Starting the Windows services
In order to ensure a fully operational Siebel Server environment, we should ensure that the following Windows system services are started in the sequence they are listed below:
- Siebel Gateway Name Server
- Siebel Server
- World Wide Web Publishing Service
Note that the Siebel Web Server Extension (SWSE) does not have its own service definition. Whenever we need to restart the SWSE, we have to stop and start the according web server (IIS on Microsoft Windows in our example).
Both the Siebel Gateway Name Server and the Siebel Server are implemented as a simple executable named siebsvc.exe.
The Siebel Gateway Name Server service calls the siebsvc.exe with parameters that "tell" the executable to take over the Gateway Name Server role. The Siebel Gateway Name Server service starts up rather quickly and does not consume a huge amount of memory.
In case of a Siebel Server, the executable takes the role of a Siebel application server, which will establish a connection to its Gateway Name Server in order to read its configuration. Then, it will spawn child processes (one for each server component), which will consume both CPU time and memory.
It is always a good idea to monitor the system (using the Windows Task Manager) or at least wait for a few minutes to allow a Siebel Server to start. The start time is dependent on the amount of enabled components. We will discuss server component management in detail in a later chapter.
After starting the Siebel services, it is beneficial to check the log files for any malicious error message that might indicate an incomplete or failed configuration. The log files for any Siebel software are always situated in the LOG subdirectory of the installation folder.
Note
On your demonstration machine, navigate to the Windows Services console, stop the three aforementioned services (in reverse order as they are listed), and start them in the sequence they are listed. Ensure that you scan the Siebel log files for errors.