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8 <title>Running Apache for Windows as a Service</title>
12 <p>Apache can be run as a service on Windows NT/2000. (There is
13 also some HIGHLY EXPERIMENTAL support for similar behavior on
14 <a href="#win95svc">Windows 95/98</a>, introduced with Apache
17 <p>Installing Apache as a service should only be done once you
18 can successfully run it in a console window. See <a
19 href="windows.html">Using Apache with Microsoft Windows</a>
20 before you attempt to install or run Apache as a service.
21 Changes to the <code>httpd.conf</code> file should always be
22 followed by starting Apache as a console window. If this
23 succeeds, the service should succeed.</p>
25 <note><strong>Prior to version 1.3.13, the configuration was
26 <em>not tested</em> prior to performing the
27 installation</strong>, and a lack of service dependencies often
28 caused the console window to succeed, but the service would
29 still fail. See <a href="#service">below</a> if you are having
30 problems running a version of Apache prior to 1.3.13 to resolve
31 the issue. If you have this problem with version 1.3.13 or
32 greater, first try uninstalling (<code>-u</code>) and re-installing
33 (<code>-i</code>) the Apache service.</note>
35 <p>To start Apache as a service, you first need to install it
36 as a service. Multiple Apache services can be installed, each
37 with a different name and configuration. To install the default
38 Apache service named "Apache", run the "Install Apache as
39 Service (NT only)" option from the Start menu. Once this is
40 done you can start the "Apache" service by opening the Services
41 window (in the Control Panel), selecting Apache, then clicking
42 on Start. Apache will now be running, hidden in the background.
43 You can later stop Apache by clicking on Stop. As an
44 alternative to using the Services window, you can start and
45 stop the "Apache" service from the command line with</p>
48 NET START APACHE<br />
52 <p>See <a href="#signal">Controlling Apache as a Service</a>
53 for more information on installing and controlling Apache
56 <note><title>Note</title>
57 Apache, unlike many other Windows NT/2000 services,
58 logs any errors to its own error.log file in the logs folder
59 within the Apache server root folder. You will <em>not</em>
60 find Apache error details in the Windows NT Event
63 <p>After starting Apache as a service (or if you have trouble
64 starting it) you can test it using the same <a
65 href="windows.html#cmdline">procedure</a> as for running in a
66 console window. Remember to use the command:</p>
69 apache -n "service name"
72 <p>to assure you are using the service's configuration.</p>
76 <section id="service">
78 <title>Running Apache for Windows as a Service</title>
80 <note><strong>The <code>-n</code> option to specify a service
81 name is only available with Apache 1.3.7 and later.</strong>
82 Earlier versions of Apache only support the default service name
85 <p>You can install Apache as a Windows NT service as
89 apache -i -n "service name"
92 <p>To install a service to use a particular configuration,
93 specify the configuration file when the service is
97 apache -i -n "service name" -f "\my server\conf\my.conf"
100 <p>To remove an Apache service, use:</p>
103 apache -u -n "service name"
106 <p>The default "service name", if one is not specified, is
109 <p>Once a service is installed, you can use the <code>-n</code>
110 option, in conjunction with other options, to refer to a
111 service's configuration file. For example:</p>
113 <p>To test a service's configuration file:</p>
116 apache -n "service name" -t
119 <p>To start a console Apache using a service's configuration
123 apache -n "service name"
128 <section id="depends">
130 <title>Important Note on service dependencies:</title>
132 <p>Prior to Apache release 1.3.13, the dependencies required to
133 successfully start an installed service were not configured.
134 After installing a service using earlier versions of Apache,
135 you must follow these steps:</p>
139 Select Window - "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE on Local Machine" from the menu <br />
140 Double-click to open the SYSTEM, then the CurrentControlSet keys <br />
141 Scroll down and click on the Apache servicename <br />
142 Select Edit - Add Value... from the menu <br />
143 Fill in the Add Value dialog with <br />
144     Value Name: DependOnGroup <br />
145     Data Type: REG_MULTI_SZ <br />
146     and click OK <br />
147 Leave the Multi-String Editor dialog empty and click OK <br />
148 Select Edit - Add Value... from the menu <br />
149 Fill in the Add Value dialog with <br />
150     Value Name: DependOnService <br />
151     Data Type: REG_MULTI_SZ <br />
152     and click OK <br />
153 Type the following list (one per line) in the Multi-String Editor dialog <br />
154     Tcpip <br />
155     Afd <br />
156     and click OK <br />
159 <p>If you are using COM or DCOM components from a third party
160 module, ISAPI, or other add-in scripting technologies such as
161 ActiveState Perl, you may also need to add the entry Rpcss to
162 the DependOnService list. To avoid exposing the TCP port 135
163 when it is unnecessary, Apache does not create that entry upon
164 installation. Follow the directions above to find or create the
165 DependOnService value, double click that value if it already
166 exists, and add the Rpcss entry to the list.</p>
170 <section id="account">
172 <title>User Account for Apache Service to Run As (NT/2000)</title>
174 <p>When Apache is first installed as a service (e.g. with the
175 <code>-i</code> option) it will run as user "System" (the LocalSystem
176 account). There should be few issues if all resources for the
177 web server reside on the local system, but it has broad
178 security privileges to affect the local machine!</p>
180 <note>LocalSystem is a very privileged account locally, so you
181 shouldn't run any shareware applications there. However, it
182 has no network privileges and cannot leave the machine via
183 any NT-secured mechanism, including file system, named pipes,
184 DCOM, or secure RPC.</note>
186 <p><strong>NEVER grant network privileges to the SYSTEM
187 account!</strong> Create a new user account instead, grant the
188 appropriate privileges to that user, and use the the "Log On
189 As:" option. Select the Start Menu -> Settings -> Control
190 Panel -> Services -> apache service ... and click the
191 "Startup" button to access this setting.</p>
193 <note>A service that runs in the context of the LocalSystem account
194 inherits the security context of the SCM. It is not
195 associated with any logged-on user account and does not have
196 credentials (domain name, user name, and password) to be used
197 for verification.</note>
199 <p>The SYSTEM account has no privileges to the network, so
200 shared pages or a shared installation of Apache is invisible to
201 the service. If you intend to use <em>any</em> network
202 resources, the following steps should help:</p>
205 <li>Select Apache from the Control Panel's Service dialog and
208 <li>Verify that the service account is correct. You may wish
209 to create an account for your Apache services.</li>
211 <li>Retype the password and password confirmation.</li>
213 <li>Go to User Manager for Domains.</li>
215 <li>Click on Policies from the title bar menu, and select
218 <li>Select the option for Advanced User Rights.</li>
221 In the drop-down list, verify that the following rights
222 have been granted to the selected account:
225 <li>Act as part of the operating system</li>
227 <li>Back up files and directories</li>
229 <li>Log on as a service</li>
231 <li>Restore files and directories</li>
235 <li>Confirm that the selected account is a member of the
238 <li>Confirm the selected account has access to all
239 <code>document</code> and <code>script</code>
240 directories (minimally read and browse access).</li>
242 <li>Confirm the selected account has read/write/delete access
243 to the Apache <code>logs</code> directory!</li>
246 <p>If you allow the account to log in as a user, then you can
247 log in yourself and test that the account has the privileges to
248 execute the scripts, read the web pages, and that you can start
249 Apache in a console window. If this works, and you have
250 followed the steps above, Apache should execute as a service
251 with no problems.</p>
253 <note><strong>Error code 2186</strong> is a good indication
254 that you need to review the "Log On As" configuration, since
255 the server can't access a required network resource.</note>
259 <section id="trouble">
261 <title>Troubleshooting Apache for Windows as a Service</title>
263 <p>When starting Apache as a service you may encounter an error
264 message from Windows service manager. For example if you try to
265 start Apache using the Services applet in Windows Control Panel
266 you may get the following message:</p>
269 Could not start the apache service on \\COMPUTER <br />
270 Error 1067; The process terminated unexpectedly.
273 <p>You will get this error if there is any problem starting
274 Apache. In order to see what is causing the problem you should
275 follow the instructions for <a
276 href="windows.html#cmdline">Running Apache for Windows from the
277 Command Line</a>.</p>
279 <p>Also, Apache 1.3.13 now records startup errors in the
280 Application Event Log under Windows NT/2000, if Apache is run
281 as a service. Run the Event Viewer and select Log ...
282 Application to see these events.</p>
284 <note><strong>Check the Application Event Log with the Event
285 Viewer in case of any problems, even if no error message pops
286 up to warn you that an error occured.</strong></note>
290 <section id="cmdline">
292 <title>Running Apache for Windows from the Command Line</title>
294 <p>For details on controlling Apache service from the command
295 line, please refer to <a href="windows.html#cmdline">console
296 command line</a> section.</p>
300 <section id="signal">
302 <title>Controlling Apache as a Service</title>
304 <p>Multiple instances of Apache can be installed and run as
305 services. Signal an installed Apache service to start, restart,
306 or shutdown/stop as follows:</p>
309 apache -n "service name" -k start <br />
310 apache -n "service name" -k restart <br />
311 apache -n "service name" -k shutdown <br />
312 apache -n "service name" -k stop
315 <p>For the default "Apache" service, the <code>-n</code> Apache
316 option is still required, since the <code>-k</code> commands without
317 the <code>-n</code> option are directed at Apache running in a console
318 window. The quotes are only required if the service name contains spaces.</p>
320 <note><strong>Note the <code>-k stop</code> alias for the
321 <code>-k shutdown</code> command was introduced in Apache version
322 1.3.13.</strong> Earlier versions of Apache will only recognize the
323 <code>-k shutdown</code> option. Prior to 1.3.3, Apache did not
324 recognize <em>any</em> <code>-k</code> options at all!</note>
326 <p>In addition, you can use the native NT <code>NET</code> command
327 to start and stop Apache services as follows:</p>
330 NET START "service name" <br />
331 NET STOP "service name"
334 <p>Again, quotes are only required if the service name contains
339 <section id="win95svc">
341 <title>HIGHLY EXPERIMENTAL Windows 95/98 Service</title>
343 <note><strong>The service options for Windows 95 and 98 are
344 only available with Apache 1.3.13 and later.</strong> Earlier
345 versions of Apache only supported Apache in a console window
346 for Windows 95/98.</note>
348 <p>There is some support for Apache on Windows 95/98 to behave
349 in a similar manner as a service on Windows NT/2000. It is
350 <em>highly experimental</em>, if it works (at all) the Apache
351 Sofware Foundation will not attest to its reliability or
352 future support. Proceed at your own risk!</p>
354 <p>Once you have confirmed that Apache runs correctly at the <a
355 href="windows.html#cmdline">Command Prompt</a> you can install,
356 control and uninstall it with the same commands as the Windows
359 <p>There are, however, significant differences that you should
362 <p>Apache will attempt to start and if successful it will run
363 in the background. If you run the command</p>
366 Apache -n "service name" -k start
369 <p>via a shortcut on your desktop, for example, then if the
370 service starts successfully a console window will flash up but
371 immediately disappears. If Apache detects any errors on startup
372 such as a incorrect entries in the <code>httpd.conf</code> file,
373 then the console window will remain visible. This will display
374 an error message which will be useful in tracking down the cause
377 <p>Windows 95/98 does not support <code>NET START</code> or
378 <code>NET STOP</code> commands so you must use Apache's Service
379 Control options at a command prompt. You may wish to set up a
380 shortcut for each of these commands so that you can just choose
381 it from the start menu or desktop to perform the required action.</p>
383 <p>Apache and Windows 95/98 offer no support for running the
384 Apache service as a specific user with network privileges. In
385 fact, Windows 95/98 offers no security on the local machine,
386 either. This is the simple reason that the Apache Software
387 Foundation never endorses the use of Windows 95/98 as a public
388 httpd server. These facilities exist only to assist the user in
389 developing web content and learning the Apache server, and
390 perhaps as a intranet server on a secured, private network.</p>