Windows Service Testing Guide

Prerequisites

Windows system (service support is Windows-only)
Administrator privileges (required for service installation)
Built compliance-client.exe

Service Management Commands

1. Install Service

Install the compliance client as a Windows service:

# Run as Administrator
.\compliance-client.exe --install-service

# Install with custom config path
.\compliance-client.exe --install-service --config "C:\ComplianceToolkit\client.yaml"

Expected Output:

Service ComplianceToolkitClient installed successfully
Start with: sc start ComplianceToolkitClient

What Happens: - Service registered with Windows Service Control Manager (SCM) - Service set to start automatically on system boot - Event log source created for logging - Recovery actions configured (restart on failure after 30s, 60s, 120s) - Service depends on TCP/IP (network required)

2. Start Service

Start the installed service:

# Using our tool
.\compliance-client.exe --start-service

# Or using Windows sc command
sc start ComplianceToolkitClient

# Or using PowerShell
Start-Service ComplianceToolkitClient

Expected Output:

Service ComplianceToolkitClient started successfully

What Happens: - Service starts in background - Logs to Windows Event Log (Application log) - Runs compliance reports according to schedule in config - Submits reports to server or saves locally

3. Check Service Status

View current service status:

# Using our tool
.\compliance-client.exe --service-status

# Or using Windows sc command
sc query ComplianceToolkitClient

# Or using PowerShell
Get-Service ComplianceToolkitClient

Expected Output:

Service: ComplianceToolkitClient
Display Name: Compliance Toolkit Client
Description: Automated compliance scanning and reporting client for Windows registry security checks
State: Running
Start Type: Automatic
Executable: C:\path\to\compliance-client.exe --config C:\path\to\client.yaml

4. Stop Service

Stop the running service:

# Using our tool
.\compliance-client.exe --stop-service

# Or using Windows sc command
sc stop ComplianceToolkitClient

# Or using PowerShell
Stop-Service ComplianceToolkitClient

Expected Output:

Service ComplianceToolkitClient stopped successfully

5. Uninstall Service

Remove the service from the system:

# Run as Administrator
.\compliance-client.exe --uninstall-service

Expected Output:

Stopping service...
Service stopped
Service ComplianceToolkitClient uninstalled successfully

What Happens: - Service stopped if running - Service unregistered from SCM - Event log source removed

Viewing Service Logs

Service events are logged to Windows Event Log:

# View all events from our service
Get-EventLog -LogName Application -Source ComplianceToolkitClient -Newest 20

# View only errors
Get-EventLog -LogName Application -Source ComplianceToolkitClient -EntryType Error

# Monitor in real-time
Get-EventLog -LogName Application -Source ComplianceToolkitClient -Newest 1 -After (Get-Date).AddMinutes(-5)

Event Types: - Information (ID 1): Service start, stop, normal operations - Warning (ID 1): Non-fatal issues, timeouts - Error (ID 1): Failures, exceptions

Testing Scenarios

Scenario 1: Basic Installation and Operation

# 1. Install service
.\compliance-client.exe --install-service --config "client.yaml"

# 2. Verify installation
.\compliance-client.exe --service-status

# 3. Start service
.\compliance-client.exe --start-service

# 4. Wait 30 seconds, then check logs
Start-Sleep -Seconds 30
Get-EventLog -LogName Application -Source ComplianceToolkitClient -Newest 5

# 5. Stop service
.\compliance-client.exe --stop-service

# 6. Uninstall
.\compliance-client.exe --uninstall-service

Scenario 2: Service Recovery Testing

Test automatic restart on failure:

# 1. Install and start service
.\compliance-client.exe --install-service --config "client.yaml"
.\compliance-client.exe --start-service

# 2. Simulate crash by killing process
$process = Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.Name -eq "compliance-client" }
Stop-Process -Id $process.Id -Force

# 3. Wait 35 seconds (recovery delay is 30s)
Start-Sleep -Seconds 35

# 4. Check if service restarted
.\compliance-client.exe --service-status

# Should show: State: Running

Scenario 3: Scheduled Reports

Test scheduled report execution:

# 1. Create config with schedule enabled
@"
client:
  id: "TEST-CLIENT-001"
  hostname: "$(hostname)"
  enabled: true

server:
  url: ""  # Standalone mode for testing

reports:
  config_path: "../../configs/reports"
  output_path: "../../output/reports"
  save_local: true
  reports:
    - "NIST_800_171_compliance.json"

schedule:
  enabled: true
  cron: "*/2 * * * *"  # Every 2 minutes for testing

retry:
  max_attempts: 3
  initial_backoff: 30s
  max_backoff: 5m
  backoff_multiplier: 2.0

cache:
  enabled: true
  path: "../../cache/submissions"
  max_size_mb: 100

logging:
  level: "debug"
  format: "text"
  output_path: "../../output/logs/service.log"
"@ | Out-File -FilePath "test-service.yaml" -Encoding UTF8

# 2. Install service with test config
.\compliance-client.exe --install-service --config "test-service.yaml"

# 3. Start service
.\compliance-client.exe --start-service

# 4. Wait 5 minutes and check for reports
Start-Sleep -Seconds 300
Get-ChildItem "..\..\output\reports" | Sort-Object LastWriteTime -Descending | Select-Object -First 3

# 5. Check service logs
Get-Content "..\..\output\logs\service.log" -Tail 20

# 6. Cleanup
.\compliance-client.exe --stop-service
.\compliance-client.exe --uninstall-service
Remove-Item "test-service.yaml"

Troubleshooting

Service Won't Install

Error: "Access denied" or "Failed to connect to service manager"

Solution: Run PowerShell as Administrator

# Right-click PowerShell → "Run as Administrator"

Service Won't Start

Error: "Failed to start service"

Possible Causes: 1. Config file not found: Service can't locate client.yaml powershell # Use absolute path when installing .\compliance-client.exe --install-service --config "C:\full\path\to\client.yaml"

Invalid config: Check config syntax powershell .\compliance-client.exe --config "client.yaml" --once # If this fails, fix config before installing service
Port conflict: Another service using same port powershell # Check event log for details Get-EventLog -LogName Application -Source ComplianceToolkitClient -Newest 1

Service Crashes

Check Event Log:

Get-EventLog -LogName Application -Source ComplianceToolkitClient -EntryType Error -Newest 5 | Format-List

Common Issues: - Network unreachable (server mode) - Registry access denied (run as SYSTEM or Administrator) - Disk full (check output paths)

Service Stuck in "Stop Pending"

Force kill:

# Get service PID
sc queryex ComplianceToolkitClient

# Kill process
taskkill /PID <PID> /F

# Then uninstall/reinstall
.\compliance-client.exe --uninstall-service
.\compliance-client.exe --install-service

Service Configuration Best Practices

1. Use Absolute Paths

Service runs from C:\Windows\System32, so relative paths won't work:

Bad:

reports:
  config_path: "configs/reports"  # Won't find this!

Good:

reports:
  config_path: "C:\\ComplianceToolkit\\configs\\reports"

2. Enable File Logging

Service has no console output, use file logging:

logging:
  level: "info"
  format: "text"
  output_path: "C:\\ComplianceToolkit\\logs\\service.log"  # Not "stdout"!

3. Set Appropriate Schedule

Don't spam the system:

schedule:
  enabled: true
  cron: "0 2 * * *"  # Once daily at 2 AM (good)
  # NOT: "* * * * *"  # Every minute (bad!)

4. Configure Retry Logic

Service should be resilient:

retry:
  max_attempts: 5  # More attempts for service
  initial_backoff: 60s  # Longer backoff for background operation
  retry_on_server_error: true

Verification Checklist

After installation, verify:

[ ] Service shows "Running" in --service-status
[ ] Event log shows "service started successfully"
[ ] Log file being written to configured path
[ ] Reports generated in output directory (if scheduled)
[ ] Service survives system reboot (start type: Automatic)
[ ] Service restarts automatically after crash
[ ] Service stops cleanly with --stop-service

Production Deployment

Deployment Steps

Build release binary: powershell go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o compliance-client.exe
Copy to production location: powershell Copy-Item compliance-client.exe C:\ComplianceToolkit\bin\
Create production config: powershell cd C:\ComplianceToolkit .\bin\compliance-client.exe --generate-config --config config\client.yaml # Edit config\client.yaml with production values
Install service: powershell cd C:\ComplianceToolkit\bin .\compliance-client.exe --install-service --config ..\config\client.yaml
Start service: powershell .\compliance-client.exe --start-service
Verify operation: ```powershell # Check status .\compliance-client.exe --service-status

# Check event log Get-EventLog -LogName Application -Source ComplianceToolkitClient -Newest 10

# Check log file Get-Content ..\logs\service.log -Tail 20

# Wait for first scheduled run, then check reports Get-ChildItem ..\output\reports | Sort-Object LastWriteTime -Descending | Select-Object -First 5 ```

Unattended Installation Script

# deploy-service.ps1
param(
    [string]$ConfigPath = "C:\ComplianceToolkit\config\client.yaml",
    [string]$ExePath = "C:\ComplianceToolkit\bin\compliance-client.exe"
)

# Verify running as admin
if (-NOT ([Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal][Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()).IsInRole([Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole] "Administrator")) {
    Write-Error "This script must be run as Administrator"
    exit 1
}

# Stop existing service if running
Write-Host "Checking for existing service..."
try {
    & $ExePath --stop-service 2>$null
    Write-Host "Stopped existing service"
} catch {
    Write-Host "No existing service running"
}

# Uninstall existing service if present
try {
    & $ExePath --uninstall-service 2>$null
    Write-Host "Uninstalled existing service"
} catch {
    Write-Host "No existing service found"
}

# Install service
Write-Host "Installing service..."
& $ExePath --install-service --config $ConfigPath
if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
    Write-Error "Failed to install service"
    exit 1
}

# Start service
Write-Host "Starting service..."
& $ExePath --start-service
if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
    Write-Error "Failed to start service"
    exit 1
}

# Verify
Write-Host "`nService status:"
& $ExePath --service-status

Write-Host "`nService deployed successfully!"

Usage:

.\deploy-service.ps1 -ConfigPath "C:\ComplianceToolkit\config\client.yaml"

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Windows Service Testing Guide

Prerequisites

Service Management Commands

1. Install Service

2. Start Service

3. Check Service Status

4. Stop Service

5. Uninstall Service

Viewing Service Logs

Testing Scenarios

Scenario 1: Basic Installation and Operation

Scenario 2: Service Recovery Testing

Scenario 3: Scheduled Reports

Troubleshooting

Service Won't Install

Service Won't Start

Service Crashes

Service Stuck in "Stop Pending"

Service Configuration Best Practices

1. Use Absolute Paths

2. Enable File Logging

3. Set Appropriate Schedule

4. Configure Retry Logic

Verification Checklist

Production Deployment

Deployment Steps

Unattended Installation Script