How to send automatically an e-mail with a report of computers status inside WSUS server?

Hector2016Systems Administrator and Solutions Architect
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Microsoft Windows Server Update Service (WSUS) is free for everyone, but it lacks of some desirable features like send an e-mail to the administrator with the status of all computers on the WSUS server. This article is based on my PowerShell script to create this report.

This is a PowerShell script to generate an e-mail with a table of all computers registered on the WSUS server and its states.


Just create a new text file, paste this code on it, and save it with the PS1 extension. The system will recognize it as a PowerShell script immediately. I recommend NotePad++ as code editor for this script. Then you must edit the parameters on the script to make use of it successfully, like change the WSUS server name and all the other things to match your own ones.


These are the parameters that you need to personalize:

  • $UpdateServer: This is the WSUS server name or IP address to connect to.
  • $Port: This is the TCP port in use by the WSUS server, by default is 8530.
  • $Secure: Set to $True if you are using SSL/HTTPS to access WSUS service.
  • $smtp: This will be the SMTP email server name or IP address for email delivery.
  • $to1: This is the first level mailbox to receive the reports.
  • $to2: This is a second level mailbox to receive the reports.
  • $to3: This is the third level mailbox to receive the reports.
  • $from: This will be the sender´s address identifying the WSUS server.

This report is possible because Microsoft has published the object interfaces needed to access the WSUS data. According to Microsoft each computer on the WSUS server can be represented by an object of class IComputerTarget, and for each IComputerTarget object we can call to the method GetUpdateInstallationSummary which will return an object of the IUpdateSummary class with the data that we need for the report.


The returned IUpdateSummary object has many interesting properties (see the full list here) but we just need a few:

  • DownloadedCount: Gets the number of updates that have been downloaded but not installed.
  • FailedCount: Gets the number of updates that failed to install.
  • InstalledPendingRebootCount: Gets the number of updates that have been successfully installed and are pending a computer restart to finish the installation.
  • NotInstalledCount: Gets the number of updates that are applicable to the client computer but have not been downloaded or installed.
  • UnknownCount: Gets the number of updates where the current state of the installation cannot be determined.

You can find more information about WSUS administration objects at https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/microsoft.updateservices.administration%28v=vs.85%29.aspx.

 

The PowerShell script

Without more words, here is the code:

 

Param (
[string]$UpdateServer = 'WSUS01', # This is the WSUS server name.
[int]$Port = 8530, # This is the TCP port that use WSUS.
[bool]$Secure = $False # Set this to TRUE if you use HTTPS to access WSUS service.
)
$smtp = "mail.mydomain.com" # This is your SMTP Server
$to1 = "me@mydomain.com" # This is the recipient smtp address 1
$to2 = "myboss@mydomain.com" # This is the recipient smtp address 2
$to3 = "securityGuy@mydomain.com" # This is the recipient smtp address 3
$from = $UpdateServer + "<" + $UpdateServer + "@Mydomain.com>" # This will be the sender´s address identifying the WSUS server

$MsgBody = "<HTML>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<HEAD>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<title>All`s computers report on server:" + $UpdateServer + "</title>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "</HEAD>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<BODY style=""font-family:'Courier New', Courier, monospace"">"

$MsgBody= $MsgBody + "<h1>All`s computers report on server: " + $UpdateServer + "</h1>"
$intLineCounter = 0 # To count computers.

Remove-Item -force PcStatusReport.txt # This is a small log file to keep track of the last run results. It needs to be removed before start reading the list.

If (-Not (Import-Module UpdateServices -PassThru)) {
Add-Type -Path "$Env:ProgramFiles\Update Services\Api\Microsoft.UpdateServices.Administration.dll" -PassThru
}

$Wsus = [Microsoft.UpdateServices.Administration.AdminProxy]::GetUpdateServer($UpdateServer,$Secure,$Port) # With this we get connected to the WSUS server.

$CTScope = New-Object Microsoft.UpdateServices.Administration.ComputerTargetScope #This will the our scope, it includes all computers registered in the WSUS server.


# Now, lets write the HTML table headers.
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<table border=""1"" cellspacing=""2"" cellpadding=""2"" style=""font-family:'Courier New', Courier, monospace"">"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<tr>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<th>Index</th>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<th>Status</th>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<th>Computer Name</th>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<th>IP Address</th>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<th>Last Contact</th>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<th>Total updates</th>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<th bgcolor=""LightSalmon "">Awaiting reboot</th>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<th bgcolor=""Cyan"">Ready to install</th>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<th bgcolor=""Yellow"">Download pending</th>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<th bgcolor=""IndianRed"">Failed</th>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<th bgcolor=""Silver"">Unknown State</th>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "</tr>"


# This is the main part: Here we will sort the list of computers by name, and get details for each one of them.

$wsus.GetComputerTargets($CTScope) | Sort -Property FullDomainName | ForEach {

$objSummary = $_.GetUpdateInstallationSummary() # This is an intermediate object that contains the details.
$Down = $objSummary.DownloadedCount # This is the amount of updates that has been downloaded already.
$Fail = $objSummary.FailedCount # This is the count for the failed updates.
$Pend = $objSummary.InstalledPendingRebootCount # This is the number of updates that need to reboot to complete installation.
$NotI = $objSummary.NotInstalledCount # These are the needed updates for this computer.
$Unkn = $objSummary.UnknownCount # These are the updates that are waiting for detection on the first search.
$Total = $Down + $Fail + $Pend + $NotI + $Unkn # Total amount of updates for this computer.

$intLineCounter = $intLineCounter + 1 # Increase the table line counter.
$IntStr = [Convert]::ToString($intLineCounter) # convert it to string to put it on the HTML code.

if ($Total -eq 0) {$Estado="OK"; $bgcolor="LightGreen"}
elseif ($Pend -ne 0) {$Estado="Reboot needed"; $bgcolor="LightSalmon"}
elseif ($Down -ne 0) {$Estado="Ready to install"; $bgcolor="Cyan"}
elseif ($NotI -ne 0) {$Estado="Pending"; $bgcolor="Yellow"}
elseif ($Fail -ne 0) {$Estado="Error"; $bgcolor="IndianRed"}
elseif ($Unkn -ne 0) {$Estado="Not reported yet"; $bgcolor="Silver"}
else {$Estado=""; $bgcolor="White"}

Write-Verbose ($IntStr + " : " + $_.FullDomainName) -Verbose # Show task progress on screen.

$LastContact = $_.LastReportedStatusTime # This is the last time when the computer reported to the wsus.
$days = [Math]::Ceiling((New-TimeSpan -Start $LastContact).TotalDays) # This is the number of days since last time.

if ($days -gt 14) {$Color="Red"} # Computer is away for too long.
elseif ($days -gt 7) {$Color="Orange"} # Computer may be in trouble.
elseif ($days -gt 2) {$Color="Yellow"} # Computer may be off.
else {$Color="White"} # Computer is ok.

# Reformat days to a more human-readable form.
if ($days -eq 0) {$Dias="Today"}
elseif ($days -eq 1) {$Dias="Yesterday"}
else {$Dias="Since " + $days + " days."}

if ($LastContact -eq [DateTime]::MinValue) {$Dias="Never"; $Color="Silver"}

# Now write the table row with all the info.
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + " <tr>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<td align=""center"" valign=""middle""> " + $IntStr +" </td>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<td align=""center"" valign=""middle"" bgcolor=""" + $bgcolor + """> " + $Estado + " </td>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<td align=""center"" valign=""middle""> " + $_.FullDomainName+ " </td>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<td align=""center"" valign=""middle""> " + $_.IPAddress + " </td>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<td align=""center"" valign=""middle"" bgcolor=""" + $Color + """> " + $Dias +"</td>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<td align=""center"" valign=""middle"">" + $Total + "</td>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<td align=""center"" valign=""middle"">" + $Pend + "</td>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<td align=""center"" valign=""middle"">" + $Down + "</td>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<td align=""center"" valign=""middle"">" + $NotI + "</td>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<td align=""center"" valign=""middle"">" + $Fail + "</td>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<td align=""center"" valign=""middle"">" + $Unkn + "</td>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "</tr>"

$_.FullDomainName >> PcStatusReport.txt # And append a new line on the log file.
}

$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "</table><br>" # Finish the HTML table.

if ($intLineCounter -eq 0) {
Write-Verbose ("You must run this script from as administrator to read WSUS database.") -Verbose # Display a warning if not run with admin privileges.
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + " You must run this script from as administrator to read WSUS database. <hr>"
} else {
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<hr>"
}

#This is a footnote for the report readers.
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<p><h2>Note: </h2>The updates are applied in a sequential three-steps process: Search, Download and Install.<br> Each computer has to go through these three stages to be updated.<ul>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<li>Before the first time a search is run, it is unknown whether the computer will need some updating, thats why in this case all updates appear in <strong>Unknown State</strong>.</li>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<li>Once the search is complete, the updates appear as <strong>Download pending</strong>, which are the updates that the computer specifically needs.</li>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<li>When the computer has downloaded pending updates, these are counted as <strong>Ready to install</strong>.</li>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<li>At the end of the installation stage you can get one of these results:</li><ul>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<li><strong>OK</strong>: All necessary updates were installed correctly.</li>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<li><strong>ERROR</strong>: One or more required updates were not installed correctly.</li>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<li><strong>Reboot needed</strong>: The installation ended the first part, but you must restart the computer to complete the second part.</li>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "</ul></ul></p>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "If a computer is not connected to the server for more than 14 days is highlighted with color <font style=""background-color:red"">red</font>.<br>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "If a computer is not connected to the server from 7 to 14 days is highlighted with color <font style=""background-color:orange"">orange</font>.<br>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "If a computer is not connected to the server from 2 to 6 days is highlighted with color <font style=""background-color:yellow"">yellow</font>.<br>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<hr>"

$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "<center><strong>" + [System.DateTime]::Now + "</strong></center>" # This is a timestamp at the end of the message, taking into account the SMTP delivery delay.

$IntStr = [Convert]::ToString($intLineCounter) # convert the line counter to string
$subject = $IntStr + " computers registered on the server " + $UpdateServer # This will be the subject of the message.

# Closing Body and HTML tags
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "</BODY>"
$MsgBody = $MsgBody + "</HTML>"

# Now send the email message and thats all.
send-MailMessage -SmtpServer $smtp -To $to1, $to2, $to3 -From $from -Subject $subject -Body $MsgBody -BodyAsHtml -Priority high


Running the script in a schedule



You can create a new task in the Windows Task Scheduler to run this script automatically every day, or whenever you want. Just create a folder on the WSUS server, copy the script to it, create the task to run it like this:

 


powershell -file <path_to_folder>\<ScriptName>.ps1


27419task-scheduler-powershell-scrip.jpgSet the task to start in the same folder where the script is located.


Thanks for reading.

 

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Hector2016Systems Administrator and Solutions Architect
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Comments (6)

Sekar ChinnakannuStaff Engineer
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Commented:
I have 4 different domain in 1 forest will it possible to split by a domain?
Hector2016Systems Administrator and Solutions Architect
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Author

Commented:
@Sekar Chinnakannu: On the name of the computers is included the domain name.

@Graceyin: Really short on time for customizations, sorry.
Sekar ChinnakannuStaff Engineer
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Commented:
I agree Hector, Will it possible split into domain base, as the output sorted by alphabetical order.
Mathieu Bims

Commented:
Same problem as @Graceyin..

I only wish one group report and i don't understand the entirely script. So it's difficult for me to do modification. I modified different lines but same issue : not working. If i report all computers, i'll have 4000 computers !

thks for helping us
madhukar malisystem

Commented:
Hello Team ,

while running script i am getting below error
Remove-Item : Cannot find path 'C:\Script\PcStatusReport.txt' because it does not exist.
At C:\Script\WSUS.PS1:21 char:1
+ Remove-Item -force PcStatusReport.txt # This is a small log file to keep track o ...
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (C:\Script\PcStatusReport.txt:String) [Remove-Item], ItemNotFoundException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : PathNotFound,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand
 
Exception calling "GetUpdateServer" with "3" argument(s): "The request failed with HTTP status 403: Forbidden."
At C:\Script\WSUS.PS1:27 char:1
+ $Wsus = [Microsoft.UpdateServices.Administration.AdminProxy]::GetUpdateServer($U ...
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : NotSpecified: (:) [], MethodInvocationException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : WebException
 
You cannot call a method on a null-valued expression.
At C:\Script\WSUS.PS1:51 char:1
+ $wsus.GetComputerTargets($CTScope) | Sort -Property FullDomainName | ForEach {
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : InvalidOperation: (:) [], RuntimeException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : InvokeMethodOnNull
 
VERBOSE: You must run this script from as administrator to read WSUS database.


Please help me to fix this issue

Thanks,
Madhukar

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