Windows Services Management

This section covers managing the EPMware Agent on Windows servers, including scheduled tasks, service management, and Windows-specific considerations.

Windows Management Options

The EPMware Agent can run on Windows as:

• Scheduled Task
  Recommended approach using Task Scheduler

• Windows Service
  Alternative using third-party tools

• Manual Process
  Direct execution for testing

Management Overview

Scheduled Task (Recommended)

Windows Task Scheduler provides: - Automatic startup on boot - Restart on failure - Run without login - Built-in Windows feature

Windows Service (Alternative)

Using tools like NSSM or srvany: - True Windows service - Service dependencies - Recovery options - Requires additional software

Manual Execution

For testing and troubleshooting: - Direct control - Console output visible - Easy debugging - Not for production

Quick Management Commands

Check Agent Status

# Check if running
Get-Process | Where-Object {$_.ProcessName -like "*java*" -and $_.CommandLine -like "*epmware-agent*"}

# Check scheduled task
Get-ScheduledTask -TaskName "EPMWARE TARGET AGENT SERVICE"

# Check recent logs
Get-Content C:\cygwin64\home\Administrator\logs\agent.log -Tail 20

Start Agent

# Via Task Scheduler
Start-ScheduledTask -TaskName "EPMWARE TARGET AGENT SERVICE"

# Via Cygwin
C:\cygwin64\bin\bash.exe -l -c "cd ~ && ./ew_target_service.sh &"

Stop Agent

# Stop scheduled task
Stop-ScheduledTask -TaskName "EPMWARE TARGET AGENT SERVICE"

# Kill Java process
Get-Process | Where-Object {$_.CommandLine -like "*epmware-agent*"} | Stop-Process -Force

Windows-Specific Configuration

Cygwin Integration

The agent requires Cygwin for shell script execution:

# Cygwin paths
Home Directory: C:\cygwin64\home\[username]
Bash Location: C:\cygwin64\bin\bash.exe
Agent Location: /home/[username] (Cygwin path)

Path Considerations

Windows path formats in configuration:

# agent.properties - Windows paths need escaping
agent.root.dir=C:\\\\cygwin64\\\\home\\\\Administrator

# Or use forward slashes
agent.root.dir=C:/cygwin64/home/Administrator

User Account Setup

Configure the service account:

# Create local user
New-LocalUser -Name "svc_epmware" -Password (ConvertTo-SecureString "Password123!" -AsPlainText -Force)

# Add to appropriate groups
Add-LocalGroupMember -Group "Administrators" -Member "svc_epmware"

# Grant logon as batch job
$policy = [System.Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent().Name
secedit /export /cfg c:\temp\export.cfg
# Edit file to add user to SeBatchLogonRight
secedit /import /cfg c:\temp\export.cfg /db secedit.sdb

Task Scheduler Configuration

Creating the Scheduled Task

PowerShell script to create task:

# Create scheduled task via PowerShell
$taskName = "EPMWARE TARGET AGENT SERVICE"
$description = "EPMware Agent for metadata deployment"
$username = "DOMAIN\svc_epmware"

# Create action
$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction `
    -Execute "C:\cygwin64\bin\bash.exe" `
    -Argument '-l -c "./ew_target_service.sh"' `
    -WorkingDirectory "C:\cygwin64\bin"

# Create trigger (at startup)
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -AtStartup

# Create settings
$settings = New-ScheduledTaskSettingsSet `
    -AllowStartIfOnBatteries `
    -DontStopIfGoingOnBatteries `
    -RestartCount 3 `
    -RestartInterval (New-TimeSpan -Minutes 1)

# Register task
Register-ScheduledTask `
    -TaskName $taskName `
    -Description $description `
    -Action $action `
    -Trigger $trigger `
    -Settings $settings `
    -User $username `
    -Password "Password123!" `
    -RunLevel Highest

Task Configuration Details

Key settings for the scheduled task:

Setting	Recommended Value	Purpose
Run whether logged on	Yes	Ensures continuous operation
Run with highest privileges	Yes	Required for some operations
Start at startup	Yes	Automatic start on reboot
Restart on failure	3 times	Automatic recovery
Restart interval	1 minute	Quick recovery

Service Monitoring

Windows Event Log Integration

Monitor agent through Event Viewer:

# Create custom event log source
New-EventLog -LogName Application -Source "EPMware Agent"

# Write events from agent
Write-EventLog -LogName Application -Source "EPMware Agent" `
    -EntryType Information -EventId 1000 -Message "Agent started"

Performance Monitoring

Use Windows Performance Monitor:

# Get Java process metrics
Get-Counter "\Process(java*)\% Processor Time"
Get-Counter "\Process(java*)\Working Set"
Get-Counter "\Process(java*)\Handle Count"

Resource Usage Tracking

Monitor agent resource consumption:

# Resource usage script
$process = Get-Process | Where {$_.ProcessName -eq "java" -and $_.CommandLine -like "*epmware*"}
if ($process) {
    Write-Host "CPU: $($process.CPU) seconds"
    Write-Host "Memory: $([math]::Round($process.WS/1MB, 2)) MB"
    Write-Host "Handles: $($process.Handles)"
    Write-Host "Threads: $($process.Threads.Count)"
}

Windows Firewall Configuration

Outbound Rules

Configure Windows Firewall for agent:

# Allow outbound HTTPS
New-NetFirewallRule `
    -DisplayName "EPMware Agent HTTPS" `
    -Direction Outbound `
    -Protocol TCP `
    -RemotePort 443 `
    -Action Allow `
    -Program "C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_291\bin\java.exe"

# Allow outbound to specific server
New-NetFirewallRule `
    -DisplayName "EPMware Agent Server" `
    -Direction Outbound `
    -Protocol TCP `
    -RemoteAddress "192.168.1.100" `
    -RemotePort 8080 `
    -Action Allow

Troubleshooting Windows Issues

Common Windows Problems

Issue	Symptoms	Solution
Cygwin not found	Scripts fail	Verify Cygwin installation path
Permission denied	Cannot start service	Check user rights and file permissions
Path issues	Java not found	Fix environment variables
Task not running	Agent doesn't start	Check task scheduler history

Windows Diagnostic Commands

# Check Cygwin installation
Test-Path "C:\cygwin64\bin\bash.exe"

# Verify Java
java -version

# Check scheduled task details
Get-ScheduledTaskInfo -TaskName "EPMWARE TARGET AGENT SERVICE"

# Review task history
Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{LogName='Microsoft-Windows-TaskScheduler/Operational'; ID=100,102,103}

Event Viewer Analysis

Check these Windows logs: - Application Log - Java errors - System Log - Service failures - Task Scheduler Log - Task execution

Security Considerations

User Rights Assignment

Required permissions for service account:

# Required user rights
- Log on as a batch job
- Log on as a service (if running as service)
- Access this computer from network
- Allow log on locally

# Check current rights
secedit /export /cfg c:\temp\rights.cfg
type c:\temp\rights.cfg | findstr "svc_epmware"

File System Permissions

Set appropriate NTFS permissions:

# Set permissions on agent directory
$acl = Get-Acl "C:\cygwin64\home\Administrator"
$permission = "DOMAIN\svc_epmware","FullControl","ContainerInherit,ObjectInherit","None","Allow"
$accessRule = New-Object System.Security.AccessControl.FileSystemAccessRule $permission
$acl.SetAccessRule($accessRule)
Set-Acl "C:\cygwin64\home\Administrator" $acl

Maintenance Scripts

Daily Maintenance

PowerShell maintenance script:

# daily_maintenance.ps1
param(
    [string]$AgentPath = "C:\cygwin64\home\Administrator"
)

# Check agent status
$running = Get-Process | Where {$_.ProcessName -eq "java" -and $_.CommandLine -like "*epmware*"}
if (!$running) {
    Write-Warning "Agent not running!"
    Start-ScheduledTask -TaskName "EPMWARE TARGET AGENT SERVICE"
}

# Clean old logs
Get-ChildItem "$AgentPath\logs" -Filter "*.log" | 
    Where {$_.LastWriteTime -lt (Get-Date).AddDays(-30)} | 
    Remove-Item

# Check disk space
$disk = Get-PSDrive C
if ($disk.Free -lt 1GB) {
    Write-Warning "Low disk space: $([math]::Round($disk.Free/1GB, 2)) GB free"
}

Health Check Script

# health_check.ps1
$status = @{
    Running = $false
    LastPoll = $null
    Errors = 0
    DiskSpace = 0
}

# Check process
$process = Get-Process | Where {$_.CommandLine -like "*epmware-agent*"} -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
$status.Running = $null -ne $process

# Check last poll
$lastLog = Get-Content "C:\cygwin64\home\Administrator\logs\agent-poll.log" -Tail 1
if ($lastLog -match '(\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2} \d{2}:\d{2}:\d{2})') {
    $status.LastPoll = [DateTime]::Parse($matches[1])
}

# Count recent errors
$errors = Get-Content "C:\cygwin64\home\Administrator\logs\agent.log" -Tail 100 | 
    Select-String "ERROR" | Measure-Object
$status.Errors = $errors.Count

# Check disk space
$disk = Get-PSDrive C
$status.DiskSpace = [math]::Round($disk.Free/1GB, 2)

# Output status
$status | ConvertTo-Json

Integration with Windows Tools

SCOM Integration

System Center Operations Manager monitoring:

<!-- SCOM Management Pack snippet -->
<Rule ID="EPMware.Agent.ProcessMonitor">
  <Target>Windows!Microsoft.Windows.Computer</Target>
  <DataSource>
    <ProcessMonitor>
      <ProcessName>java.exe</ProcessName>
      <CommandLine>epmware-agent</CommandLine>
    </ProcessMonitor>
  </DataSource>
</Rule>

PowerShell DSC

Desired State Configuration for agent:

Configuration EPMwareAgent {
    Import-DscResource -ModuleName PSDesiredStateConfiguration

    Node "localhost" {
        File AgentFiles {
            DestinationPath = "C:\cygwin64\home\Administrator"
            SourcePath = "\\fileserver\epmware\agent"
            Type = "Directory"
            Recurse = $true
        }

        ScheduledTask AgentTask {
            TaskName = "EPMWARE TARGET AGENT SERVICE"
            ActionExecutable = "C:\cygwin64\bin\bash.exe"
            ActionArguments = '-l -c "./ew_target_service.sh"'
            ScheduleType = "AtStartup"
            Enable = $true
        }
    }
}

Best Practices

Windows-Specific Recommendations

1. Use Scheduled Tasks - More reliable than services
2. Monitor Event Logs - Integrate with existing monitoring
3. Regular Updates - Keep Windows and Java updated
4. Backup Configurations - Use VSS for consistent backups
5. Test Restarts - Verify automatic recovery works

Performance Optimization

1. Antivirus Exclusions - Exclude agent directories
2. Windows Updates - Schedule around agent operations
3. Resource Allocation - Ensure adequate CPU and memory
4. Network Optimization - Configure QoS if needed

Next Steps

• Configure Scheduled Tasks - Detailed task setup
• Start and Stop Procedures - Operation procedures
• Monitor Agent Logs - Log management
• Linux Management - For Linux servers