Server uptime is one of the basic but important checks performed by infrastructure, system administration, and application support teams. Knowing when a server was last rebooted helps with troubleshooting, patch verification, maintenance validation, and operational monitoring.

This blog covers simple ways to check server uptime on Windows and Linux/UNIX, including how to check multiple servers at once and save the results to a report.

1. Check Windows Server Uptime Using PowerShell

PowerShell provides a reliable way to retrieve the server's last boot time using Win32_OperatingSystem.

Check Last Boot Time

(Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem).LastBootUpTime

Example:

Thursday, September 10, 2026 8:15:22 AM

Check Uptime

(Get-Date) - (Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem).LastBootUpTime

Example:

Days              : 7
Hours             : 10
Minutes           : 25
Seconds           : 14

2. Display Windows Uptime in a Readable Format

For operational use, it is often easier to display the result as Days, Hours, and Minutes.

$os = Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem
$uptime = (Get-Date) - $os.LastBootUpTime

"Server       : $env:COMPUTERNAME"
"Last Boot    : $($os.LastBootUpTime)"
"Uptime       : $($uptime.Days) Days, $($uptime.Hours) Hours, $($uptime.Minutes) Minutes"

Example output:

Server       : JDESERVER01
Last Boot    : 9/10/2026 8:15:22 AM
Uptime       : 7 Days, 10 Hours, 25 Minutes

3. Check Multiple Windows Servers

If you have multiple Windows servers, there is no need to log in to each server individually.

Create a file called:

servers.txt

Add one server name per line:

WIN-SERVER01
WIN-SERVER02
WIN-SERVER03
WIN-SERVER04
WIN-SERVER05

Run the following PowerShell script:

$servers = Get-Content ".\servers.txt"

foreach ($server in $servers) {

    try {
        $os = Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem `
            -ComputerName $server `
            -ErrorAction Stop

        $uptime = (Get-Date) - $os.LastBootUpTime

        [PSCustomObject]@{
            Server    = $server
            LastBoot  = $os.LastBootUpTime
            Uptime    = "$($uptime.Days) Days, $($uptime.Hours) Hours, $($uptime.Minutes) Minutes"
        }
    }
    catch {
        [PSCustomObject]@{
            Server    = $server
            LastBoot  = "Unable to connect"
            Uptime    = "N/A"
        }
    }
}

Example result:

Server          LastBoot                 Uptime
------          --------                 ------
WIN-SERVER01    9/10/2026 8:15:22 AM     7 Days, 10 Hours, 25 Minutes
WIN-SERVER02    9/12/2026 2:32:10 PM     5 Days, 4 Hours, 8 Minutes
WIN-SERVER03    9/15/2026 6:21:45 AM     2 Days, 12 Hours, 35 Minutes
WIN-SERVER04    9/01/2026 9:05:31 AM     16 Days, 9 Hours, 18 Minutes
WIN-SERVER05    Unable to connect         N/A

4. Export Windows Uptime to CSV

The same PowerShell output can easily be saved to a CSV file.

$servers = Get-Content ".\servers.txt"

$result = foreach ($server in $servers) {

    try {
        $os = Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem `
            -ComputerName $server `
            -ErrorAction Stop

        $uptime = (Get-Date) - $os.LastBootUpTime

        [PSCustomObject]@{
            Server    = $server
            LastBoot  = $os.LastBootUpTime
            Days      = $uptime.Days
            Hours     = $uptime.Hours
            Minutes   = $uptime.Minutes
            Status    = "Connected"
        }
    }
    catch {
        [PSCustomObject]@{
            Server    = $server
            LastBoot  = ""
            Days      = ""
            Hours     = ""
            Minutes   = ""
            Status    = "Unable to Connect"
        }
    }
}

$result | Export-Csv ".\Windows_Server_Uptime.csv" -NoTypeInformation

This produces:

Windows_Server_Uptime.csv

5. Check Linux/UNIX Server Uptime

Linux provides several simple commands for checking uptime.

Using `uptime`

uptime

Example:

08:41:12 up 7 days, 10:25,  2 users,  load average: 0.10, 0.15, 0.12

The most useful part is:

up 7 days, 10:25

6. Get Linux Last Boot Time

On modern Linux distributions:

uptime -s

Example:

2026-09-10 08:15:22

You can also use:

who -b

Example:

system boot  2026-09-10 08:15

7. Display Linux Uptime in a Simple Format

echo "Server    : $(hostname)"
echo "Last Boot : $(uptime -s)"
echo "Uptime    : $(uptime -p)"

Example:

Server    : JDESERVER01
Last Boot : 2026-09-10 08:15:22
Uptime    : up 7 days, 10 hours, 25 minutes

8. Check Multiple Linux/UNIX Servers Using SSH

If you have five Linux/UNIX servers, create:

servers.txt

Example:

linux01
linux02
linux03
linux04
linux05

Then run:

while read SERVER
do
    echo "---------------------------------------------"
    echo "Server: $SERVER"

    ssh -o ConnectTimeout=5 "$SERVER" '
        echo "Last Boot : $(uptime -s)"
        echo "Uptime    : $(uptime -p)"
    '

done < servers.txt

Example output:

---------------------------------------------
Server: linux01
Last Boot : 2026-09-10 08:15:22
Uptime    : up 7 days, 10 hours, 25 minutes

---------------------------------------------
Server: linux02
Last Boot : 2026-09-12 14:32:10
Uptime    : up 5 days, 4 hours, 8 minutes

9. Create a Clean Linux Uptime Report

For a cleaner operational report:

#!/bin/bash

echo "=============================================================="
printf "%-20s %-25s %-30s\n" "Server" "Last Boot" "Uptime"
echo "=============================================================="

while read SERVER
do
    BOOT=$(ssh -o ConnectTimeout=5 "$SERVER" "uptime -s" 2>/dev/null)
    UP=$(ssh -o ConnectTimeout=5 "$SERVER" "uptime -p" 2>/dev/null)

    if [ -z "$BOOT" ]; then
        printf "%-20s %-25s %-30s\n" \
            "$SERVER" "Unable to Connect" "N/A"
    else
        printf "%-20s %-25s %-30s\n" \
            "$SERVER" "$BOOT" "$UP"
    fi

done < servers.txt

echo "=============================================================="

Example:

==============================================================
Server               Last Boot                 Uptime
==============================================================
linux01              2026-09-10 08:15:22       up 7 days, 10 hours
linux02              2026-09-12 14:32:10       up 5 days, 4 hours
linux03              2026-09-15 06:21:45       up 2 days, 12 hours
linux04              2026-09-01 09:05:31       up 16 days, 9 hours
linux05              Unable to Connect         N/A
==============================================================

10. Save Linux Results to a Text File

Use tee to display the results on the screen and save them at the same time:

./check_uptime.sh | tee server_uptime.txt

The output will be displayed on the screen and saved to:

server_uptime.txt

11. Windows vs. Linux Uptime Commands

Platform	Command	Purpose
Windows	`Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem`	Get OS information
Windows	`.LastBootUpTime`	Get last boot time
Windows	`(Get-Date) - $os.LastBootUpTime`	Calculate uptime
Linux	`uptime`	Display uptime
Linux	`uptime -p`	Display uptime in readable format
Linux	`uptime -s`	Display last boot time
Linux/UNIX	`who -b`	Display system boot time
Linux/UNIX	`ssh server uptime`	Check remote server

12. Operational Use

Server uptime checks are particularly useful during:

OS patching validation
JDE Tools Release upgrades
WebLogic maintenance
AIS/HTML Server maintenance
Database maintenance
Post-reboot validation
Disaster recovery testing
Production health checks
24x7 Managed Services operations

For example, after a planned maintenance window, you can quickly verify that all servers were actually rebooted and identify any server that was missed.

Conclusion

Checking server uptime does not require manually logging into every server.

For Windows, PowerShell's Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem provides the last boot time and allows uptime to be calculated.

For Linux/UNIX, commands such as uptime, uptime -s, and who -b provide the required information.

When managing multiple servers, combining these commands with PowerShell remoting or SSH makes it possible to generate a centralized uptime report for the entire environment.

A simple uptime script can therefore become a useful part of a daily CNC / Infrastructure Operations health check.

The Oracle ERP JDEdwards Technology Journal

Friday, September 18, 2026

How to Check Server Uptime on Windows and Linux Using PowerShell and Shell Script

1. Check Windows Server Uptime Using PowerShell

Check Last Boot Time

Check Uptime

2. Display Windows Uptime in a Readable Format

3. Check Multiple Windows Servers

4. Export Windows Uptime to CSV

5. Check Linux/UNIX Server Uptime

Using `uptime`

6. Get Linux Last Boot Time

7. Display Linux Uptime in a Simple Format

8. Check Multiple Linux/UNIX Servers Using SSH

9. Create a Clean Linux Uptime Report

10. Save Linux Results to a Text File

11. Windows vs. Linux Uptime Commands

12. Operational Use

Conclusion

Friday, September 18, 2026

How to Check Server Uptime on Windows and Linux Using PowerShell and Shell Script

1. Check Windows Server Uptime Using PowerShell

Check Last Boot Time

Check Uptime

2. Display Windows Uptime in a Readable Format

3. Check Multiple Windows Servers

4. Export Windows Uptime to CSV

5. Check Linux/UNIX Server Uptime

Using uptime

6. Get Linux Last Boot Time

7. Display Linux Uptime in a Simple Format

8. Check Multiple Linux/UNIX Servers Using SSH

9. Create a Clean Linux Uptime Report

10. Save Linux Results to a Text File

11. Windows vs. Linux Uptime Commands

12. Operational Use

Conclusion

Using `uptime`