ServiceController
Class
Definition
Represents a Windows service and allows you to connect to a running or stopped service, manipulate it, or get information about it.
[System.ServiceProcess.ServiceProcessDescription("ServiceControllerDesc")]
public class ServiceController : System.ComponentModel.Component
- Inheritance
- Attributes
Inherited Members
System.ComponentModel.Component
System.MarshalByRefObject
System.Object
Examples
The following example demonstrates the use of the ServiceController class to control the SimpleService service example.
using System;
using System.ServiceProcess;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Threading;
namespace ServiceControllerSample
{
class Program
{
public enum SimpleServiceCustomCommands
{ StopWorker = 128, RestartWorker, CheckWorker };
static void Main(string[] args)
{
ServiceController[] scServices;
scServices = ServiceController.GetServices();
foreach (ServiceController scTemp in scServices)
{
if (scTemp.ServiceName == "Simple Service")
{
// Display properties for the Simple Service sample
// from the ServiceBase example.
ServiceController sc = new ServiceController("Simple Service");
Console.WriteLine("Status = " + sc.Status);
Console.WriteLine("Can Pause and Continue = " + sc.CanPauseAndContinue);
Console.WriteLine("Can ShutDown = " + sc.CanShutdown);
Console.WriteLine("Can Stop = " + sc.CanStop);
if (sc.Status == ServiceControllerStatus.Stopped)
{
sc.Start();
while (sc.Status == ServiceControllerStatus.Stopped)
{
Thread.Sleep(1000);
sc.Refresh();
}
}
// Issue custom commands to the service
// enum SimpleServiceCustomCommands
// { StopWorker = 128, RestartWorker, CheckWorker };
sc.ExecuteCommand((int)SimpleServiceCustomCommands.StopWorker);
sc.ExecuteCommand((int)SimpleServiceCustomCommands.RestartWorker);
sc.Pause();
while (sc.Status != ServiceControllerStatus.Paused)
{
Thread.Sleep(1000);
sc.Refresh();
}
Console.WriteLine("Status = " + sc.Status);
sc.Continue();
while (sc.Status == ServiceControllerStatus.Paused)
{
Thread.Sleep(1000);
sc.Refresh();
}
Console.WriteLine("Status = " + sc.Status);
sc.Stop();
while (sc.Status != ServiceControllerStatus.Stopped)
{
Thread.Sleep(1000);
sc.Refresh();
}
Console.WriteLine("Status = " + sc.Status);
String[] argArray = new string[] { "ServiceController arg1", "ServiceController arg2" };
sc.Start(argArray);
while (sc.Status == ServiceControllerStatus.Stopped)
{
Thread.Sleep(1000);
sc.Refresh();
}
Console.WriteLine("Status = " + sc.Status);
// Display the event log entries for the custom commands
// and the start arguments.
EventLog el = new EventLog("Application");
EventLogEntryCollection elec = el.Entries;
foreach (EventLogEntry ele in elec)
{
if (ele.Source.IndexOf("SimpleService.OnCustomCommand") >= 0 |
ele.Source.IndexOf("SimpleService.Arguments") >= 0)
Console.WriteLine(ele.Message);
}
}
}
}
}
}
// This sample displays the following output if the Simple Service
// sample is running:
//Status = Running
//Can Pause and Continue = True
//Can ShutDown = True
//Can Stop = True
//Status = Paused
//Status = Running
//Status = Stopped
//Status = Running
//4:14:49 PM - Custom command received: 128
//4:14:49 PM - Custom command received: 129
//ServiceController arg1
//ServiceController arg2
Imports System
Imports System.ServiceProcess
Imports System.Diagnostics
Imports System.Threading
Class Program
Public Enum SimpleServiceCustomCommands
StopWorker = 128
RestartWorker
CheckWorker
End Enum 'SimpleServiceCustomCommands
Shared Sub Main(ByVal args() As String)
Dim scServices() As ServiceController
scServices = ServiceController.GetServices()
Dim scTemp As ServiceController
For Each scTemp In scServices
If scTemp.ServiceName = "Simple Service" Then
' Display properties for the Simple Service sample
' from the ServiceBase example
Dim sc As New ServiceController("Simple Service")
Console.WriteLine("Status = " + sc.Status.ToString())
Console.WriteLine("Can Pause and Continue = " + _
sc.CanPauseAndContinue.ToString())
Console.WriteLine("Can ShutDown = " + sc.CanShutdown.ToString())
Console.WriteLine("Can Stop = " + sc.CanStop.ToString())
If sc.Status = ServiceControllerStatus.Stopped Then
sc.Start()
While sc.Status = ServiceControllerStatus.Stopped
Thread.Sleep(1000)
sc.Refresh()
End While
End If
' Issue custom commands to the service
' enum SimpleServiceCustomCommands
' { StopWorker = 128, RestartWorker, CheckWorker };
sc.ExecuteCommand(Fix(SimpleServiceCustomCommands.StopWorker))
sc.ExecuteCommand(Fix(SimpleServiceCustomCommands.RestartWorker))
sc.Pause()
While sc.Status <> ServiceControllerStatus.Paused
Thread.Sleep(1000)
sc.Refresh()
End While
Console.WriteLine("Status = " + sc.Status.ToString())
sc.Continue()
While sc.Status = ServiceControllerStatus.Paused
Thread.Sleep(1000)
sc.Refresh()
End While
Console.WriteLine("Status = " + sc.Status.ToString())
sc.Stop()
While sc.Status <> ServiceControllerStatus.Stopped
Thread.Sleep(1000)
sc.Refresh()
End While
Console.WriteLine("Status = " + sc.Status.ToString())
Dim argArray() As String = {"ServiceController arg1", "ServiceController arg2"}
sc.Start(argArray)
While sc.Status = ServiceControllerStatus.Stopped
Thread.Sleep(1000)
sc.Refresh()
End While
Console.WriteLine("Status = " + sc.Status.ToString())
' Display the event log entries for the custom commands
' and the start arguments.
Dim el As New EventLog("Application")
Dim elec As EventLogEntryCollection = el.Entries
Dim ele As EventLogEntry
For Each ele In elec
If ele.Source.IndexOf("SimpleService.OnCustomCommand") >= 0 Or ele.Source.IndexOf("SimpleService.Arguments") >= 0 Then
Console.WriteLine(ele.Message)
End If
Next ele
End If
Next scTemp
End Sub 'Main
End Class 'Program
' This sample displays the following output if the Simple Service
' sample is running:
'Status = Running
'Can Pause and Continue = True
'Can ShutDown = True
'Can Stop = True
'Status = Paused
'Status = Running
'Status = Stopped
'Status = Running
'4:14:49 PM - Custom command received: 128
'4:14:49 PM - Custom command received: 129
'ServiceController arg1
'ServiceController arg2
Remarks
You can use the ServiceController class to connect to and control the behavior of existing services. When you create an instance of the ServiceController class, you set its properties so it interacts with a specific Windows service. You can then use the class to start, stop, and otherwise manipulate the service.
You will most likely use the ServiceController component in an administrative capacity. For example, you could create a Windows or Web application that sends custom commands to a service through the ServiceController instance. This would be useful, because the Service Control Manager (SCM) Microsoft Management Console snap-in does not support custom commands.
After you create an instance of ServiceController, you must set two properties on it to identify the service with which it interacts: the computer name and the name of the service you want to control.
Note
By default, MachineName is set to the local computer, so you do not need to change it unless you want to set the instance to point to another computer.
Generally, the service author writes code that customizes the action associated with a specific command. For example, a service can contain code to respond to an ServiceBase.OnPause command. In that case, the custom processing for the Pause task runs before the system pauses the service.
The set of commands a service can process depends on its properties; for example, you can set the CanStop property for a service to false. This setting renders the Stop command unavailable on that particular service; it prevents you from stopping the service from the SCM by disabling the necessary button. If you try to stop the service from your code, the system raises an error and displays the error message "Failed to stop servicename."
Constructors
| ServiceController() |
Initializes a new instance of the ServiceController class that is not associated with a specific service. |
| ServiceController(String) |
Initializes a new instance of the ServiceController class that is associated with an existing service on the local computer. |
| ServiceController(String, String) |
Initializes a new instance of the ServiceController class that is associated with an existing service on the specified computer. |
Properties
| CanPauseAndContinue |
Gets a value indicating whether the service can be paused and resumed. |
| CanShutdown |
Gets a value indicating whether the service should be notified when the system is shutting down. |
| CanStop |
Gets a value indicating whether the service can be stopped after it has started. |
| DependentServices |
Gets the set of services that depends on the service associated with this ServiceController instance. |
| DisplayName |
Gets or sets a friendly name for the service. |
| MachineName |
Gets or sets the name of the computer on which this service resides. |
| ServiceHandle |
Gets the handle for the service. |
| ServiceName |
Gets or sets the name that identifies the service that this instance references. |
| ServicesDependedOn |
The set of services that this service depends on. |
| ServiceType |
Gets the type of service that this object references. |
| StartType |
Gets a value that indicates how the service represented by the ServiceController object starts. |
| Status |
Gets the status of the service that is referenced by this instance. |
Methods
| Close() |
Disconnects this ServiceController instance from the service and frees all the resources that the instance allocated. |
| Continue() |
Continues a service after it has been paused. |
| Dispose() | |
| Dispose(Boolean) |
Releases the unmanaged resources used by the ServiceController and optionally releases the managed resources. |
| ExecuteCommand(Int32) |
Executes a custom command on the service. |
| GetDevices() |
Retrieves the device driver services on the local computer. |
| GetDevices(String) |
Retrieves the device driver services on the specified computer. |
| GetServices(String) |
Retrieves all the services on the specified computer, except for the device driver services. |
| GetServices() |
Retrieves all the services on the local computer, except for the device driver services. |
| Pause() |
Suspends a service's operation. |
| Refresh() |
Refreshes property values by resetting the properties to their current values. |
| Start() |
Starts the service, passing no arguments. |
| Start(String[]) |
Starts a service, passing the specified arguments. |
| Stop() |
Stops this service and any services that are dependent on this service. |
| WaitForStatus(ServiceControllerStatus) |
Infinitely waits for the service to reach the specified status. |
| WaitForStatus(ServiceControllerStatus, TimeSpan) |
Waits for the service to reach the specified status or for the specified time-out to expire. |