script-991c8a42 
  .COMPONENT 
  No additional components are required for this script to run.  However, the invoked script may need modules loaded or other components to work properly. 
  .ROLE 
  No elevated permissions are required for this script to run.  However, the invoked script may require elevated permissions for work properly. 
  .FUNCTIONALITY 
  This function is designed to run a script multiple time in parallel and in separate worker processes.  Each invoked script will have its own process and memory. 
#> 
 
  [cmdletbinding()] 
  param(   
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,ValueFromPipeline=$false)] 
    [String]$Script, 
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,ValueFromPipeline=$false)] 
    [String[]]$Arguments, 
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,ValueFromPipeline=$true)] 
    [Object[]]$Array 
    ) 
    BEGIN{ 
    If($Arguments -eq $NULL){$Arguments = @()} 
    $a = $Arguments   # This is to make the script more readable 
     } # end BEGIN 
     
    PROCESS{ 
        Foreach($Element in $Array){ 
            try{ 
            Start-Job -name $Element -FilePath $Script -ArgumentList $Element, $a[0], $a[1], $a[2], $a[3], $a[4], $a[5], $a[6], $a[7], $a[8], $a[9], $a[10], $a[11], $a[12], $a[13], $a[14], $a[15], $a[16], $a[17], $a[18], $a[19], $a[20] 
            } #end try 
            catch{ 
            $Exception = $error[0] 
            $FunctionError =    "`r`n" + "Function:"  + "`t"   + "Invoke-ScriptMultithreaded " +  
                                "`r`n" + "Script:"    + "`t`t" + $Script +  
                                "`r`n" + "Element:"   + "`t`t" + $Element +  
                                "`r`n" + "Arguments:" + "`t"   + $Arguments +  
                                "`r`n" + "Error:"     + "`t`t" + $Exception 
            Write-EventLog -LogName "Windows PowerShell" -Source "PowerShell" -EventId 100 -Message $FunctionError -EntryType Error 
            }#end catch 
        }#end Foreach 
    } #end PROCESS 
     
    END { 
    } #end END 
}# end Function

Clearing the SharePoint configuration cache using PowerShell

Robert Gullick — Mon, 04 May 2015 11:31:19 GMT

Here is a simple function that will automatically detect your SharePoint configuration, disable the SharePoint Timer service, clear the configuration cache, and restart the SharePoint Timer service.

Function Clear-SPConfigCache{
$ConfigDB = Get-SPFarm
$Config = Get-SPDatabase | Where{$_.Name -eq $ConfigDB.name}

Write-Host "Configuration database Id: " $Config.Id.Guid -foregroundcolor Green

$ConfigPath = "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\SharePoint\Config\"
$ConfigCache =$ConfigPath+$Config.Id.Guid

Write-Host "Disabling and stopping SharePoint Timer Service" -foregroundcolor Yellow
Set-Itemproperty -path HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SPTimerV4 -name Start -value 4
Stop-Service -displayname "SharePoint Timer Service"

Write-Host "Deleting SharePoint configuration cache files" -foregroundcolor Red
Remove-Item $ConfigCache\* -Force
New-Item -Path $ConfigCache -Name cache.ini -ItemType "File" -Value "1"

Write-Host "Enabling and starting SharePoint Timer Service" -foregroundcolor Green
Set-Itemproperty -path HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SPTimerV4 -name Start -value 2
Start-Service -displayname "SharePoint Timer Service"
}

Note: The SharePoint Timer service is SPTimerV4. This may change in the next version of the software.

SharePoint Performance Monitoring

Robert Gullick — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 20:54:02 GMT

This is an AS-IS post on how to setup Performance Monitoring for SharePoint Servers.

Ensure that the instructions in https://support.microsoft.com/kb/281884 are followed. This will allow for the Process ID value to be included as part of the process monitor data that is being captured

To enable or to disable PIDs in process names, follow these steps:

a. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.

b. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\PerfProc\Performance

c. On the Edit menu, click New, and then click DWORD Value.

d. Right-click New Value #1, click Rename, and then type ProcessNameFormat to name the new value.

e. Right-click ProcessNameFormat, and then click Modify.

f. In the Data value box, type one of the following values, and then click OK:

1: Disables PID data. This value is the default value.

2: Enables PID data.

g. Exit Registry Editor.

Important: If you enable this feature, you may be unable to monitor process-specific information by using third-party utilities or custom-made programs.

2. The following counters will be collected on all SharePoint Servers that this is run on:

\ASP.NET(*)\*
\ASP.NET v2.0.50727\*
\ASP.NET Apps v2.0.50727(*)\*
\.NET CLR Networking(*)\*
\.NET CLR Memory(*)\*
\.NET CLR Exception(*)\*
\.NET CLR Loading(*)\*
\.NET Data Provider for SqlServer(*)\*
\Processor(*)\*
\Process(*)\*
\LogicalDisk(*)\*
\Memory\*
\PhysicalDisk(*)\*
\SharePoint Publishing Cache(*)\*
\Web Service(*)\*
\Web Service Cache\*
\SharePoint Search Archival Plugin(*)\*
\SharePoint Search Gatherer\*
\SharePoint Search Gatherer Project(*)\*
\SharePoint Search Indexer Catalogs(*)\*
\SharePoint Search Schema Plugin(*)\*

3. Create a text file named CounterList.txt that contains the counter set detailed above.

4. From a command line, issue the following command on the index server. You will need to change the drive letters & locations so that they are appropriate for your environment. Substitute the domain\userid and CompanyName in the appropriate section of the command below. Please use the application pool service account credentials that SharePoint Timer Service is running under in order to ensure that we have access to the appropriate counters.

Note: The asterik * will cause you to be prompted for the Domain\UserID account password.

Running the Baseline Counters all of the time is a good idea to capture historic performance of your SharePoint servers. If you have a performance issue you can add Incident Counters to capture more data samples. The command should resemble the following: Baseline counters.

Baseline Counters

logman create counter CompanyName_SP_Performance_Baseline -s %COMPUTERNAME% -o c:\PerfLogs\CompanyName_SP_Performance_Baseline_%COMPUTERNAME%.blg -f bin -v mmddhhmm -cf CounterList.txt -si 00:01:00 -cnf 12:00:00 -b 4/29/2009 6:00AM -u "domain\userid" *

Important: Incident counters should only be run during performance problems and are intended for troubleshooting purposes.

Incident Counters

logman create counter CompanyName_ISP_Performance_Incident -s %COMPUTERNAME% -o c:\PerfLogs\CompanyName_SP_ Performance_Incident_%COMPUTERNAME%.blg -f bin -v mmddhhmm -cf CounterList.txt -si 00:00:05 -max 500 -u "domain\userid" *

Tactical Performance for SharePoint and SQL - References

Robert Gullick — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 20:23:00 GMT

SharePoint Configuration References

Hardware and software requirements for SharePoint 2013
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262485.aspx

SharePoint 2010 Best Practices
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/8666.sharepoint-2010-best-practices.aspx?PageIndex=2

SharePoint 2010: Tips for Dealing with Performance Issues
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/7926.sharepoint-2010-tips-for-dealing-with-performance-issues.aspx

Whitepaper: Database Maintenance for Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies
https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=111531&clcid=0x409

How to Disable the 8.3 Name Creation on NTFS Partitions
https://support.microsoft.com/kb/121007

Enable High Performance power plan
Configuring a Power Plan with Group Policy Preferences
https://blogs.technet.com/b/grouppolicy/archive/2009/09/30/configuring-a-power-plan-with-group-policy-preferences-by-alan-burchill.aspx

SharePoint Cache Settings
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc770229.aspx
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc261797.aspx
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff647588.aspx
https://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-server-help/configure-page-output-cache-settings-HA010120686.aspx
https://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-server-help/configure-disk-based-cache-settings-HA010176284.aspx
https://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-server-help/configure-object-cache-settings-HA010157783.aspx

Tools

Performance Analysis of Logs (PAL) Tool
https://pal.codeplex.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fxEs3pPmNI

Log Parser 2.2
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=24659

Using the Performance Analysis of Logs (PAL) Tool
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc296652(v=bts.10).aspx

Process Monitor v3.05
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896645

Process Explorer
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653

ULSViewer
https://archive.msdn.microsoft.com/ULSViewer/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=3308
https://www.jeremytaylor.net/2012/07/14/sharepoint-uls-log-viewer-tool-comparison-and-verdict/

Using the Developer Dashboard
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff512745(v=office.14).aspx
https://blogs.technet.com/b/patrick_heyde/archive/2009/11/16/sharepoint-2010-enable-using-developer-dashboard.aspx
https://blogs.technet.com/b/speschka/archive/2009/10/28/using-the-developer-dashboard-in-sharepoint-2010.aspx

Enable ASP.NET profiling.
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/7926.sharepoint-2010-tips-for-dealing-with-performance-issues.aspx

How to: Configure ASP.NET Profiler for Load Tests Using Test Settings in Visual Studio
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd504817.aspx

Debugging, Tracing, and Profiling
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/7fe0dd2y(v=vs.110).aspx

Internet Explorer Debugging Script with the Developer Tools
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd565625(v=vs.85).aspx
https://blogs.msdn.com/b/cbowen/archive/2011/05/25/internet-explorer-9-developer-tools-deep-dive-part-1-introduction.aspx

IIS Log Analysis Tools
https://ilf.codeplex.com/

Performance Monitoring for SharePoint References

Troubleshooting

SharePoint Performance Troubleshooting
https://blogs.technet.com/b/patrick_heyde/archive/2010/05/08/sharepoint-performance-troubleshooting-part-2.aspx

Engaging Microsoft with SharePoint performance issues
https://blogs.msdn.com/b/russmax/archive/2009/01/28/test.aspx

Configuring Performance Monitor Log for SharePoint Performance Issues
https://blogs.msdn.com/b/russmax/archive/2009/05/27/configuring-performance-monitor-log-for-sharepoint-performance-issues.aspx

SQL Best Practices

Best practices for SQL Server in a SharePoint Server farm
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh292622.aspx

Blogs

Bill Baer
https://blogs.technet.com/b/wbaer/

Mark Russinovich
https://blogs.technet.com/b/markrussinovich/

Russ Maxwell
https://blogs.msdn.com/b/russmax

Patrick Heyde
https://blogs.technet.com/b/patrick_heyde

SharePoint Escalation Services Team
https://blogs.msdn.com/b/spses

Steve Peschka
https://blogs.technet.com/b/speschka

Stefan Goßner
https://blogs.technet.com/b/stefan_gossner/

Books

Mark Russinovich

Windows Internals, Part 1
Windows Internals, Part 2

Scot Hillier, Mirjam van Olst, Ted Pattison, Andrew Connell, Wictor Wilen, Kyle Davis

Inside Microsoft SharePoint 2013

David Mann, Ted Pattison, Andrew Connell, Scot Hillier

Inside Microsoft SharePoint 2010

Activating Windows with PowerShell

Robert Gullick — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 07:22:00 GMT

You want to activate Windows using PowerShell? Here you go:

$computer = gc env:computername

$key = "XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX"

$service = get-wmiObject -query "select * from SoftwareLicensingService" -computername $computer

$service.InstallProductKey($key)

$service.RefreshLicenseStatus()

Note: $key will be followed by your legally obtained product key :)

Renaming SharePoint 2013 Search databases

Robert Gullick — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:22:00 GMT

If you have had trouble moving your SharePoint 2013 Search Databases using the TechNet article below.

Move the Search service application databases in SharePoint 2013

This article may help.

First: The original databases need to be online with their original names for these PowerShell scripts to work. The only way to get this to work is to backup each database and restore them as new databases with the new names. Then you can run the PowerShell scripts to allow the Search service to use the new databases.

Second: Step 6 has some typos in it.

$LinksDatabase0 = ([array]($searchApp | Get-SPEnterpriseSearchLinksDatabase))[0]

$LinksDatabase0 | Set-SPEnterpriseSearchLinkDatabase [-DatabaseName ""] -DatabaseServer ""

Set-SPEnterpriseSearchLinkDatabase is not a valid commandlet.

Set-SPEnterpriseSearchLinksDatabase is the correct commandlet. Links is plural.
$searchApp variable has not been declared. $ssa is the variable that needs to be used for consistency .

Making these changes should make the database move work.

MinimaList SharePoint WarmUp Script

Robert Gullick — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:18:00 GMT

In the spirit of Minimalism I have decided to create the simplest SharePoint warm up script that I could. There are plenty of warm up scripts on the web. Many of them are convoluted and difficult to manage. This shouldn't be that difficult. All you need to do is enumerate your web applications and site collections. Then make a simple web call to each of them using the correct credentials. Once you have that all you need is a scheduled task to hit them on regular intervals.

So here it is:

$wc = New-Object net.WebClient

$wc.Credentials = [System.Net.CredentialCache]::DefaultCredentials

Get-SPSite | ForEach {$wc.DownloadString($_.url)}

Bing! Simple right?

This will not hit the Central Administration site. To do this just add the following 2 lines.

$caUrl = "*https://servername:5555"

$wc.DownloadString($caUrl)

*Specify your specific central admin url.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. Create a PS1 file called warmup.ps1 and put these line in it:

$wc = New-Object net.WebClient

$wc.Credentials = [System.Net.CredentialCache]::DefaultCredentials

Get-SPSite | ForEach {$wc.DownloadString($_.url)}

$caUrl = "https://servername:5555"

$wc.DownloadString($caUrl)

2. Create a batch file with this line in it:

powershell -command "& 'c:\warmup.ps1'"

3. Next you will need to setup a scheduled task. Open Task Scheduler > Create New Task… >

If you run this as hidden you will not see a popup. Ensure that the task runs whether the user is logged on or not.

Set to run Daily and repeat every 10 minutes or so. I like to ensure that the sites are fresh more often.

Select the warm up batch file that you just created.

Finally set the account that will run the scheduled task. I would use the SharePoint System Account

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

TESTING

On your SharePoint server temporarily change your Internet Explorer home pages to hit all of your site collections or at least web applications including Central Admin.

Test from a command line:

iisreset

powershell -command "& 'c:\warmup.ps1'"

"C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe"

You should see your sites load very quickly. As always please test before you try this on your production farm.

SharePoint People Picker shows old domain account during Active Directory migration

rgullick — Sat, 15 May 2010 13:01:00 GMT

You may have experienced a problem with SharePoint PeoplePicker during Active Directory migration of users. The scenario looks something like this:

Environment
You have 2 domains DomainA [the Source Domain] and DomainB [the Target Domain]. Users are in DomainA and are being migrated to DomainB. The SharePoint farm is in DomainB. There is a two-way Trust between the domains. The domains are in separate AD Forests. Users have been migrated to DomainB with SIDHistory from DomainA. The DomainB accounts may or may not be disabled. Users are still using the accounts from DomainA and want to access resources in DomainB, specifically SharePoint.

Problem

When you use SharePoint PeoplePicker to add users to SharePoint resources the name resolves to the DomainB user. Even if you added the permission before the migration the name resolves to the DomainB user.

Cause

This is caused by the SID being used to tattoo the resource within SharePoint. Just like on an NTFS file system resources are permissioned with unique identifiers called SIDs. The domain where the resource is located, in this case DomainB (SharePoint), the SID is resolved by a local domain controller with the domain that the resource is a member of. The Domain is authoritative for all SIDs in its Active Directory. Even in the case of SIDHistory. When you migrate a user from DomainA to DomainB with SIDHistory, the new account has a new SID in it originating domain and an AD Attribute that is populated with the SID from the account in DomainA. Because the DomainB domain controller knows that this SID in attributed to an account in its own AD it will resolve that SID to the account in DomainB. It will consider itself the authority for that SID. It see no need to resolve this SID to another Trusted domain.

Here is how SID to Name resolution works:

The LookupAccountSid function attempts to find a name for the specified SID by first checking a list of well-known SIDs. If the supplied SID does not correspond to a well-known SID, the function checks built-in and administratively defined local accounts. Next, the function checks the primary domain. Security identifiers not recognized by the primary domain are checked against the trusted domains that correspond to their SID prefixes.

Pasted from <https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa379166(VS.85).aspx>

There is a misconception that if you set the LDAP query property in SharePoint it will use this to resolve user names. This is not correct. PeoplePicker may temporarily resolve the name correctly but the SID will not change and therefore the underlying issue is still going to manifest itself. PeoplePicker is just SID to User Name resolution much in the same way DNS resolves IP addresses to host names in DNS. To continue with this metaphor, you would essentially have 2 DNS servers with different host names that resolve to the same IP address. You will get inconsistent name resolution.

Furthermore because the SID does not change you will have other issue that do not involve PeoplePicker, like Alerts, Workflows, and MySites issues. These SharePoint technologies use the SID and not PeoplePicker. An example would be if the account in DomainB is disabled you may see an error trying to provision a MySite.

Resolution

From a SharePoint point of view there isn't much you can or should do to relieve the PeoplePicker issue. This is only a temporary behavior (during the migration) that will not persist once the migration is complete. At that time you will want the default behavior. So making changes will have to be reversed and they will not affect other issues with the SID. The underlying cause is that you have duplicate SIDs in your environment. This is not supported and is in fact unsupportable. Each account needs to be unique. To ensure this you need to remove the source account as soon as you migrate it, by disabling the account. Users should use the new DomainB account. If this is not feasible you may need to rethink your AD migration strategy.

Another solution would be to have SharePoint remain in DomainA until the migration is complete and then move it. This will cause other problems and is more complicated than just migrating user accounts.

Example of a SID (Security Identifier)

objectSid: S-1-5-21-123456789-123456789-123456789-747766;

sIDHistory: S-1-5-21-9876543210-9876543210-9876543210-1315

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2005.05.migration.aspx

General information

Alert users to the fact that their user accounts are scheduled to be migrated to a new domain. Point users to a Web page or internal resource where they can find additional information, and view a migration schedule.

Inform users of their new domain name. Be sure to let them know that their account passwords will not change. Let them know that the original domain account will be disabled immediately following the migration, and the disabled account will be deleted after a specified period of time.

Pasted from 14_CHAPTER_11_Restructuring_Active_Directory_Domains_Between_Forests.doc p.493