Running multiple instances as a service using LocalSystem

Question

Let's see where we get with this.

I have an installer built to install an executable as a service with the option to install it using a configured user and pw, or as a System Local account, and here is the observation:

If installed with a configured user/pw account, I can run 10 instances as individual services instance 1 as service1 instance 2 as service2 etc, and they all work, and they do what they are supposed to do.

One of my clients asked if we could install using the LocalSystem account instead of having to define a configured user, and the behavior I get with that is I can only install it and create 3 services. After the 3rd, the program appears to get stopped. Watching the service monitor, it appears to start, and I even get some logging for the process, but then it appears to get killed, and I can't find anything to indicate what is going on.

The docs for LocalSystem appear to indicate that this account has pretty high privileges, and I read through the ones that are enabled and disabled, and nothing rings a bell.

So, what do you think is going on?

I should say that I see this on my laptop, windows 10, Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server 2019 VMs that I have. I think our client is 2019.

Answer 1

Hi.

One possible solution could be to create multiple instances of the service using different LocalSystem accounts. You can do this by creating multiple service instances with different service names and configuring each instance to use a different LocalSystem account.

Another possible solution could be to use a different account with higher privileges than LocalSystem, such as a domain account with administrative privileges. This account can be used to install and run the service instances, and it should have fewer limitations than the LocalSystem account.

I would also recommend checking the event logs for any error messages related to the service instances that are getting stopped. This might provide more information about the root cause of the issue.

Best Regards,

Hania Lian

Answer 2

I appreciate that response, thank you. I will propose that however I would like to understand, if possible, what limitation I am running into.