IIS App Pool Recycle – PowerShell + Task Scheduler

1. PowerShell Script

• File path: C:\Scripts\RecycleAppPool.ps1

• Purpose: Recycles the IIS Application Pool test.example.com.

• Script contents:

  Import-Module WebAdministration
  Restart-WebAppPool -Name "test.example.com"

2. Scheduled Task Setup

Action

• Executes PowerShell with parameters to run the script silently.

$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction `
    -Execute "powershell.exe" `
    -Argument "-NoProfile -WindowStyle Hidden -File C:\Scripts\RecycleAppPool.ps1"

Trigger

• Starts once (1 minute from creation).

• Repeats every 1 minute for 1 day.

• Effectively keeps running every minute, renewed daily.

$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger `
    -Once -At (Get-Date).Date.AddMinutes(1) `
    -RepetitionInterval (New-TimeSpan -Minutes 1) `
    -RepetitionDuration (New-TimeSpan -Days 1)

Register the Task

• Task name: RecycleAppPool_Test.

• Runs with highest privileges under the SYSTEM account.

Register-ScheduledTask `
    -TaskName "RecycleAppPool_Test" `
    -Action $action `
    -Trigger $trigger `
    -RunLevel Highest `
    -User "SYSTEM"

3. Notes & Recommendations

• Frequency: Current setup recycles the app pool every 1 minute. ⚠️ This is unusual and may cause performance issues (sessions dropped, caches reset).

• Best Practice: Recycle once daily during off-peak hours (e.g., 3 AM).

  $trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Daily -At 03:00AM

• Logs/Monitoring:

  • Check Task Scheduler → Task History to confirm successful execution.

  • IIS logs will show recycle events.

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REFERENCES

• https://www.leansentry.com/guide/reset-restart-recycle-iis