How did windows services get linked across three machines

I have a set of windows machines that are running similar software. In fact, they may have been cloned by my IT co-workers. I am not sure about that. The other day I noticed that when I started a windows service on one machine it started the same service across three separate windows servers. Stopping one stops the service on other machines, too.

I am now wondering if this is a behavior coming from Windows or coming from the software that represents the service application.

In an effort to erase this behavior, my team removed the windows service entries. They found that only after they had removed the service entry on three separate nodes did the service entry disappear from the control panel services list on ANY of the nodes. It was like this: remove service entry on node 1 (nothing changes), remove service entry on node 2 (nothing changes), remove service entry on node 3 and the service entry disappears from all three control panel listings on node 1, 2, 3.

Any ideas what is going on here?

Solution 1:

This isn't the normal Windows behavior. It must be something application-specific that is unique to this specific application/service.

Solution 2:

Doh! It was due to user error.

We figured out that someone, unbeknownst to my team and presumably someone on the team that made the virtual machines and installed the OS, deliberately configured the Services snapin on all three machines to connect to the same single host! So the software was working as designed. Erasing the service entries on each of the three machines worked just fine but all three GUIs were showing the service list from machine 3! (Chris Farley #stupid)

Sorry to waste your time, but maybe this will help some other feckless soul in the future...

BTW, love the quantum mechanics references. I am a physics grad and this is a favorite t-shirt I have owned for a while: Think geek: cat t-shirt