v1.9.56 — Operations & Safety

- Batch role template install pre-fetches feature states (N+1 fix)
- Transcript cleanup .Count wrapped in @() for PS 5.1
- Remote service manager requires confirmation before actions
- Remote service manager pre-checks connectivity
- SMB3 backend detection no longer false-positives on mapped drives

Author: TheAbider

Changelog.md

@@ -1,5 +1,14 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## v1.9.56
+
+- **Enhancement:** Batch role template installation pre-fetches all Windows Feature states in a single `Get-WindowsFeature` call instead of querying individually per feature — reduces WMI/DISM round-trips by up to 10x for large templates (50-EntryPoint).
+- **Bug Fix:** Transcript cleanup age-based removal now wraps filtered results in `@()` for PS 5.1 `.Count` safety — previously, cleaning up exactly one old transcript would report "Cleaned up  old transcript(s)" with a blank count (50-EntryPoint).
+- **Enhancement:** Remote service manager now requires `Confirm-UserAction` before starting, stopping, or restarting services on remote servers — prevents accidental service disruption on production systems (56-OperationsMenu).
+- **Enhancement:** Remote service manager pre-checks connectivity with `Test-Connection` before attempting RPC service query — fails fast with a clear message instead of hanging for 60+ seconds on unreachable targets (56-OperationsMenu).
+- **Bug Fix:** Storage backend auto-detection no longer false-positives SMB3 whenever any SMB mapped drive exists — now checks specifically for cluster File Server or Scale-Out File Server resources instead of generic `Get-SmbMapping` (59-StorageBackends).
+- 63 modules, 1854 tests
+
 ## v1.9.55
 
 - **Enhancement:** Server role templates now validate that the PostInstall function exists before attempting to invoke it — prevents confusing errors when custom templates reference functions that haven't been loaded or don't exist, with a clear warning message instead (60-ServerRoleTemplates).

Header.ps1

@@ -30,11 +30,19 @@
     7h3 4b1d3r
 
 .VERSION
-    1.9.55
+    1.9.56
 
 .LAST UPDATED
     03/03/2026
 
+.CHANGELOG v1.9.56
+    OPERATIONS & SAFETY PATCH:
+    - IMPROVED: Batch role template install pre-fetches all feature states in one query instead of per-feature Get-WindowsFeature calls (N+1 optimization)
+    - FIX: Transcript cleanup .Count on single-object result now wrapped in @() for PS 5.1 safety
+    - IMPROVED: Remote service manager requires confirmation before start/stop/restart on remote servers
+    - IMPROVED: Remote service manager pre-checks connectivity before attempting RPC service query
+    - FIX: Storage backend detection no longer false-positives SMB3 on servers with unrelated mapped drives — now checks for cluster SMB resources specifically
+
 .CHANGELOG v1.9.55
     REPORTING & TEMPLATES PATCH:
     - IMPROVED: Server role templates validate PostInstall function exists before invocation — prevents confusing errors from custom templates referencing missing functions

Modules/00-Initialization.ps1

@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ if (-not $script:ModuleRoot) { $script:ModuleRoot = $PSScriptRoot }
 if (-not $script:ModuleRoot -and $script:ScriptPath) {
     $script:ModuleRoot = [System.IO.Path]::GetDirectoryName($script:ScriptPath)
 }
-$script:ScriptVersion = "1.9.55"
+$script:ScriptVersion = "1.9.56"
 $script:ScriptStartTime = Get-Date
 
 # OS version detection (for feature compatibility)

Modules/50-EntryPoint.ps1

@@ -56,9 +56,9 @@ function Remove-OldTranscripts {
 
         # Age-based cleanup: remove logs older than DaysToKeep
         $cutoffDate = (Get-Date).AddDays(-$DaysToKeep)
-        $oldLogs = $allLogs | Where-Object { $_.LastWriteTime -lt $cutoffDate }
+        $oldLogs = @($allLogs | Where-Object { $_.LastWriteTime -lt $cutoffDate })
 
-        if ($oldLogs) {
+        if ($oldLogs.Count -gt 0) {
             $count = $oldLogs.Count
             $oldLogs | Remove-Item -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
             Write-OutputColor "Cleaned up $count old transcript(s) (older than $DaysToKeep days)" -color "Debug"
@@ -854,9 +854,11 @@ function Start-BatchMode {
             Write-OutputColor "  [$stepNum/$totalSteps] Installing role template: $($template.FullName)..." -color "Info"
             try {
                 $installCount = 0
+                # Pre-fetch all feature states once (avoids N+1 Get-WindowsFeature calls per feature)
+                $installedFeatures = @(Get-WindowsFeature -Name $template.Features -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Where-Object { $_.Installed })
+                $installedNames = @($installedFeatures | ForEach-Object { $_.Name })
                 foreach ($featureName in $template.Features) {
-                    $wf = Get-WindowsFeature -Name $featureName -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
-                    if ($null -eq $wf -or -not $wf.Installed) {
+                    if ($featureName -notin $installedNames) {
                         $null = Install-WindowsFeature -Name $featureName -IncludeManagementTools -ErrorAction Stop
                         $installCount++
                     }

Modules/56-OperationsMenu.ps1

@@ -282,6 +282,14 @@ function Invoke-RemoteServiceManager {
     if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($target)) { return }
 
     Write-OutputColor "" -color "Info"
+    Write-OutputColor "  Testing connectivity to $target ..." -color "Info"
+
+    if (-not (Test-Connection -ComputerName $target -Count 1 -Quiet -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) {
+        Write-OutputColor "  Cannot reach $target — host is unreachable or offline." -color "Error"
+        Write-PressEnter
+        return
+    }
+
     Write-OutputColor "  Fetching services from $target ..." -color "Info"
     Write-OutputColor "" -color "Info"
 
@@ -315,32 +323,43 @@ function Invoke-RemoteServiceManager {
         if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($svcAction) -or $svcAction -eq 'B' -or $svcAction -eq 'b') { return }
 
         $action = Read-Host "  Action: [S]tart, [T]op, [R]estart"
-        switch ($action) {
-            { $_ -eq 'S' -or $_ -eq 's' } {
-                try {
-                    Get-Service -ComputerName $target -Name $svcAction -ErrorAction Stop | Start-Service -ErrorAction Stop
-                    Write-OutputColor "  Service '$svcAction' started." -color "Success"
-                }
-                catch {
-                    Write-OutputColor "  Failed to start service '$svcAction': $($_.Exception.Message)" -color "Error"
-                }
-            }
-            { $_ -eq 'T' -or $_ -eq 't' } {
-                try {
-                    Get-Service -ComputerName $target -Name $svcAction -ErrorAction Stop | Stop-Service -Force -ErrorAction Stop
-                    Write-OutputColor "  Service '$svcAction' stopped." -color "Success"
-                }
-                catch {
-                    Write-OutputColor "  Failed to stop service '$svcAction': $($_.Exception.Message)" -color "Error"
+        $actionName = switch ($action) {
+            { $_ -eq 'S' -or $_ -eq 's' } { "start" }
+            { $_ -eq 'T' -or $_ -eq 't' } { "stop" }
+            { $_ -eq 'R' -or $_ -eq 'r' } { "restart" }
+            default { $null }
+        }
+        if (-not $actionName) {
+            Write-OutputColor "  Invalid action." -color "Error"
+        }
+        elseif (Confirm-UserAction -Message "$($actionName.Substring(0,1).ToUpper() + $actionName.Substring(1)) service '$svcAction' on $target?") {
+            switch ($action) {
+                { $_ -eq 'S' -or $_ -eq 's' } {
+                    try {
+                        Get-Service -ComputerName $target -Name $svcAction -ErrorAction Stop | Start-Service -ErrorAction Stop
+                        Write-OutputColor "  Service '$svcAction' started." -color "Success"
+                    }
+                    catch {
+                        Write-OutputColor "  Failed to start service '$svcAction': $($_.Exception.Message)" -color "Error"
+                    }
                 }
-            }
-            { $_ -eq 'R' -or $_ -eq 'r' } {
-                try {
-                    Get-Service -ComputerName $target -Name $svcAction -ErrorAction Stop | Restart-Service -Force -ErrorAction Stop
-                    Write-OutputColor "  Service '$svcAction' restarted." -color "Success"
+                { $_ -eq 'T' -or $_ -eq 't' } {
+                    try {
+                        Get-Service -ComputerName $target -Name $svcAction -ErrorAction Stop | Stop-Service -Force -ErrorAction Stop
+                        Write-OutputColor "  Service '$svcAction' stopped." -color "Success"
+                    }
+                    catch {
+                        Write-OutputColor "  Failed to stop service '$svcAction': $($_.Exception.Message)" -color "Error"
+                    }
                 }
-                catch {
-                    Write-OutputColor "  Failed to restart service '$svcAction': $($_.Exception.Message)" -color "Error"
+                { $_ -eq 'R' -or $_ -eq 'r' } {
+                    try {
+                        Get-Service -ComputerName $target -Name $svcAction -ErrorAction Stop | Restart-Service -Force -ErrorAction Stop
+                        Write-OutputColor "  Service '$svcAction' restarted." -color "Success"
+                    }
+                    catch {
+                        Write-OutputColor "  Failed to restart service '$svcAction': $($_.Exception.Message)" -color "Error"
+                    }
                 }
             }
         }

Modules/59-StorageBackends.ps1

@@ -76,11 +76,12 @@ function Get-DetectedStorageBackend {
         if ($fcDisks) { return "FC" }
     }
 
-    # Check for SMB shares used by cluster
+    # Check for SMB shares used by cluster (File Share resource or CSVs backed by SMB)
     try {
-        $clusterResources = Get-ClusterResource -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Where-Object { $_.ResourceType -eq "File Share Witness" }
-        $smbDisks = Get-SmbMapping -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
-        if ($smbDisks) { return "SMB3" }
+        $clusterSMBResources = Get-ClusterResource -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Where-Object {
+            $_.ResourceType -eq "File Server" -or $_.ResourceType -eq "Scale-Out File Server"
+        }
+        if ($clusterSMBResources) { return "SMB3" }
     }
     catch { }
 

RackStack.ps1

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
     Environment-specific settings are configured via defaults.json.
 
 .VERSION
-    1.9.55
+    1.9.56
 
 .NOTES
     - Requires Windows Server 2012 R2 or later (or Windows 10/11 for testing)

Tests/Run-Tests.ps1

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 <#
 .SYNOPSIS
-    Automated Test Runner for RackStack v1.9.55
+    Automated Test Runner for RackStack v1.9.56
 
 .DESCRIPTION
     Comprehensive non-interactive test suite covering: