4.4 Installing the server as system service

I'm assuming you have installed FireDaemon by Formida which can be downloaded from http://www.firedaemon.com/.

Well, I suggest you'll read the entire Formida's doc for installing BPFTP Server as a System Service.
Personally I have done so by typing the following:

c:\>%MXBIN%\firedaemon.exe -p
FireDaemon v0.07b (c) 1999 Formida Software Corporation

This process will install a new FireDaemon service for you.
Please answer the following questions:

Service Name (no spaces): BPFtpserver
Application Working Directory (eg. d:\path): c:\program files\BPFtpserver
Application Executable (eg. d:\path\filename.exe): c:\program files\BPFtpserver\bpftpsrv.exe
Application Options (eg. /opt1 /opt2): -h -s -service
Service successfully installed!
Press Enter to continue.
After that I entered:

c:\net start BPFtpserver
Le service FireDaemon Service: BPFtpserver démarre
Le service FireDaemon Service: BPFtpserver a démarré
That's all. To start it up at boot time I clicked on 'Services' in the configuration panel


(Well, this is in French but I think you can understand it anyway)

Some excerpts from Formida's FAQ:

Q: "How can I make my service visible (for debugging)?"

Go to the Services applet in the Control Panel. Find the appropriate Fire Daemon service. Click on the Startup button. This dialog box has two sections: 'Startup Type' and 'Log On As'. In the 'Log On As' section select the 'System Account' option and check 'Allow Service to Interact with Desktop'. You will then need to stop and restart the service.

Q: "I want my service to start as a domain user. How do I do this?"

Go to the Services applet in the Control Panel. Find the appropriate Fire Daemon service. Click on the Startup button. This dialog box has two sections: 'Startup Type' and 'Log On As'. In the 'Log On As' section select 'This Account' and type in the domain account you wish to use (eg. FORMIDA_A-P\JamesB) plus the domain password. If they are correct the user will be given the 'Log On As' a Service privilege. You will then need to stop and restart the service.

Installing with Srvany (documented by Eaton, Mr. Bo (WDC)):
To install BPFTP Server as an NT service. 

This will cause the FTP server to start whenever the server is re-booted, whether a user logs in or not. It will also leave the FTP server running after a user logs off. This does not happen with the normal FTP installation.

Install the NT 4.0 Resource Kit to C:\NTRESKIT\ 

Go to a DOS prompt, and switch to the C:\NTRESKIT\ directory. 

Execute the command line: 
INSTSRV BPFTPSERVER C:\NTRESKIT\SRVANY.EXE 

Run "regedit" from Start/Run. This is the registry editor. 

Locate the entry: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ 
BPFTPSERVER\" 

Add a "key" named "Parameters" 

Within the new key "Parameters", add a string value named "Application" 

Set the new "Application" entry equal to "C:\PROGRAM FILES\BP FTP SERVER\G6FTPSrv.exe" (without the quotes.) 

Add another string value named "AppDirectory" 

Set the new "AppDirectory" entry equal to "C:\PROGRAM FILES\BP FTP SERVER" (without the quotes.) 

Add another string value named "AppParameters" 

Set the new "AppParameters" entry equal to "-service" (without the quotes.) 

Exit regedit. 

Go to the Control Panel Services applet. 

Find the G6FTPSERVER service, and select the "Startup" button. 

Select Startup Type = Automatic, check Logon as System Account, and check "Allow Service to Interact with Desktop". 

Run the FTP server and access "Setup/Main/General" for options. *Un*Check "Launch with Windows (9x version only)", "Allow multiple instances", and "Confirm Exit". Check "Activate FTP on Startup."

Note: logging on as system user allows interaction with desktop, which means the FTP server console can be viewed. However because the logon is not a domain account, the FTP server cannot access network mapped drives. That is not a problem for our product, because the FTP server only accesses local files on the harddisk. However if there is ever an exceptional case where we want the FTP server to access network mapped drives, it must logon as a domain account, and the server console will not be visible.

Note: If the server is started via the service, it is best to stop it by stopping the service through the control panel applet, rather than exiting from the ftp server console.

To Test the Service: 
Reboot the server, but do not logon as a user. 
From another PC access the FTP server on the NT server. 
Now logon to the NT server as a user, and check that the FTP server is running. 
Now log-off from the NT server, but leave it running (Close all programs and logon as another user.) 
From another PC access the FTP server on the NT server.