The PowerShell command Get-ADComputer is part of the Active Directory PowerShell module. Go to this article if you want to know how to install it.
To search effectively for computers in your Active Directory you should use the Filter switch. Don’t extract all computers and then search the result set.
Use Get-ADComputer -Filter to search directly for improved performance.
Understand the Get-ADComputer Filter Parameter
With the many various filtering options available (LDAP filtering, oData v3.0 filtering, etc.) the filter switch often causes some confusion.
The filter switch used in the Get-ADComputer command uses the PowerShell expression language in the query string.
This is different than e.g. when using the Get-AzureADUser command (which uses oData v3.0 filtering)!
The following operators should cover most of your needs:
| Operator | Meaning | Sample expression |
|---|---|---|
| -eq | Equal to | Name -eq “WKS-2021” |
| -ne | Not equal to | OperatingSystemVersion -ne “10.0 (14393)” |
| -gt | Greater than | LastLogonTimestamp -gt $date |
| -ge | Greater than or equal | Created -ge “01-01-2018” |
| -lt | Less than | Modified -lt “01-02-2021” |
| -le | Less than or equal | Created -le “01-01-2018” |
| -like | Wildcard search | OperatingSystem -like “*2008*” |
| -notlike | Wildcard search with negation | OperatingSystem -notlike “*2016*” |
| -and | And | OperatingSystem -like “*Server*” -and operatingSystemServicePack -eq “Service Pack 1” |
| -or | Or | OperatingSystem -like “*2008*” -or OperatingSystem -like “*2016*” |
Please notice the following in the above examples:
- Enclose the compared value(s) in apostrophes
- Use -like ‘*’ and -notlike ‘*’ to find empty or non-empty values
- Filter “cryptic” date/time formats directly with a DateTime variable (like e.g. the LastLogonTimeStamp attribute which uses the FileTime format)
Below you have some code snippets that should point you in the right direction on how to structure your filters for your Get-ADComputer search queries:
Get-ADComputer -Filter 'Name -eq "WKS-2021"'Get-ADComputer -Filter 'OperatingSystemVersion -ne "10.0 (14393)"'$Date = (Get-Date).AddDays(-60)
Get-ADComputer -Filter 'lastLogonTimestamp -gt $date'Get-ADComputer -Filter 'Modified -ge "06-04-2021 12:00:00"'$Date = (Get-Date).AddDays(-60)
Get-ADComputer -Filter 'lastLogonTimestamp -lt $date'Get-ADComputer -Filter 'Created -le "01-01-2020"'Get-ADComputer -Filter 'OperatingSystem -like "*2008*"'Get-ADComputer -Filter 'OperatingSystem -notlike "*2016*"'Get-ADComputer -Filter 'OperatingSystem -like "*Server*" -and operatingSystemServicePack -eq "Service Pack 1"'Get-ADComputer -Filter 'OperatingSystem -like "*2008*" -or OperatingSystem -like "*2016*"'How to Manage Office 365 from Active Directory
Easy365Manager is a snap-in to AD Users & Computers that allows you to manage Office 365 mailboxes and licenses as part of your standard AD management.
Easy365Manager extends user properties with two new tabs, so you no longer have to switch between multiple web consoles to perform daily management:
With Easy365Manager, you can perform all daily tasks from AD Users & Computers:
- Assign Office 365 licenses
- Manage shared mailbox delegation
- Configure calendar permissions
- Configure proxyAddresses (with format and uniqueness check)
- Replicate Azure AD Connect
And a lot more. See the complete feature list here.
Additionally, Easy365Manager lets you remove your on-premises Exchange Server. This will give you 100% protection from future zero-day exploits targeting Exchange Server.
Try the fully functional 30-day trial now. It only takes a few minutes to install, has zero learning curve, and you’re guaranteed to have saved hours of work before the end of the week!