Configure the Cherwell® Service Host

The Cherwell Service Host, its five microservices, and Cherwell Message Queue Service are automatically installed with the Server Installation, but you can choose which microservices to enable as you install. You can later enable or disable microservices and configure connection settings in the Cherwell Server Manager.

The Cherwell Service Host manages these microservices:

  • Automation Process Service
  • Email and Event Monitor Service
  • Mail Delivery Services
  • Scheduling Service
  • System Event Processing Service

The microservices process and add work messages to queues, which are managed by the Cherwell Message Queue Service. Each microservice has a single queue, but you can distribute microservices across multiple servers to enable horizontal scaling.

Use the Server Manager to configure these Service Host settings:

  • Configure connection and login settings.
  • Enable or disable microservices.
  • Configure logging for the Cherwell Service Host and microservices.
  • Configure Message Queue connection settings.

Good to know:

  • You must configure and start the Cherwell Service Host after you install or upgrade CSM.
  • A 2-tier connection is required for the Cherwell Service Host, unless you are using it to run a local Scheduling Service (and no other microservices) on a separate network. Then, a 3-tier connection is required. For information, see Configure the Cherwell Service Host for a Local Scheduler.
  • Use the Configuration Command Line Utility to configure the settings above and to additional settings, such as setting the maximum number of workers per virtual processor.

Configuring Service Host Connection and Login Settings

The Service Host can be installed on a single server or on multiple servers, depending on the needs for your environment. Use connection and login settings to ensure that each instance of the Service Host uses the same database connection.

To configure connection and login settings:

  1. Select Start > All Programs > Cherwell Service Management > Tools > Server Manager.
  2. From the Server list, select Cherwell Service Host.
  3. Select the Configure button.
  4. Select the connection the Service Host should use to connect to the CSM database.

    If the name of the correct database connection is not displayed, select the ellipsis button to open the Connection window and select an existing connection or configure a new connection.

  5. Select the method the Service Host will use to log in to CSM.
    Option Description
    Windows Authentication Uses the account associated with the Windows credentials used by the Windows server.

    Windows must be a supported login mode (In CSM Administrator, go to Security > Security Settings, select the Desktop Client, Browser Client, or Browser Portal, and in the Supported login modes section, select Windows).

    User ID and Password Uses CSM login credentials. Provide the username and password. This is usually an administrative account with broad system access, but don't use the CSDAdmin default account.
    Blank Password

    Allows a user to log in without a password. This only works if the specified account does not have a password assigned. This is not recommended.

    Execute Using Default Role of This User Runs the Service Host using the properties of the view associated with the role that the login account is configured to use.

    When this setting is not selected, this CSM Server uses a system default role. However, control the behavior of field properties in a view, based on the role of the logged in user, by making this selection. In other words, based on a custom view for the role of the person logging in (example: IT Manager), the behavior of the fields for a Business Object can be different when a record is created or modified.

  6. Select Test to confirm that the login/connection works.

Enabling or Disabling Service Host Microservices

During the CSM installation or upgrade process, the Cherwell Service Host is configured and you choose which microservices to enable by default.

This might be useful for distributing the microservices across multiple services. For example, if your system processes a large number of email messages on a regular basis, consider moving the Mail Delivery Services to its own server. In this case, you would enable the Mail Delivery Services, but disable all other services.

  1. Select Start > All Programs > Cherwell Service Management > Tools > Server Manager.
  2. From the Server field drop-down menu, select Cherwell Service Host.
  3. Select the Configure button.
  4. Select the Advanced Settings button.
  5. Select the check box for each microservice to enable it; clear the check box to disable it:
    • Automation Process Service
    • Email and Event Monitor Service
    • Mail Delivery Services
    • Scheduling Service
    • System Event Processing Service

    You can choose to run all Scheduled Items on the machine or select a Scheduling Group to run a specific set of Scheduled Items. If you choose to run multiple Scheduling Groups, you must distribute the work across multiple machines.

Configuring Logging for the Service Host and Microservices

You configure separate logging for the Cherwell Service Host and its microservices. For each microservice, separate log files for leaders and workers are created.

Event and file logging apply to the machine on which logging is configured in the Server Manager. See Configure Logging for a CSM Service, Web Application, and Cherwell REST API.

To aggregate logs across distributed machines, use Splunk.