ASTA Services as NT Service

Many ASTA users have implemented their ASTA Servers as NT Services. Since ASTA now suports a set of 3rd party Delphi Components, extending that support to NT Service version could be a bit challenging.

So we at ASTA decided to create an Application (AstaServerLauncher) that could launch and bounce back ASTA Servers if they go down AND to deliver an NT Service Version of the same executable that would use the registry settings created by running it one time as an normal EXE.

By supporting the One App as a service, we have enabled ALL AstaServers to run as an NT Service.

Asta Server Launcher

Asta Server Launcher designed to launch ASTA servers and bounce them back if they go down. Configure it to run one or more ASTA servers and any settings used will be used by the AstaServiceLauncherNTS which it reads from the registry.

Asta Server Launcher NTS

NT Service Version of Asta Server Launcher

This does not have a user interface, it is run as a service and reads the registry to tell which programs to start. Use the AstaServiceLauncher to setup the Registry configuration.

To install it as a service run the program with the command line parameter of /Install. (You can create a shortcut to use for this by editing the shortcuts "Target" property and adding /Install to it) (/Uninstall does the reverse).

Then in control panel, open up Services. Look for AstaServiceLauncherNTS. Double click it. Set it to manual or automatic start. Click on Allow Service to Interact with desktop so that it is checked. (You can also set it to run in its own session by selecting a particular account with This Account radion button). Press OK.

You can start the service manually. Once started it will read the registry and startup any programs that need AutoStarted. Then it will keep those programs alive if they are set to AutoReStart.

Troubleshooting Asta Server Launcher NTS

It's an nt service so make sure you are following all these steps and that the service is installed and then started. It may be a security issue.

Make sure you click on the allow to interact with the desktop.