# Windows Service Installation


## Installation

When [self-hosting a Windows Service](/samples/hosting/generic-host/index.md), the startup code is in full control of installation. Windows supports these features though the use of the [Service Control tool](https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc754599.aspx). For example, a basic install and uninstall commands would be:

```shell
sc.exe create SalesEndpoint binpath= "c:\SalesEndpoint\SalesEndpoint.exe --run-as-service"
sc.exe delete SalesEndpoint
```

> [!NOTE]
> A space is required between an option and its value (for example, `binpath= "c:\SalesEndpoint\SalesEndpoint.exe --run-as-service"`). If the space is omitted, the operation will fail.

For completeness, here are some other common usages of the Service Control tool:

### Setting the Windows Service name

The Windows Service name can be configured at creation time, as follows:

```shell
sc.exe create [ServiceName] binpath= [BinaryPathName]
sc.exe create SalesEndpoint binpath= "c:\SalesEndpoint\SalesEndpoint.exe --run-as-service"
```

### Setting the Display name

The display name can be configured, at creation time, using the `displayname` argument:

```shell
sc.exe create [ServiceName] displayname= [Description] binpath= [BinaryPathName]
sc.exe create SalesEndpoint displayname= "Sales Endpoint" binpath= "c:\SalesEndpoint\SalesEndpoint.exe --run-as-service"
```

### Setting the Description

The description can be changed, after the Windows Service has been created, using the [sc description](https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc742069.aspx) command.

```shell
sc.exe description [ServiceName] [Description]
sc.exe description SalesEndpoint "Service for hosting the Sales Endpoint"
```

### Specifying Service dependencies

The dependencies of a Windows Service can be configured after it has been created using the [sc config](https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc990290.aspx) command. Dependencies are listed one after the other, separated by a `/` (forward slash).

```shell
sc.exe config [ServiceName] depend= [Dependency1]/[Dependency2]
sc.exe config SalesEndpoint depend= MSMQ/MSDTC/RavenDB
```

### Setting the Restart Recovery Options

Windows has a Windows Service recovery mechanism that makes sure a crashed process will be restarted.

The endpoint can fail when self-hosting and implementing a critical error handler that exits the process in case a [critical error](critical-errors.md) occurs.

If Windows Service Recovery is not configured, message processing will halt. Therefore it's important to configure recovery options when hosting an NServiceBus endpoint as a Windows Service.

The recovery options can be adjusted via the Services dialog or via `sc.exe`. Note that the command line tool has advanced configuration options.

#### Configuring Windows Service Recovery via sc.exe

The default restart duration is 1 minute when enabling recovery via the Windows Service Management Console, but a different restart duration may be defined for the subsequent restarts using `sc.exe`.

The following example will restart the process after 5 seconds the first time, after 10 seconds the second time and then every 60 seconds. The Restart Service Count is reset after 1 hour (3600 seconds) of uninterrupted work since the last restart.

```shell
sc.exe failure [ServiceName] reset= [seconds] actions= restart/[milliseconds]/restart/[milliseconds]/restart/[milliseconds]
sc.exe failure SalesEndpoint reset= 3600 actions= restart/5000/restart/10000/restart/60000
```

#### Configuring Service Recovery via Windows Service properties

Open the services window, select the endpoint Windows Service and open its properties. Then open the Recovery tab to adjust the settings:

![Windows Service properties Recovery tab](service-properties.png)

> [!NOTE]
> Restart durations are only configurable using `sc.exe`.

### Username and password

Username and password can be configured at creation time using the `obj` and `password` parameters.

```shell
sc.exe create [ServiceName] obj= [AccountName] password= [Password] binpath= [BinaryPathName]
sc.exe create SalesEndpoint obj= MyDomain\SalesUser password= 9t6X7gkz binpath= "c:\SalesEndpoint\SalesEndpoint.exe --run-as-service"
```

### Start mode

The Windows Service start mode can be configured at creation time using the `start` parameter.

```shell
sc.exe create [ServiceName] start= {auto | demand | disabled} binpath= [BinaryPathName]
sc.exe create SalesEndpoint start= demand binpath= "c:\SalesEndpoint\SalesEndpoint.exe --run-as-service"
```

### Uninstall

A Windows Service can be uninstalled using the [sc delete](https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc742045.aspx) command.

```shell
sc.exe delete [ServiceName]
sc.exe delete SalesEndpoint
```