Recommended Service Stop Order for Maintenance

Question: What is the recommended order for stopping WinSyslog, EventReporter, and MonitorWare Agent services during system maintenance or reboots?

Recommended Stop Order

When performing system maintenance, updates, or planned reboots, follow this order to prevent data loss and ensure clean shutdown:

1. Stop IIS/Web Server (if using web-based viewer)
2. Stop WinSyslog, EventReporter, or MonitorWare Agent Service
3. Stop Database Server (SQL Server, MySQL, etc.)

Rationale

This sequence ensures:

• Web connections are closed first: Prevents new user sessions from accessing the database
• Logging services stop gracefully: Allows services to complete any in-progress writes
• Database closes last: Ensures all pending transactions are committed before shutdown

Quick Stop Command (Windows)

You can stop services in PowerShell or Command Prompt using their internal service names:

# Stop IIS
net stop w3svc

# Stop WinSyslog (use internal service name)
net stop "AdisconWINSyslog"

# Stop EventReporter (use internal service name)
net stop "AdisconEvntSLog"

# Stop MonitorWare Agent (use internal service name)
net stop "AdisconMonitorWareAgent"

# Stop SQL Server
net stop MSSQLSERVER

Startup Order

When starting services, reverse the order:

1. Start Database Server
2. Start WinSyslog, EventReporter, or MonitorWare Agent Service
3. Start IIS/Web Server

Quick Start Command (Windows)

# Start SQL Server
net start MSSQLSERVER

# Start WinSyslog
net start "AdisconWINSyslog"

# Start EventReporter
net start "AdisconEvntSLog"

# Start MonitorWare Agent
net start "AdisconMonitorWareAgent"

# Start IIS
net start w3svc

Internal Service Names

Use these internal service names when managing services from command line:

Automated Stop/Start Scripts

For frequent maintenance, you can create automated scripts:

Stop Script (stop-services.bat):

@echo off
echo Stopping services in proper order...
net stop w3svc
net stop "AdisconWINSyslog"
net stop MSSQLSERVER
echo Services stopped successfully.

Start Script (start-services.bat):

@echo off
echo Starting services in proper order...
net start MSSQLSERVER
net start "AdisconWINSyslog"
net start w3svc
echo Services started successfully.

Using PowerShell

You can also use PowerShell to manage services:

# Stop services using internal names
Stop-Service -Name "AdisconWINSyslog"
Stop-Service -Name "AdisconEvntSLog"
Stop-Service -Name "AdisconMonitorWareAgent"

# Start services using internal names
Start-Service -Name "AdisconWINSyslog"
Start-Service -Name "AdisconEvntSLog"
Start-Service -Name "AdisconMonitorWareAgent"

# Check service status
Get-Service -Name "AdisconWINSyslog"
Get-Service -Name "AdisconEvntSLog"
Get-Service -Name "AdisconMonitorWareAgent"

Service Dependencies

All Adiscon products support:

• Windows Server: 2016, 2019, 2022
• Windows Client: Windows 10, Windows 11
• Databases: Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, Sybase
• Legacy Support: Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012 R2

Best Practices

• Plan maintenance windows: Schedule downtime during low-traffic periods
• Notify users: Inform users of planned maintenance
• Backup database: Perform database backup before shutdown
• Verify connections: After restart, verify all services started correctly
• Check logs: Review application and event logs for any errors
• Test functionality: Perform smoke tests to ensure everything works
• Use service names: Always use internal service names in scripts for reliability

Troubleshooting

If services dont stop gracefully:

• Check for stuck processes in Task Manager
• Review Event Viewer for service errors
• Verify database connections are properly closed
• Use internal service names to avoid name resolution issues
• Check service dependencies: sc query "AdisconWINSyslog"
• Consider using force stop as last resort: net stop "AdisconWINSyslog" /y

Verifying Service Names

To find the internal service name on your system:

# List all Adiscon services
sc query | findstr Adiscon

# Get detailed service information
sc qc "AdisconWINSyslog"
sc qc "AdisconEvntSLog"
sc qc "AdisconMonitorWareAgent"

Additional Notes

• Internal service names remain consistent across installations
• Use internal names in automation scripts for reliability
• Modern Windows Server versions handle service dependencies automatically
• Group Policy can enforce service startup order if needed
• Consider using Windows Servers built-in maintenance scheduling features
• For clustered environments, follow cluster-specific procedures