Sams Teach Yourself MCSE Windows NT Server 4 in 14 Days
(Publisher: Macmillan Computer Publishing)
Author(s): David Schaer, et al
ISBN: 0672311283
Publication Date: 12/15/97

Some services will require access beyond just the local system and as such require an account that can have privileges on more than just the local computer. The Directory Replicator service requires an account to be used that has privileges at both the Import and Export servers.

The account to be used as a service account requires special configuration. The account must be granted the right to log on as a service. This is an advanced right granted through policies in User Manager. Figure 4.24 shows the configuration of the DRservice account.

Be sure to clear the Change Password at Next Logon checkbox that requires the user to change the password at next logon and check the Password Never Expires checkbox.

Figure 4.24.  Assigning the DRservice account the right to log on as a service.

Instead of granting to each individual service account the right to log on as a service, a better administrative practice is to grant the right to a group and then make each service account a member of the group.

Some services require that a common service account be assigned on all servers. For example, when configuring MS Exchange Server, all servers within the same site or grouping must share a common service account name and password. When a common account is required it is necessary to choose a global account instead of a local one.

4.6.3. Starting, Stopping, and Pausing Services

There are several ways to start, stop and pause services. There are two occasions on which it might be necessary to manually start a service that was configured to start automatically:

•  If a service configured to start automatically was dependent on a member of a dependency group that failed to start, the administrator must manually start the service after correcting the dependency service.

•  If the administrator has modified the configuration of a service, she could stop and start that service manually in order to apply the new values.

Starting, stopping, and pausing services can be performed from the command prompt or from within several applets. Figure 4.25 shows the Netlogon service being stopped, started, paused, and continued from the command prompt.

Figure 4.25.  Controlling the Netlogon service from the command prompt.

Pausing a service is significantly different from stopping it. A paused service continues to perform some of its basic functions. When the Netlogon server on the PDC is paused it continues to provide update notification to the BDCs but does not validate user requests. When the Server service is paused, the users who are currently logged on remain attached but new users cannot attach to the server. Because some services would provide no benefit in a paused condition not every service can be paused.

The Netlogon service on the PDC can be paused to let it catch up on synchronizing the BDCs.

You return a paused service to its active state by continuing the service. The Server Manager is being used to continue the Server service in Figure 4.26.

If a service is set to a disabled state, it cannot be started or continued. In Figure 4.27, the Messenger service cannot be started because it has been disabled on NTMASTER. It must be returned to a start value of automatic or manual before it can be started.

4.6.4. Services in the Registry

Service entries are held in the registry in the subkey HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services. Figure 4.9, earlier in the chapter, shows the users and groups with the rights to modify this area of the registry.

Figure 4.26.  The Server service can be continued through Server Manager.

Figure 4.27.  Disabled services cannot be manually started.

4.6.5. Identifying Service Dependencies

A dependency is a service or driver that must be started in order to allow another to initialize. The Alerter service has as a dependency service the LanmanWorkstation. If the Workstation service were to fail to start, the Alerter service could not be started.

The Workstation service also has dependencies. The Workstation service dependencies are slightly different however; it has a value for the DependOnGroup setting but not for the DependOnService. Figure 4.28 shows the registry settings for the Workstation service.

Figure 4.28.  Registry entries for the Workstation service.

The DependOnGroup value is set to TDI. At least one member of the TDI group must initialize successfully before the Workstation service can be started. The TDI group includes the set of network protocols, such as TCP/IP and NWLink, that interface with the Session layer.

Obviously, the failure of a single service or driver could affect several other services.

4.7. Configuring Hardware Drivers

The best way to configure drivers for new hardware or to update drivers for existing hardware is to use the applets provided for this use in the Control Panel.

4.7.1. SCSI Drivers

You can add and remove SCSI drivers through the SCSI Adapters applet in the Control Panel. The SCSI applet can also be used to add IDE CD-ROM controllers or removable media controllers that qualify as mass storage devices. Figure 4.29 shows the configured SCSI drivers on NTMASTER.

If an additional SCSI adapter were installed on NTMASTER it would be necessary to install the appropriate driver. In Figure 4.30, an additional SCSI driver is being installed on NTMASTER.

Figure 4.29.  SCSI drivers configured on NTMASTER.

Figure 4.30.  An additional SCSI driver is installed on NTMASTER.