Install a .NET windows service without InstallUtil.exe
I have a standard .NET windows service written in C#.
Can it install itself without using InstallUtil? Should I use the service installer class? How should I use it?
I want to be able to call the following:
MyService.exe -install
And it will have the same effect as calling:
InstallUtil MyService.exe
Yes, that is fully possible (i.e. I do exactly this); you just need to reference the right dll (System.ServiceProcess.dll) and add an installer class...
Here's an example:
[RunInstaller(true)]
public sealed class MyServiceInstallerProcess : ServiceProcessInstaller
{
public MyServiceInstallerProcess()
{
this.Account = ServiceAccount.NetworkService;
}
}
[RunInstaller(true)]
public sealed class MyServiceInstaller : ServiceInstaller
{
public MyServiceInstaller()
{
this.Description = "Service Description";
this.DisplayName = "Service Name";
this.ServiceName = "ServiceName";
this.StartType = System.ServiceProcess.ServiceStartMode.Automatic;
}
}
static void Install(bool undo, string[] args)
{
try
{
Console.WriteLine(undo ? "uninstalling" : "installing");
using (AssemblyInstaller inst = new AssemblyInstaller(typeof(Program).Assembly, args))
{
IDictionary state = new Hashtable();
inst.UseNewContext = true;
try
{
if (undo)
{
inst.Uninstall(state);
}
else
{
inst.Install(state);
inst.Commit(state);
}
}
catch
{
try
{
inst.Rollback(state);
}
catch { }
throw;
}
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
Console.Error.WriteLine(ex.Message);
}
}
Take a look at the InstallHelper method of the ManagedInstaller class. You can install a service using:
string[] args;
ManagedInstallerClass.InstallHelper(args);
This is exactly what InstallUtil does. The arguments are the same as for InstallUtil.
The benefits of this method are that it involves no messing in the registry, and it uses the same mechanism as InstallUtil.
You can always fall back to the good old WinAPI calls, although the amount of work involved is non-trivial. There is no requirement that .NET services be installed via a .NET-aware mechanism.
To install:
- Open the service manager via
OpenSCManager. - Call
CreateServiceto register the service. - Optionally call
ChangeServiceConfig2to set a description. - Close the service and service manager handles with
CloseServiceHandle.
To uninstall:
- Open the service manager via
OpenSCManager. - Open the service using
OpenService. - Delete the service by calling
DeleteServiceon the handle returned byOpenService. - Close the service and service manager handles with
CloseServiceHandle.
The main reason I prefer this over using the ServiceInstaller/ServiceProcessInstaller is that you can register the service with your own custom command line arguments. For example, you might register it as "MyApp.exe -service", then if the user runs your app without any arguments you could offer them a UI to install/remove the service.
Running Reflector on ServiceInstaller can fill in the details missing from this brief explanation.
P.S. Clearly this won't have "the same effect as calling: InstallUtil MyService.exe" - in particular, you won't be able to uninstall using InstallUtil. But it seems that perhaps this wasn't an actual stringent requirement for you.
Here is a class I use when writing services. I usually have an interactive screen that comes up when the service is not called. From there I use the class as needed. It allows for multiple named instances on the same machine -hence the InstanceID field
Sample Call
IntegratedServiceInstaller Inst = new IntegratedServiceInstaller();
Inst.Install("MySvc", "My Sample Service", "Service that executes something",
_InstanceID,
// System.ServiceProcess.ServiceAccount.LocalService, // this is more secure, but only available in XP and above and WS-2003 and above
System.ServiceProcess.ServiceAccount.LocalSystem, // this is required for WS-2000
System.ServiceProcess.ServiceStartMode.Automatic);
if (controller == null)
{
controller = new System.ServiceProcess.ServiceController(String.Format("MySvc_{0}", _InstanceID), ".");
}
if (controller.Status == System.ServiceProcess.ServiceControllerStatus.Running)
{
Start_Stop.Text = "Stop Service";
Start_Stop_Debugging.Enabled = false;
}
else
{
Start_Stop.Text = "Start Service";
Start_Stop_Debugging.Enabled = true;
}
The class itself
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
using System.Diagnostics;
using Microsoft.Win32;
namespace MySvc
{
class IntegratedServiceInstaller
{
public void Install(String ServiceName, String DisplayName, String Description,
String InstanceID,
System.ServiceProcess.ServiceAccount Account,
System.ServiceProcess.ServiceStartMode StartMode)
{
//http://www.theblacksparrow.com/
System.ServiceProcess.ServiceProcessInstaller ProcessInstaller = new System.ServiceProcess.ServiceProcessInstaller();
ProcessInstaller.Account = Account;
System.ServiceProcess.ServiceInstaller SINST = new System.ServiceProcess.ServiceInstaller();
System.Configuration.Install.InstallContext Context = new System.Configuration.Install.InstallContext();
string processPath = Process.GetCurrentProcess().MainModule.FileName;
if (processPath != null && processPath.Length > 0)
{
System.IO.FileInfo fi = new System.IO.FileInfo(processPath);
String path = String.Format("/assemblypath={0}", fi.FullName);
String[] cmdline = { path };
Context = new System.Configuration.Install.InstallContext("", cmdline);
}
SINST.Context = Context;
SINST.DisplayName = String.Format("{0} - {1}", DisplayName, InstanceID);
SINST.Description = String.Format("{0} - {1}", Description, InstanceID);
SINST.ServiceName = String.Format("{0}_{1}", ServiceName, InstanceID);
SINST.StartType = StartMode;
SINST.Parent = ProcessInstaller;
// http://bytes.com/forum/thread527221.html
SINST.ServicesDependedOn = new String[] { "Spooler", "Netlogon", "Netman" };
System.Collections.Specialized.ListDictionary state = new System.Collections.Specialized.ListDictionary();
SINST.Install(state);
// http://www.dotnet247.com/247reference/msgs/43/219565.aspx
using (RegistryKey oKey = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(String.Format(@"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\{0}_{1}", ServiceName, InstanceID), true))
{
try
{
Object sValue = oKey.GetValue("ImagePath");
oKey.SetValue("ImagePath", sValue);
}
catch (Exception Ex)
{
System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox.Show(Ex.Message);
}
}
}
public void Uninstall(String ServiceName, String InstanceID)
{
//http://www.theblacksparrow.com/
System.ServiceProcess.ServiceInstaller SINST = new System.ServiceProcess.ServiceInstaller();
System.Configuration.Install.InstallContext Context = new System.Configuration.Install.InstallContext("c:\\install.log", null);
SINST.Context = Context;
SINST.ServiceName = String.Format("{0}_{1}", ServiceName, InstanceID);
SINST.Uninstall(null);
}
}
}