L a s t B o x S t a n d i n g v0.9.1

Introduction

Summary

LastBoxStanding is a Windows service that pings a configurable list of machines in your LAN to determine whether at least one of them is still running. If no machine responds, the service performs a custom action, e.g. a shutdown.

Timeline

Startup
When the LastBoxStanding service starts up on the server machine, it tries to reach the client machines in the list. If at least one of the clients is detected on the LAN, the service starts monitoring.
Waiting for clients
If no machine on the list can be reached at startup, LastBoxStanding assumes that the server machine is running standalone and thus does not perform any action. After a configurable interval the service tries to reach the clients again. This is repeated until at least one client can be reached.
Monitoring
In monitoring mode, if none of the clients can be reached (even after a configurable number of retries), LastBoxStanding will perform the "WhenLastRemaining" action specified in the configuration.

Getting Started

Installation

Uninstall any existing version of LastBoxStanding.
Run the MSI file and install LastBoxStanding to a directory of your choice.
Edit the LastBoxStanding.exe.config file in the installation directory to configure the service (see "Configuration" for details).
Start the service (e.g. by typing net start lastboxstanding on the command line). This is only necessary after installation; the service will start automatically at boot time.

Configuration

The LastBoxStanding.exe.config file in the installation directory contains a section "lastBoxStanding" in which the service can be configured::

...

<lastBoxStanding>

    <monitoredMachines>
        <!-- Replace the following list with the machines on your network -->
        <machine name="MyMachineA" />
        <machine name="MyMachineB" />
        <machine name="192.168.0.2" /> <!-- IP addresses are possible, too -->
    </monitoredMachines>

    <actions>
        <!-- Edit if necessary -->
        <whenLastRemaining execute="C:\WINDOWS\system32\shutdown.exe" arguments="-s" />
    </actions>

    <options>
        <checkInterval minutes="3" retries="2" />

        <!-- Set simulateActions to "true" to experiment with settings (view results in event log) -->
        <!-- Set verbose to "true" for detailed information in the event log -->
        <diagnostics verbose="false" simulateActions="false" />
    </options> 

</lastBoxStanding>
	
...

If the service is running, you have to restart the service for changes to take effect (e.g. by stopping and starting it, or by pressing the restart icon in the "Services" MMC plug-in).

Troubleshooting

Diagnostics

Errors and problems are reported in the event log (to view the entries, run eventvwr from the command line and click on "Application"). If things are not working as expexted, it's a good idea to switch on the "verbose" option to get more detailed information.

HomePage and Contact

For news and updates please visit the LastBoxStanding homepage.

For questions, suggestions and bug reports write to lastboxstanding@roland-weigelt.de.

Revision History

Version 0.9.1 2005-02-14 (bugfix release)

Fixed: "Startup delay" issue. In 0.9.0 there was a delay between the start of the service and the first check of the machine list.
Added: More documentation