What Is a Windows Service?

A Windows Service is a program that runs in the background, without user interaction. These programs can monitor performance data and react to specified thresholds. They can also interact with the system to perform tasks such as updates, backups, and other maintenance functions. This automation helps to reduce manual intervention, and improves consistency of system performance. The services are managed by the Service Control Manager, enabling administrators to control their start, stop, and pause options.

Unlike regular applications, which are launched by the end user from the desktop or the Start menu, Windows Services are started automatically when the machine is turned on. This provides a high level of reliability for automated processes that must run continuously.

Developers create Windows Services as Microsoft Visual Studio projects and develop code that specifies what commands can be sent to the service, and how the service should respond to them. The project also contains a ServiceController component, which can be used to connect to an installed service and manipulate its state. This includes starting, stopping, pausing, and continuing the service. It can also be used to send custom commands to the service.

Once a service application is created, it’s loaded onto the computer on which it will run, and registered with the Service Control Manager. The ServiceController can then communicate with the installed service and request its status, allowing the service to be started or stopped on demand by the computer.

Each service has a name and description, which can help identify what it does and its purpose. The description is useful for users and administrators who may not understand the exact responsibilities of a particular service, but it can provide valuable information when searching for a solution to a problem. The startup type for a service is an important feature, as it determines how it starts: it can be started automatically, manually, or with a delay.

In addition, each service has a security context in which it can operate. This ensures that the service is running within a minimal set of user rights, which helps to keep your system safe from attacks. The context can be a local account or the system account, but it should not be an administrator account.

For example, a service that needs to access a mapped drive or printer should be installed on the system account in order to avoid conflicts with other services that are already using these resources.

Windows features are delivered to users through various servicing channels, which separate users into different groups for deployment of features and updates. For example, the General Availability channel enables feature releases to be deployed right away while the Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) supports devices that need more advanced testing and support. Developing a servicing strategy is key for ensuring that your organization can rapidly deploy the latest and greatest features to users while keeping your system stable. For more information, see Plan your deployment strategy for Windows updates.

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