MaksIT Unified Scheduler Service

A modern, fully rewritten Windows service built on .NET 10 for scheduling and running PowerShell scripts and console applications. Designed for system administrators — and also for those who feel like system administrators — who need a predictable, resilient, and secure background execution environment.

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Table of Contents

• MaksIT Unified Scheduler Service
  • Table of Contents
  • Scripts Examples
  • Features at a Glance
  • Installation
    • Using CLI Commands
    • Using sc.exe
  • Configuration (appsettings.json)
    • Path Resolution
    • Log Levels
    • PowerShell Scripts
    • Processes
  • How It Works
    • PowerShell Execution Parameters
    • Execution Model
  • Reusable Scheduler Module (SchedulerTemplate.psm1)
    • Exported Functions
    • Module Version
    • Example usage
  • Security
  • Logging
  • Testing
    • Running Tests
    • Code Coverage
    • Test Structure
  • Contact
  • License

Scripts Examples

Note: These examples are bundled with the release and included in the default appsettings.json, but are disabled by default. To enable an example, set "Disabled": false in the configuration.

• Hyper-V Backup - Production-ready Hyper-V VM backup solution with scheduling and retention management
• Native-Sync - Production-ready file synchronization solution using pure PowerShell with no external dependencies
• File-Sync - FreeFileSync batch job execution
• Windows-Update - Production-ready Windows Update automation solution using pure PowerShell
• Scheduler Template Module

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Features at a Glance

• .NET 10 Worker Service – clean, robust, stable.
• Windows only – designed specifically for Windows services.
• Strongly typed configuration via appsettings.json.
• Parallel execution – PowerShell scripts & executables run concurrently using RunspacePool and Task.WhenAll.
• Relative path support – script and process paths can be relative to the application directory.
• Signature enforcement (AllSigned by default).
• Automatic restart-on-failure for supervised processes.
• Extensible logging (file + console + Windows EventLog).
• Built-in CLI for service management (--install, --uninstall, --start, --stop, --status).
• Reusable scheduling module: SchedulerTemplate.psm1.
• Thread-isolated architecture — individual failures do not affect others.

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Installation

Using CLI Commands

The executable includes built-in service management commands. Run as Administrator:

# Install the service (auto-start enabled)
MaksIT.UScheduler.exe --install

# Start the service
MaksIT.UScheduler.exe --start

# Check service status
MaksIT.UScheduler.exe --status

# Stop the service
MaksIT.UScheduler.exe --stop

# Uninstall the service
MaksIT.UScheduler.exe --uninstall

# Show help
MaksIT.UScheduler.exe --help

Command	Short	Description
--install	-i	Install the Windows service (auto-start)
--uninstall	-u	Stop and remove the Windows service
--start		Start the service
--stop		Stop the service
--status		Query service status
--help	-h	Show help message

Note: Service management commands require administrator privileges.

Using sc.exe

Alternatively, use Windows Service Control Manager directly:

sc.exe create "MaksIT.UScheduler" binpath="C:\Path\To\MaksIT.UScheduler.exe" start=auto
sc.exe start "MaksIT.UScheduler"

To uninstall:

sc.exe stop "MaksIT.UScheduler"
sc.exe delete "MaksIT.UScheduler"

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Configuration (appsettings.json)

{
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Information"
    },
    "EventLog": {
      "SourceName": "MaksIT.UScheduler",
      "LogName": "Application",
      "LogLevel": {
        "Microsoft": "Information",
        "Microsoft.Hosting.Lifetime": "Information"
      }
    }
  },
  "Configuration": {
    "ServiceName": "MaksIT.UScheduler",
    "LogDir": "C:\\Logs",

    "Powershell": [
      { "Path": "../Scripts/MyScript.ps1", "IsSigned": true, "Disabled": false },
      { "Path": "C:\\Scripts\\AnotherScript.ps1", "IsSigned": false, "Disabled": true }
    ],

    "Processes": [
      { "Path": "../Tools/MyApp.exe", "Args": ["--option"], "RestartOnFailure": true, "Disabled": false }
    ]
  }
}

Note: ServiceName and LogDir are optional. Defaults: "MaksIT.UScheduler" and Logs folder in app directory.

Path Resolution

Paths can be either absolute or relative:

Path Type	Example	Resolved To
Absolute	C:\Scripts\backup.ps1	C:\Scripts\backup.ps1
Relative	../Scripts/backup.ps1	{AppDirectory}\..\Scripts\backup.ps1
Relative	scripts/backup.ps1	{AppDirectory}\scripts\backup.ps1

Relative paths are resolved against the application's base directory (where MaksIT.UScheduler.exe is located).

Log Levels

The "Default": "Information" setting controls the minimum severity of messages that get logged. Available levels (from most to least verbose):

Level	Description
Trace	Most detailed, for debugging internals
Debug	Debugging information
Information	General operational events (recommended default)
Warning	Abnormal or unexpected events
Error	Errors and exceptions
Critical	Critical failures requiring immediate attention
None	Disables logging

PowerShell Scripts

Property	Type	Default	Description
Path	string	required	Path to .ps1 file (absolute or relative)
IsSigned	bool	true	true enforces AllSigned, false runs unrestricted
Disabled	bool	false	true skips this script during execution

Processes

Property	Type	Default	Description
Path	string	required	Path to executable (absolute or relative)
Args	string[]	null	Command-line arguments
RestartOnFailure	bool	false	Restart process if it exits with non-zero code
Disabled	bool	false	true skips this process during execution

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How It Works

Each script or process is executed in its own managed thread.

PowerShell Execution Parameters

myCommand.Parameters.Add(new CommandParameter("Automated", true));
myCommand.Parameters.Add(new CommandParameter("CurrentDateTimeUtc", DateTime.UtcNow.ToString("o")));

Inside the script:

param (
    [switch]$Automated,
    [string]$CurrentDateTimeUtc
)

Execution Model

Scripts and processes run in parallel using:

• PowerShell: RunspacePool (up to CPU core count concurrent runspaces)
• Processes: Task.WhenAll for concurrent process execution

Unified Scheduler Service
├── PSScriptBackgroundService (RunspacePool)
│   ├── ScriptA.ps1     ─┐
│   ├── ScriptB.ps1     ─┼─ Parallel execution
│   └── ScriptC.ps1     ─┘
└── ProcessBackgroundService (Task.WhenAll)
    ├── ProgramA.exe    ─┐
    ├── ProgramB.exe    ─┼─ Parallel execution
    └── ProgramC.exe    ─┘

• A failure in one script/process never stops the service or other components.
• The same script/process won't run twice concurrently (protected by "already running" check).
• Execution cycle repeats every 10 seconds.

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Reusable Scheduler Module (SchedulerTemplate.psm1)

This module provides:

• Scheduling by:

  • Month
  • Weekday
  • Exact time(s)
  • Minimum interval

• Automatic lock file (no concurrent execution)

• Last-run file tracking

• Unified callback execution pattern

Exported Functions

Function	Description
Write-Log	Logging with timestamp, level (Info/Success/Warning/Error), and color support
Invoke-ScheduledExecution	Main scheduler — checks schedule, manages locks, runs callback
Get-CredentialFromEnvVar	Retrieves credentials from Base64-encoded machine environment variables
Test-UNCPath	Validates whether a path is a UNC path
Send-EmailNotification	Sends SMTP email with optional SSL and credential support

Module Version

The module exports $ModuleVersion and $ModuleDate for version tracking.

Example usage

param (
    [switch]$Automated,
    [string]$CurrentDateTimeUtc
)

Import-Module "$PSScriptRoot\..\SchedulerTemplate.psm1" -Force

$Config = @{
    RunMonth = @()
    RunWeekday = @()
    RunTime = @("22:52")
    MinIntervalMinutes = 10
}

function Start-BusinessLogic {
     Write-Log "Executing business logic..." -Automated:$Automated
}

Invoke-ScheduledExecution -Config $Config -Automated:$Automated -CurrentDateTimeUtc $CurrentDateTimeUtc -ScriptBlock {
    Start-BusinessLogic
}

Workflow for new scheduled scripts:

1. Copy template
2. Modify $Config
3. Implement Start-BusinessLogic
4. Add script to appsettings.json

That’s it — the full scheduling engine is reused automatically.

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Security

• Scripts run with AllSigned execution policy by default.
• Set IsSigned: false to use Unrestricted policy (not recommended for production).
• Scripts are auto-unblocked before execution (Zone.Identifier removed).
• Signature validation ensures only trusted scripts execute.

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Logging

• Console logging — standard output
• File logging — written to LogDir (default: Logs folder in app directory)
• Windows EventLog — events logged to Application log under MaksIT.UScheduler source
• All events (start, stop, crash, restart, error, skip) are logged

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Testing

The project includes a comprehensive test suite using xUnit and Moq for unit testing.

Running Tests

# Run all tests
dotnet test src/MaksIT.UScheduler.Tests

# Run with verbose output
dotnet test src/MaksIT.UScheduler.Tests --verbosity normal

Code Coverage

Coverage badges are generated locally using ReportGenerator.

Prerequisites:

dotnet tool install --global dotnet-reportgenerator-globaltool

Generate coverage report and badges:

.\src\scripts\Run-Coverage\Run-Coverage.ps1

# With HTML report opened in browser
.\src\scripts\Run-Coverage\Run-Coverage.ps1 -OpenReport

Test Structure

Test Class	Coverage
ConfigurationTests	Configuration POCOs and default values
ProcessBackgroundServiceTests	Process execution lifecycle and error handling
PSScriptBackgroundServiceTests	PowerShell script execution and signature validation

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Contact

Maksym Sadovnychyy – MAKS-IT, 2025 Email: maksym.sadovnychyy@gmail.com

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License

MIT License Copyright (c) 2025 Maksym Sadovnychyy – MAKS-IT maksym.sadovnychyy@gmail.com

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