Powershell query multidimensional hash - powershell

Question

I'm struggling creating and querying data of an object. (I think hash table)
two environment (test and production)
two servertypes per environment (webserver and appl servers)
1 or more servers of each type
I want to store the hostnames within the applicable section. I created the following hash:
$arr =#{}
$arr.Environment = #{}
$arr.Environment.Production = #{}
$arr.Environment.Production.serverType = #{}
$arr.Environment.Production.serverType.webServer = #{}
$arr.Environment.Production.serverType.entServer = #{}
$arr.Environment.Test = #{}
$arr.Environment.Test.serverType = #{}
$arr.Environment.Test.serverType.webServer = #{}
$arr.Environment.Test.serverType.entServer = #{}
I found that I can access data like:
$serversArray.Environment.Test.serverType.webServer
I would like to know:
is this the right way of doing this? are there better / easier way to accomplish this?
how do I loop/filter this object, retrieving servernames that meet the specified criteria? Since I need to have 1. all test webservers then 2. all test appl servers etc
thanks

Answer 1

If you're able to save all this in one go (using variables or hardcoded strings), you should be using the native format to store it - much more readable.
See
$Optiplex = #{
'Brand' = 'Dell'
'Model' = 'Optiplex'
'Specs' = #{
'RAM' = '4 GB'
'CPU' = 'Intel i5'
'USB Ports' = '3'
'CD/DVD Drive' = 'No'
'HDD' = '320 GB - SSD'
} #Specs
} #Optiplex
From this walkthrough
You'll be able to access the variables for the hashtable in the same way, such as Optiplex.Specs.RAM to get the value for RAM.
Edit: To better answer question number 2, here's some idea on looping:
foreach ($serverTypeToKVs in $arr.Environment.Production.serverType.GetEnumerator()) {
Write-Host "ServerType $(serverTypeToKVs.Name):"
foreach ($keyVal in $serverTypeToKVs.Value.GetEnumerator()) {
# Logic if serverTypeToKVs.Name == "webServer"
# Logic if keyVal == something
# General work to be done
}
}

Answer 2

I found following way to achieve this:
$order = #(("Test","Production"),("webServer", "entServer"))
foreach($env in $order[0]) {
Write-Host "Environment: $env"
foreach($svr in $order[1]) {
Write-Host "ServerType: $svr"
write-host "hostnames: "$serversArray.Environment.$($env).serverType.$($svr)
}
}
This will loop the correct way/sequence and lists correct servers:
Environment: Test
ServerType: webServer
hostnames: tweb1 tweb2
ServerType: appServer
hostnames: tapp1
Environment: Production
ServerType: webServer
hostnames: pweb1 pweb2 pweb3
ServerType: appServer
hostnames: papp1 papp2 papp3 papp4