Telnet continue...

The Log On tab functions the same as for other services. You should be familiar with how services work on Windows Server before using this tab or the Recovery tab. For example, using the Log On tab, you can select the user account that the service is run under. The AUTHORITY \ LocalService account is typical for the Telnet service as well as many other services for Windows Server 2003. For Windows 2000 Server, the LocalSystem account is generally used for running services. At the bottom of the Log On tab, you can choose a hardware profile for which the service can be enabled or disabled. Select the particular hardware profile you want to modify and use the Enable or Disable button.

The Recovery tab, determines how the service will be restarted if the service fails for some reason.

The options available on the Recovery tab are:

• First failure—Your options are to take no action (leave the service unavailable), restart the service, run a program (one other than the Telnet service, for example), or restart the computer. Using the restart option, Windows Server 2003 will attempt to restart the service. Selecting the Restart the Service option can be used if you suspect that the service was stopped because of some other problem with the server, and if you've selected the automatic startup type for this service.
• 
• Subsequent failure—The options here are the same as for the First Failure drop-down list. However, the option you choose here will be used for each failure that occurs after the first failure. This can be modified by setting a value for the next field.
• Reset fail count after—If you leave this value at the default of 0, after the second failure, the next failure will take the action specified in the First Failure field. Otherwise, you can set the number of days that the service must run successfully before the failure count is reset to the First Failure field. A higher number of days will cause the service to use the action set in the Subsequent Failure field for that number of days. After the number of days you specify, the First Failure option will be used.
• Restart service after—Use this field to set the number of minutes that the system will wait before attempting to restart the service. This value applies to both the First Failure and Subsequent Failure options, provided that you've selected the Restart the Service option.
• Run Program—If you've selected Run a Program for either the First or Subsequent Failure fields, you can enter a program or a script file that will be run after a failure. This can be useful if you want to write a script file that notifies you that the service has failed, for example. You can use the Browse button to select a program or script file to run or just fill in the field labeled Program.
• Command line parameters—Use this field to provide command-line parameters that will be passed to the program or script file, if you have chosen the Run Program option.
• Append fail count to end of command line—The number of failures can be passed to the program or script file using this field. For example, you might want the script file or program to know how many times the service has failed and take a different action based on this value.

The Restart Computer Options button enables you to specify the number of minutes after which the computer will restart, if you have chosen that option in the preceding fields. You can see that you can also enter a message to display to users on the network who are using the Telnet service to inform them that the service is either not available or being restarted, depending on the options you selected on the Recovery tab. Use the Restart Computer Options button on the Recovery tab to display this dialog box.

The last tab, Dependencies, is used to list the other services that must be running before the Telnet service can be started. If one of these services fails, for example, the Telnet service itself can fail. And if there is a problem in restarting one of these services after the computer reboots (if you chose that option), the Telnet service will not restart. In this case, you should check the Event Viewer to determine the reason that a service that Telnet depends on isn't restarting. If the Telnet service fails because a dependent service fails, you might consider using a script file to check for and restart dependent services.

Telnet

Windows comes with a Telnet client. Although Windows XP does not come with a Telnet server application, you can add this functionality by installing Services for Unix (SFU version 3). SFU can be installed on Windows NT, 2000, 2003, and XP. So, for those who operate a small LAN, you can install a Telnet server on Windows XP Professional, along with many other Unix utilities and commands, for a small fee.

Windows XP, which has now been available for about five years, has gone through two major service packs and is now widely replacing older Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0, and Windows 9x clients.

Tip

If you're considering an upgrade to Windows Server 2003, you might want to wait before jumping onto the bandwagon. When any new major version of an operating system is released, there are problems. This is inevitable due to the complexity of writing code for an operating system, much less performing extensive beta testing for a wide variety of applications. It's best to wait until at least the first service pack is released. It's also a good idea to subscribe to the many Windows/Unix/Linux newsgroups so that you can find out about features/bugs early adopters are experiencing.

Server versions of Windows NT, 2000, and 2003 do provide a Telnet service, but it isn't enabled by default. You must have the TCP/IP protocol networking components installed in order to use the server. This can be done during the system installation or by using the Components button in the Add/Remove Software Control Panel utility. To start the service on a Windows Server 2003 computer, use the following steps:

Note

Click Start, All Programs, Administrative Tools, and then Services. A list of services available on the computer is displayed in the right pane.

Scroll down in the right pane until you find the Telnet service.

Right-click on the Telnet service and select Properties (or just double-click on the Telnet service).

From the General properties tab you can select how you want to start the Telnet service. The drop-down menu labeled Startup Type enables you to select Automatic (start when the system is booted), Manual (start the service when you want to use it), or Disabled (to prevent the Telnet service from being used). In this example, the Automatic option has been selected.

If you've selected either Automatic or Manual to start the service, you must start the service by clicking on the Start button. If you have chosen the Manual option, then you can close the dialog box and then re-open it and start the service when you wish by using the Start button. If you've chosen the Automatic option, the service will automatically start the next time you reboot the server. Notice also that there are Stop/Pause and Resume buttons on this General tab. The Start and Stop buttons do exactly what they say: They stop and start the service. However, if you use the Pause button, administrators and members of the Server Operators group can still use the service and establish a Telnet connection with the server. This can be useful when you don't want ordinary users making Telnet connections to the machine while you're performing maintenance chores, for example. Use the Resume button to allow the service to continue servicing other users (provided you haven't stopped the service).

Tip

If one or more of the options (start, stop, pause, and so on) appear grayed out (unavailable), it's because the current state of the Telnet server does not enable you to make the selection. For example, if the Telnet service has already been started, the Start button will not be available. Similarly, if the service is stopped, the Stop button will be grayed out and not available.