Configuring services

There are a great many services within the Windows operating system. Services are normally accessed from other applications e.g. When the computer needs an IP address from a DHCP server a call is made to the DHCP client service to contact a DHCP server and request an IP address.

Services can be started in 2 ways:

Automatically. The service is started as by the operating system when needed and runs continually until the operating system shuts down. e.g. the event log, thus logging all events occurring on the machine.

Manually. The administrator accesses the service and manually starts the service. e.g. the routing service. Routing service is only required if the machine is performing routing functions.

Services can be configured from the Services Management Console from Computer Management. Expand Services and Applications. Open the Services Console. This console can also be added as a snap-in to an MMC console (See Earlier).

The Services Console shows a list of all the services currently installed on the computer as well as there status. Right-click on a Service to view its configuration options.

The Service can be Started, Stopped, Paused and Restarted from the right-click menu. Select Properties to configure the service.

An explanation of the service is shown. The Service status shows that the service is currently not running. Click on Startup type to configure how the service will be started.

Automatic specifies that the service is started when needed by the computer. Manual specifies that it can only be started Manually and Disabled completely disables the service.

The Service has now been disabled and cannot be started by the Operating System unless enabled again.

The Log On tab specifies which user the service will run as well as which hardware profile it will use.

The Recovery Tab specifies which failovers to use if the service doesn’t start. Some services are absolutely vital to the proper functioning of the computer.

Some services depend on other services. The Dependencies Tab shows this. If other services depend on this service then they would also stop when this service is stopped.

You should take the time to become familiar with the various services as you will need this knowledge later when designing and implementing security.