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We have an application that needs to be running all the time, and automatically restart when the server reboots. Sounds like a great job for a Windows service! The only problem is that the company that created this software was not so thoughtful :-(

Does anyone have any expereince with getting a regualr windows application to run as a service? I have found a product from Eltima Network that appears to target this problem.

Does anyone have any expereince with this product, or another product that accomplishs the same goal? Perhaps a free, open source, or Microsoft solution?

Thanks!

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3 Answers 3

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That commercial offering you're referring to is "adding value" by being nice to applications it hosts-- trying to close them gracefully when the service control manager asks it to "stop", etc.

You can get a lot of that functionality from something like NSSM - the Non-Sucking Service Manager, SRVANY (from various Windows resource kits), or any other number of similiar projects out there. What you won't get from those tools is obsessive attention to shutting down applications cleanly like that commercial tool you mentioned.

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  • Thanks for that bit of insight Evan. Congrat's on hitting 20k
    – Richard West
    Oct 16, 2009 at 19:21
  • Thanks, Richard. My obsession with Server Fault is sorta apparent, isn't it... >smile<
    – Evan Anderson
    Oct 16, 2009 at 21:14
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Pitty you don't tel us what version of Windows your running, 2000, 2003 or 2008.

I had to run a simple program as service once on a Windows 2003 server and used srvany.exe for it. Its part of the Windows Server 2003 resource kit that you can download for free from the microsoft download site.

Windows Server 2003 resource kit download.

A KB article of srvany for Windows 2000 that might get you on track. support.microsoft.com/kb/137890

Hopes this helps you out a bit!

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  • Here's some rep so you can create more than one link next time. As the KB article shows, srvany has been around for a long time and I can't see it disappearing any time soon.
    – John Gardeniers
    Oct 16, 2009 at 23:02
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You can create your own Windows Service in C#. Its very simple. Then start up your app via the service on service startup & stop the app on service shutdown.

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  • It can be done in any language, not just C#, but such an answer is not really appropriate for a non-dev site such as this.
    – John Gardeniers
    Oct 16, 2009 at 22:56

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