When hosting the fw Server on Windows and Mac, we don't have native built-in support to "run it as a Service".
Windows
Out of the box the farmerswife (fw) Server application on Windows can not be run as a "Service". It needs to be run as a "user task".
This also means, that for the fw Server application to run, it's necessary for the "farmerswife admin" user, who installed the fw Server application, to be logged on to Windows.
These 2 options have been helpful for other customers in the past:
- Use a tool like e.g. "FireDaemon" (https://firedaemon.com/download/, we are not affiliated) for it to create the Windows Service of/for the fw Server app; and it provides a run-time GUI to get at the fw Server app's UI.
- use "Windows Startup" ... and some ...
This seems to evolve/change in the latest Windows versions:
https://www.tachytelic.net/2017/10/find-startup-folder-windows-server-2012-windows-server-2016/
Last tested using the above links on Windows Server 2016:
C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\
... containing this shortcut, it worked:
"G:\fw_v65_Server\farmerswife 64bit.exe"
... worked like a charm.
Note: This requires the "fw Administrator" user to log-in.
See more info here:
https://expert-advice.org/windows-server/how-to-set-up-auto-login-windows-server-2012-and-2016/
Mac
farmerswife does not have a native way of running as a service on mac.
- The macOS user should NOT be the “root” user. It needs to be an “admin” user with local Read/Write & app execute OS permissions. This user needs to be logged in, in order for the fw Server app to run.
- The Mac should get protected by using in macOS > System Preferences > Security & Privacy > “Require Password” after 15 min.; and “Disable automatic login: Yes”.
- On macOS the fw Server app should be named in a generic way and keep the same app name after upgrades.
- The fw Server app can be added to “Login items” in macOS > System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items.
Linux
The fw Server on Linux has native support to be run as a "daemon" (= "service" on Linux).
There are advantages and disadvantages.
Some examples:
When the fw Server is run as a "service"/"daemon" ... there is NO graphic user interface available.
The 6 buttons on the Server application are not usable ... "Send Backup Now" becomes a lot more difficult etc.
Using the fw Server generally becomes a lot more techy.