Multiple column output using a hashtable - powershell

Question

I am trying to create a Hash Table that contains 3 columns.
SERVER_NAME PROCESS_NAME SERVER_STATUS PROCESS_AVAILABLE
SERVER1 app1.exe RUNNING YES
SERVER1 app2.exe RUNNING NO
SERVER2 app1.exe OFFLINE NO
SERVER2 app2.exe OFFLINE NO
SERVER3 app1.exe RUNNING YES
SERVER3 app2.exe RUNNING YES
So far, I've tried this
$SERVERLIST = Get-Content "$PSScriptRoot\servers\serverManager.bin"
$PROCESSMONITOR = Get-Content "$PSScriptRoot\process\application.bin"
$testList = #{Name=$SERVERLIST;Process=$PROCESSMONITOR}
The list of servers are in the "serverManager.bin" file. This is a CSV file that contains a list of the servers.
The list of processes that I am interested in monitoring are in the "application.bin" file. This is a CSV file that contains a list of the applications (as seen by PowerShell). [see code below]
Get-Process -ComputerName $server -name $process -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
I want to build a report which tells an admin which server is running and which process is running from the list that we are interested in monitoring.
I can check if the process is running
I can check if a server is online
My question is what do I need to do to get output like what's posted above

Answer 1

While hashtables play a part in this answer you are not looking for hashtables at all really. Looking at about_hash_tables
A hash table, also known as a dictionary or associative array, is a
compact data structure that stores one or more key/value pairs.
While you can nest whatever you want into the value you really are not looking for a hashtable. What I think you want is a custom PowerShell object that contains the results of each of your queries.
Get-Process does take arrays for both -Computer and -Name but they would omit results where either the computer does not exist or the process does not. Since you want that information you need to run a single cmdlet for each computer/process pair.
I use a hashtable only to create each individual "row" which is converted to a PowerShell object and collected as an array. I don't want to confuse but I know this working with at least 2.0 which is why I do it this way.
$SERVERLIST | ForEach-Object{
$computer = $_
$PROCESSMONITOR | ForEach-Object{
$process = $_
$props = #{
Server_Name = $computer
Process_Name = $process
}
# Check if the computer is alive. Better this was if $processes is large
If(Test-Connection $computer -Quiet -Count 1){
$props.Server_Status = "Running"
$result = Get-Process -Name $process -ComputerName $computer -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
If($result){
$props.Process_Available = "Yes"
} else {
$props.Process_Available = "No"
}
} else {
$props.Server_Status = "Offline"
$props.Process_Available = "No"
}
New-Object -TypeName psobject -Property $props
}
} | Select Server_Name,Process_Name,Server_Status,Process_Available
So now that we have a proper object you can now use other cmdlets like Where-Object, Sort-Object and etc.