Using the ABM Service Server Manager
ABM Service Server Manager is the one window for everything on an ABM Service server: it lists every company, shows whether each is serving, and has the buttons to start, stop, update, change and remove them. Open it from the Start menu by typing ABM Service Server Manager; it asks Windows for administrator permission every time.
What does the ABM Service Server Manager window show?
The manager shows one block per company, one below the other, with Add a company... at the top and two lines about updates at the foot. Its title bar names the product and the version of ABM Service Server installed, such as ABM Service Server followed by the version number.
Each company's block has three parts:
- The company's line, in bold: its site name (or its name when it has no site name), then its state and details.
- The database line, under it, for a company that is answering.
- The buttons for that company.
The window checks every company again every three seconds by itself, so you never need to refresh it. When no company has been added yet it says No companies are set up on this server yet. Add a company to start.
The foot of the window has the ABM web application line (which version the companies serve and when they update), the ABM Service Server line (whether every company runs the installed service software), Last checked (when the update feed last answered), and a reminder that the server manager itself is updated by running a newer ABM Service Server setup.
Only one ABM Service Server Manager window can be open on a server at a time, even for two different administrators. A second one waits up to two minutes and then says An ABM Service Server setup (or uninstall) has been running for over two minutes. Wait for it to finish, then open the manager again., which also appears when the other window is simply still open. The setup, the uninstall and the command-line commands wait while the manager is open too, so close it when you are done.
The manager runs only on the server itself: each company answers only a manager on the same machine, and there is no web page or phone app for it. To look after the server from your desk, connect to it with Remote Desktop and open ABM Service Server Manager there.
What does each company's line in the server manager mean?
The bold line says whether the company is serving. A company that is working shows its site name and database, Running, the web application's version, its port and how many users are connected.
- Running, and the other states the web server can be in: Starting, Restarting (it stopped and is about to be started again), Updating, Unhealthy (it stopped answering; after about three minutes of that it is restarted) and Stopped (someone pressed Stop).
- no version yet in place of the version: the company has not finished downloading the web application for the first time. The state beside it reads Restarting meanwhile, because there is nothing to start yet.
- 1 user, 3 users and so on: the number of different network addresses that used the company in the last five minutes, not sign-ins. Everyone reaching the server through one address, such as one Remote Desktop server or a reverse proxy, counts as one. users: could not check means the web server did not answer the question.
- Stopped (Windows service): the company's Windows service is stopped, for example from the Services window. Press Start to start it.
- Not answering - the service is running but its launcher is not replying; watching. Windows says the service is running, but it is not answering the manager, often because it is restarting. The manager keeps asking; only Open logs and Remove are offered, so there is no Settings..., Update now or Restart until it answers again.
- Half made - no Windows service is registered. A company folder exists without its Windows service, usually after an Add that was interrupted. Add a company with the same name to finish it, or remove it.
What does the database line under a company mean?
The grey line under a running company says when the company last reached its database. It is red when the database stopped answering. The company asks its database every five minutes, separately from checking that the web server itself is answering.
- database: answered at a time (with the date too when it was not today): all is well.
- database: not checked yet: the company started recently and has not asked yet.
- database: not answering since a time, followed by SQL Server's own message, in red: the company is running but cannot reach its database, so people will see errors. Check the SQL Server, the network and the login.
- database: not answering since this launcher started: the database has not answered once since the company started.
- database: not checked - this company has checking turned off: the regular check has been switched off in this company's settings file.
A company whose database has stopped answering is never restarted for it: it keeps running and the line tells you when the database stopped answering.
What do the Start, Stop and Restart buttons do?
Stop stops the company's web server so nobody can use it; Start starts it again; Restart stops and starts it in one go. None of them changes the company's settings or removes anything.
- Stop stops only the web server. The company's Windows service keeps running, so it still answers the manager and keeps its update schedule. The line then shows Stopped and the button becomes Start.
- Start starts the web server again. When the whole Windows service is stopped, Start starts the Windows service instead, with a progress window Starting.
- Restart restarts the web server. Use it after a problem to get a clean start. Like Stop, it signs out everyone signed in to the company, including Customer portal users, and they have to sign in again. It does not reload the company's port or database connections; Settings... does that.
- Update now installs the newest web application straight away, after telling you how many people are connected and will be interrupted.
- Settings... changes the port, the site name or the database connections.
- Open logs shows the company's log files in a window.
- Remove deletes the company from this server, after a confirmation.
If a company does not answer a button, the manager says did not answer. The window keeps watching; try again in a moment.
Note: Stop lasts only while the company's Windows service keeps running and no update is applied. When the Windows service restarts (after Settings..., or when the server restarts), or a web application update is applied, the company starts serving again.
How do I keep a company switched off, even after the server restarts?
Stop in ABM Service Server Manager is not enough, because it stops only the company's web server: the company's Windows service keeps running, starts automatically with Windows, and starts the web server again after a reboot or an update. To keep a company off, stop its Windows service and change the service's startup type in the Windows Services window.
- Open Services on the server and find the company's service, shown as ABM Service Web Server with the company's name in brackets (its service name is AbmService- followed by the company's name).
- Stop the service. The company's line in ABM Service Server Manager then shows Stopped (Windows service), and nobody can use the company.
- Change its Startup type from Automatic to Manual, so that it stays stopped when the server restarts.
To bring the company back, set the startup type to Automatic again and press Start under the company in the manager. A company set to Disabled rather than Manual cannot be started from the manager until that is changed back.
Two things start a stopped company, or undo the startup type, without asking:
- Settings... and Save on that company always start its Windows service.
- Running a newer ABM Service Server setup, or Update launchers in the manager, sets every company's service back to Automatic. Neither starts a company that was stopped, but the next restart of the server will, so set the startup type again after either.
A company that is switched off keeps its port, its settings and its logs, and the other companies carry on serving.
Why is there no Settings, Update now or Restart button under a company?
In ABM Service Server Manager a company's buttons depend on its state: Update now and Restart appear only while the company is answering the manager, and Settings... only while it is answering or its Windows service is stopped. A company that shows Not answering or Half made has only Open logs and Remove.
What each state offers under the company:
- A company answering the manager (its line shows Running, Starting, Restarting, Updating, Unhealthy or Stopped, followed by its version, or no version yet, and its port): Stop, or Start when its web server is stopped, then Restart, Update now, Settings..., Open logs and Remove.
- Stopped (Windows service): Start, Settings..., Open logs and Remove. Start starts the Windows service; Settings... is there so you can fix a port or a connection before starting it.
- Not answering: Open logs and Remove only. The manager keeps asking every three seconds, and the other buttons come back by themselves as soon as the company answers again. If it never does, read the logs with Open logs, or restart the company's Windows service in the Services window.
- Half made: Open logs and Remove only. Add a company with the same name to finish it, or remove it.
The buttons change on their own as the company's state changes; there is nothing to refresh.
What do the notes at the top of the server manager mean?
A pale yellow note across the top of the window reports work the manager finished or undid when it opened, because an earlier manager or setup was interrupted part-way. A deeper orange note means the manager can no longer read the server's companies, and the lines below it cannot be trusted.
- An interrupted add of a company was finished, or was rolled back with Add it again.: an Add was cut short. Rolled back means nothing of it is left, so add the company again.
- An interrupted settings change for a company was finished: the company was restarted on its saved settings.
- An interrupted server software upgrade was finished, or was rolled back with the reason: a setup or Update launchers was cut short.
- Could not read this server's companies: followed by the reason, and when it last could, The rows below are from a time. The company lines turn grey. This usually clears by itself; if it stays, close and reopen the manager and check the server's disk and the data folder under
C:\ProgramData\ABM Service\Server.