Configuration

Several scripts in the powershell-automation project rely on external JSON configuration files for their operation. This article details the structure and purpose of these files.

All configuration files are located in the config directory at the root of the project.

Email Notifications (config/email.json)

The Send-AdminNotification function uses this file to configure email settings.

Structure:

{
  "SmtpServer": "smtp.example.com",
  "Port": 587,
  "UseSsl": true,
  "UseCredentials": true,
  "From": "automation@example.com",
  "DefaultRecipients": [
    "admin1@example.com",
    "admin2@example.com"
  ]
}
  • SmtpServer: The address of your SMTP server.
  • Port: The port number for the SMTP server.
  • UseSsl: Set to true to use SSL/TLS.
  • UseCredentials: Set to true if your SMTP server requires authentication. The script will use Get-AdminCredential to securely retrieve the necessary credentials.
  • From: The email address that notifications will be sent from.
  • DefaultRecipients: A list of email addresses that will receive notifications by default.

Backup Jobs (config/backup-config.json)

The Start-AutomatedBackup.ps1 script can be configured with a JSON file to define multiple backup jobs.

Structure:

{
  "jobs": [
    {
      "name": "CriticalFiles",
      "type": "FileSystem",
      "sources": [
        "C:\\Important",
        "D:\\Data"
      ],
      "destination": "\\\\backup-server\\backups",
      "compression": true,
      "encryption": true,
      "schedule": "Daily",
      "retention": 30
    },
    {
      "name": "SQLDatabases",
      "type": "Database",
      "sources": [
        "SQLSERVER_INSTANCE"
      ],
      "destination": "\\\\backup-server\\db_backups",
      "compression": true,
      "encryption": false,
      "schedule": "Daily",
      "retention": 14
    }
  ]
}
  • name: A unique name for the backup job.
  • type: The type of backup. Can be FileSystem, Database, or SystemState.
  • sources: An array of paths or resources to back up.
  • destination: The primary location to store the backup.
  • compression: Set to true to compress the backup.
  • encryption: Set to true to encrypt the backup.
  • schedule: A descriptive schedule for the job (e.g., “Daily”, “Weekly”). This is for informational purposes.
  • retention: The number of days to retain backups for this job.

Group Mappings (config/group-mappings.json)

The Sync-ADGroupMembership.ps1 script uses this file to map source groups to destination groups.

Structure:

{
  "mappings": [
    {
      "SourceGroup": "CN=SourceAdmins,OU=Groups,DC=example,DC=com",
      "DestinationGroup": "CN=DestinationAdmins,OU=Groups,DC=example,DC=com"
    }
  ]
}
  • SourceGroup: The distinguished name of the source Active Directory group.
  • DestinationGroup: The distinguished name of the destination Active Directory group.
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