Running Omniscope Server as a Windows Service (2.8+)

New documentation: This page relates specifically to Omniscope version 2.8 b313 (end Sept 2012) and later.  If using Omniscope 2.6 or 2.7, or any build of 2.8 up to 312, see the older instructions.

Keeping Scheduler and Mobile Web Server running without login/logouts

If installed as a Windows Service, Omniscope Server/Publisher will start when your system starts, without a user account login required. This enables 'always-on' 24/7 services to remain running regardless of user account logins or logout.

Installation on Windows Vista, 7, 8, Server 2008 and  Server 2012

Per-user installation (2.8+)

On typical systems, this is the default option when installing Omniscope.  Omniscope will be installed to the user profile under "C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Visokio Omniscope app", and will not be available to other accounts.  The same user account will be activated, and will also be used to run the service under.

1. Stop the Visokio Enterprise service if previously installed, using the Windows Services dialog (Start > Control Panel" then "System and Security > Administrative Tools > Services).
2. If you are upgrading from 2.8 b312 or earlier, delete "C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Visokio Omniscope app\service\wrapper.conf" (but keep a copy if you have previously customised it).
3. Install Omniscope, customising and ensuring "Per-user" installation is chosen. If available, choose 64-bit.  No need to uninstall.
4. If you copied then deleted wrapper.conf in step 2, restore any advanced customisations to the newly installed file (we recommend using Beyond Compare 3), but you no longer need to customise memory allocation - this is now automatic.
5. Activate: If not already activated, start Omniscope and activate with your Server license key. Note that activation is unaffected by upgrades.
6. Install the service as follows
   • Browse to "Start menu > All programs > Accessories > Command Prompt"
   • Right click and choose "Run as administrator".  Approve any User Account Control dialog that may be shown.
   • Enter:
     cd "C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Visokio Omniscope app\service"
     "Install Visokio Service.bat"
   • Check the command executed successfully.  If not, check you followed the above steps correctly, then get in touch.
7. Configure the Windows account for the service to run as:
   • Open Windows Services dialog > "Visokio Enterprise" > Properties > "Log on" tab
   • Select "This account" and enter name and password of the account that the Visokio service is going to run on. 
     This user must be the same account that has been installed and activated.
8. Start the service using the Windows Services dialog.
9. Schedule some tasks:
   • Browse to "Start menu > All programs > Visokio Omniscope" and choose "Scheduler".
   • This will open the scheduler interface where you can add and edits tasks. 
   • You can exit this and tasks will continue to run in the service.
10. Check the Scheduler log and make sure everything is working.
    • Scheduler configuration and logs are located in "C:\Users\[username]\scheduler" folder.
    • Alternatively, in the Scheduler window, click the link to view the log.
11. To uninstall the service:
    • Open command prompt as administrator (as in step 6)
    • Enter:
      cd "C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Visokio Omniscope app\service"
      "Uninstall Visokio Service.bat"

System-wide installation

Follow the steps above.  But in this case, Omniscope is installed to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Visokio Omniscope" or "C:\Program Files\Visokio Omniscope". 

Regardless of installation location, activation is typically per-user.  You must ensure that the service is configured to run as a specific user account, and that same user account must be activated by logging in and entering the key into Omniscope Desktop.

Memory configuration (2.8+)

By default the service uses the same memory limit as the desktop app, which is 1100mb on a 32-bit system or approx. 75% installed memory on a 64-bit PC.

Advanced users can customise this to free up memory for multiple schedulers or to squeeze more RAM out of a server.

To edit the service memory configuration, open wrapper.conf in your Omniscope installation folder typically in "C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Visokio Omniscope app\service" or "c:\ProgramFiles\Visokio Omnisope\service" and edit the line "wrapper.java.maxmemory", specifying a number in MB.  For example:

wrapper.java.maxmemory=1100            (32-bit limit)

or

wrapper.java.maxmemory=6000            (as recommended on an 8gb server running 64-bit)

32-bit vs 64-bit Mode

The Visokio service will by default run in the 32/64-bit mode as chosen when first installed.  By default this is 64-bit on a 64-bit PC and 32-bit on a 32-bit PC.  If you are upgrading an older version of Omniscope you will need to replace "wrapper.conf" as detailed above in the installation section, otherwise an old configuration will be used.

To switch between 32-bit and 64-bit, reinstall following the steps above and choosing the right option in the installer, being sure to replace "wrapper.conf" as detailed.

Troubleshooting

First steps

Make sure you're using 2.8 b313 or later and have followed the instructions above carefully.  See also Scheduler troubleshooting and the flowchart PDF in this forum post. 

Service will not install

If you try to install Visokio as a service on Vista, you will get a"OpenSCManager Failed - Access is Denied. (0x5)" error. On Vista, you need to log on as an administrator when you install the service, as detailed in the installation instructions above.

Service will not start

If your service will not start after it has been installed, please check that you have a clean installation of Omniscope with an updated "wrapper.conf" file as detailed above.  

Also make sure the service is configured to run under a user account which has access to the Omniscope installation folder.  Make sure the same account has been activated with your license key, and not another user account.

Repeat the installation steps carefully.  Get in touch on the forums if you still cannot get the service to start.

"Out of memory" errors

If you get out of memory errors (in the scheduler or service log files, in the program folder), please check that you have a clean installation of Omniscope with an updated "wrapper.conf" file as detailed above.  

See above Memory configuration section on how to increase memory and switch to 64-bit Java (if you are using a 64-bit machine).

You need to restart the service for the changes to take effect.

Files on network drives

Scheduler as a service is unable to access files on mapped network drive, because these drive mappings are only available to a desktop user session on Windows.

The way to get around this issue is by using full UNC paths (\\machine name\path) in your DataManager models and source/output paths.

Database drivers not working

See System-wide database driver location settings. 

Scheduler Server task will not execute - Java errors in log

This usually means the "wrapper.conf" is old and applies to an older version of Omniscope.  Please check that you have a clean installation of Omniscope with an updated "wrapper.conf" file as detailed above.