{"id":10370,"date":"2021-04-12T05:57:04","date_gmt":"2021-04-12T12:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/?p=10370"},"modified":"2021-04-12T05:57:04","modified_gmt":"2021-04-12T12:57:04","slug":"application-not-restarted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.coretechnologies.com\/blog\/alwaysup\/application-not-restarted\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A: Why Doesn’t AlwaysUp Restart my Application?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Q&A:<\/div>\n
\n  My company uses AlwaysUp<\/a> to run 4 applications on our lab server. Every few weeks, one of the applications stops running and I have to log in and restart it. Why doesn’t AlwaysUp automatically restart it?<\/p>\n

Here is what I see in the logs:<\/p>\n

\"AlwaysUp<\/a><\/div>\n

— Sandy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Hi Sandy, thanks for reaching out. The whole point of using AlwaysUp is to keep your application running 24\/7\/365 so you are right to be puzzled!<\/p>\n

Before digging into the details, let’s review the basics of AlwaysUp.<\/p>\n

How AlwaysUp works (a quick summary)<\/h2>\n

When you configure an application in AlwaysUp, a true Windows Service<\/a> is created. Let’s call it the AlwaysUp service<\/b>.<\/p>\n

For example, if you setup Dropbox in AlwaysUp, you will see an AlwaysUp service called “Dropbox (managed by AlwaysUpService)” in the Services<\/a> utility:<\/p>\n

\"Dropbox<\/a><\/div>\n

When your computer boots, the AlwaysUp service:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    Starts before anyone logs in<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    Launches your application<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    Constantly monitors your application, quickly restarting it if it crashes or dies for any reason.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The AlwaysUp service is the key to running your application 24×7.<\/p>\n

    (If you are curious to find out more about the inner workings of AlwaysUp, check out our detailed How AlwaysUp Works<\/a> explainer.)<\/p>\n

    What your logs tell us<\/h2>\n

    The activity report shows AlwaysUp running your application continuously for a few days. Then at 7:03:11 AM, your application suddenly stops. And soon after, the AlwaysUp service stops as well.<\/p>\n

    Your application is not crashing or failing in any way. No errors or warnings were reported and nothing out of the ordinary occurred.<\/p>\n

    From that benign sequence, we can conclude that someone (or something) intentionally stopped your AlwaysUp service<\/b>.<\/p>\n

    And with the service stopped, the only way to restart your application is to restart the AlwaysUp service.<\/p>\n

    Who stopped your AlwaysUp Windows Service?<\/h2>\n

    Unfortunately the logs don’t say who (or what) stopped the service.<\/p>\n

    However, there are at least 4 ways that the service could have been stopped:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. \n

      From the Services application.<\/p>\n

      For example, clicking the Stop<\/b> button will terminate the AlwaysUp Dropbox service:<\/p>\n

    2. \n

      With the NET STOP<\/a> command.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    3. \n

      With the SC STOP<\/a> command.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    4. \n

      From an application leveraging the Windows Services API<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Do you know who would stop the service?<\/p>\n

      Are there any batch files that manipulate services? <\/p>\n

      Watch out for maintenance scripts and other background tasks.<\/p>\n

      Investigate with Windows Service Auditor<\/h2>\n

      If it’s time to put your detective hat on and figure out who’s stopping the service, our free Windows Service Auditor<\/a> tool should be able to help. It will record all operations performed on the AlwaysUp service.<\/p>\n

      After downloading and starting Windows Service Auditor, enable extended auditing for the AlwaysUp service. Periodically review the service’s security events, watching for “Stop the service” operations, like this:<\/p>\n

      \"Windows<\/a><\/div>\n

      Good hunting!<\/p>\n

      Keep the service running with Service Protector<\/h2>\n

      If you are unable to prevent the service from shutting down, consider deploying Service Protector<\/a> as a second layer of defense.<\/p>\n

      Install Service Protector, select Protector > Add<\/b> and choose your AlwaysUp service from the list:<\/p>\n

      \"Select<\/a><\/div>\n

      After you save, Service Protector will babysit the AlwaysUp service — to quickly restart it if someone stops it:<\/p>\n

      \"Service<\/a><\/div>\n

      \nHopefully you will get to the bottom of this unwelcome behavior soon. Please be sure to get in touch<\/a> if you notice any errors or warnings in the activity reports.<\/p>\n