Production Setup

⏱️10 minutes

Configure the connector to run as a Windows Service with automatic startup.

Install as Windows Service

We recommend using NSSM (Non-Sucking Service Manager) for reliable service management.

Step 1: Download NSSM


# Download NSSM
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://nssm.cc/release/nssm-2.24.zip" `
    -OutFile "C:\ADConnector\nssm.zip"
 
# Extract
Expand-Archive -Path "C:\ADConnector\nssm.zip" -DestinationPath "C:\ADConnector" -Force
 
# Copy to path
Copy-Item "C:\ADConnector\nssm-2.24\win64\nssm.exe" "C:\ADConnector\nssm.exe"

Step 2: Install Service


cd C:\ADConnector
 
# Install the service
.\nssm.exe install ADConnector "C:\ADConnector\connector.exe"
 
# Configure parameters
.\nssm.exe set ADConnector AppParameters "--config C:\ADConnector\config.yaml"
 
# Set working directory
.\nssm.exe set ADConnector AppDirectory "C:\ADConnector"
 
# Configure environment variables
.\nssm.exe set ADConnector AppEnvironmentExtra "AD_SERVICE_PASSWORD=YourSecurePassword123!"
 
# Configure startup type
.\nssm.exe set ADConnector Start SERVICE_AUTO_START
 
# Configure recovery (restart on failure)
.\nssm.exe set ADConnector AppExit Default Restart
.\nssm.exe set ADConnector AppRestartDelay 5000
 
# Configure logging
.\nssm.exe set ADConnector AppStdout "C:\ADConnector\logs\service-stdout.log"
.\nssm.exe set ADConnector AppStderr "C:\ADConnector\logs\service-stderr.log"
.\nssm.exe set ADConnector AppRotateFiles 1
.\nssm.exe set ADConnector AppRotateBytes 10485760

Step 3: Start Service


Start-Service ADConnector
Get-Service ADConnector

✅Expected Result


Status   Name           DisplayName
------   ----           -----------
Running  ADConnector    ADConnector

Service Management Commands


# Start service
Start-Service ADConnector
 
# Stop service
Stop-Service ADConnector
 
# Restart service
Restart-Service ADConnector
 
# Check status
Get-Service ADConnector
 
# View logs
Get-Content C:\ADConnector\logs\connector.log -Tail 50 -Wait

Configure Service Account (Optional)

For better security, run the service as a dedicated Windows user instead of Local System:


# Create local user for service
$password = ConvertTo-SecureString "ServicePassword123!" -AsPlainText -Force
New-LocalUser -Name "svc_adconnector" -Password $password -PasswordNeverExpires
 
# Grant permissions to installation folder
$acl = Get-Acl "C:\ADConnector"
$rule = New-Object System.Security.AccessControl.FileSystemAccessRule(
    "svc_adconnector", "FullControl", "ContainerInherit,ObjectInherit", "None", "Allow"
)
$acl.AddAccessRule($rule)
Set-Acl "C:\ADConnector" $acl
 
# Configure service to run as this user
.\nssm.exe set ADConnector ObjectName ".\svc_adconnector" "ServicePassword123!"

Monitoring

Windows Event Log

The service logs to Windows Event Log:


Get-EventLog -LogName Application -Source ADConnector -Newest 20

Health Checks

Monitor connector health in the Admin Portal:

Connectors page shows online/offline status
Last Seen timestamp indicates recent activity
Alerts can be configured for offline connectors

Log Rotation

Logs are rotated automatically (configured above). Check log size:


Get-ChildItem C:\ADConnector\logs | Sort-Object Length -Descending | Format-Table Name, Length

Firewall Configuration

If using Windows Firewall, ensure outbound is allowed:


# Allow outbound to gateway (usually allowed by default)
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "AD Unlock Gateway" `
    -Direction Outbound `
    -RemoteAddress api.adunlock.me `
    -RemotePort 443 `
    -Protocol TCP `
    -Action Allow

Backup and Recovery

Backup

Backup these files:

C:\ADConnector\config.yaml
C:\ADConnector\certs\*


Compress-Archive -Path C:\ADConnector\config.yaml, C:\ADConnector\certs `
    -DestinationPath "C:\Backup\adconnector-backup-$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyyMMdd').zip"

Recovery

Install connector executable
Restore config.yaml and certs folder
Reinstall service with NSSM
Start service

Next Step

→ First User Test