Internal Chat

Multiplatform Enterprise Instant Messaging.
Smart. Powerful. Extendable.

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Installation::Server::Windows service

There are two ways to start Internal Chat Server under Windows as a service.

The way #1

Starting from Internal Chat Server v.5.5.14 I began to make the special Win32 build: IntChatServer-X.Y.Z-Win32.zip. This build is based on great Java Service Wrapper from Tanuki Software. To make it work do the following:

1. Unpack IntChatServer-X.Y.Z-Win32.zip into some folder FOLDER (something like c:\IntChat). You will find new folder inside: IntChatServer-X.Y.Z-Win32.

2. Change current directory to FOLDER\IntChatServer-X.Y.Z-Win32\bin and run IntstallIntChatServer-NT.bat. New service (named IntChatService) will be created.

3. Change current directory to FOLDER\IntChatServer-X.Y.Z-Win32\conf and edit the following configuration files:

   • Server.xml. Read more for details.
   • wrapper.conf. Correct path to java.exe in wrapper.java.command parameter and possibly (NOT RECOMMENDED, but if you have not server JVM you must do it!) remove "-server" from wrapper.java.additional.1. In addition, you can set some other parameters if you need (for example, Maximum Java Heap Size etc.).

4. Go to Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Services and start the service "Internal Chat Server" (or run from the command prompt "net start IntChatService"). Your server must be started.

5. If you have any problems, review logs in FOLDER\IntChatServer-X.Y.Z-Win32\logs.

Useful tip. I suppose that it is more flexible to run the service under some specific user account rather than SYSTEM account. So I recommend to change this setting for the service.

The way #2

On Windows you can use well-known resource kit tools instsrv.exe and srvany.exe (the last one allows to run any executable as Windows service), see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/137890 for more info:

1. Create a user-defined service (we will call it IntChatService):

   >instsrv IntChatService PATH_TO_SRVANY_EXE\srvany.exe
   

2. Run Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe) and locate the following subkey:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\IntChatService
   

3. From the Edit menu, click Add Key. Type the following and click OK:

   Key Name: Parameters
   Class: leave blank
   

4. Select the Parameters key.

5. From the Edit menu, click Add Value. Type the following and click OK:

   Value Name: Application
   Data Type: REG_SZ
   String: FOLDER\run.cmd
   

   (remember that FOLDER is the place where we unpacked IntChatServer-X.Y.Z.zip)

6. Close Registry Editor

7. Now you can run IntChatService as a common Windows service, either from the command line or from the Services applet.

Note. There is a problem to STOP the service, created this way. If you tell the service to stop, it will stop only the "Windows half" of the service. The Java-process will continue to run. You will need to kill it explicitly from the Task Manager, so it is important to make the process run not under the SYSTEM account, but under some user (for example, Administrator) account. The process owner can be set via the Services applet, through IntChatService properties, Log On tab.

(C) 2007-2009 Andrew Orlov