CODEWITHSUNDEEP
jenkinswindows-servicescontinuous-integrationregistry
Anonymous
Anonymous

Reputation: 9648

How to setup Jenkins Slave to run as a windows service using command line?

I want to create a jenkins slave using command line. The is a document about setting up jenkins slave as a windows service and I followed the instruction there. I can run javaws http://10.121.33.4:8080/computer/Test-Jenkins-Slave-2/slave-agent.jnlp to connect slave to master but the problem of this is it will get disconnect after the machine is restarted.

I think the best way to do this is to install slave as a service. So, I tried to follow the instruction again on that page. I have jenkins Slave installed as a service and the registry key added like below.

Service's property:
enter image description here

Registry values:
enter image description hereenter image description here

I wonder if I did anything incorrectly? Is the document missing something?

Upvotes: 17

Views: 97834

Answers (5)

Robert
Robert

Reputation: 675

(Last 2019-09-20) The quickest and most reliable way that I've found to install a Jenkins Worker/Slave as a service is to:

  1. Download the jnlp file from Jenkins' "/slave-agent.jnlp" endpoint
  2. Bring up the "slave-agent" GUI
  3. Select the "Install as a service" option from the GUI

Detailed steps and pictures below.

Note: Don't bother with modifying the registry, the embedded install makes the process quick, easy, and repeatable.

So lets say you've configured a node named "amberboch". On the worker/slave (i.e. "amberboch") machine:

  1. Bring up a browser and enter the Jenkins URL for new node (or click on the node within the "Nodes" page of Jenkins), and create the node within Jenkins as you normally would.
  2. Once the node is created, navigate to the node (Jenkins > Nodes > amberboch) and include "/slave-agent.jnlp" on the end of the browser's URL (e.g. "http://jenkins:8080/computer/computer/amberboch**/slave-agent.jnlp**") to download the jnlp file. Notice "slave-agent.jnlp" is added manually Save the file
  3. Execute the slave-agent.jnlp file with Administrator privileges. (You may have specify Java/javaws to start it with "Java(TM) Web Start Launcher") (Alternatively, you may use a format found in JENKINS-29616 proved by Pau Sabats to create a new agent jar, which should retain connection information: java -jar newAgent.jar -jnlpUrl http://jenkins:8080/computer/amberboch/slave-agent.jnlp -secret xxxxxxxx -workDir "E:\JenkinsClient")
  4. Select the "File" => "Install as a service" option from the slave-agent.jnlp GUI

Once the service has been installed, change the service's "log-on" credentials as needed for your particular installation. You may have to reset permissions or delete directories within the work-space if, whilst running in Administrator mode, a job happened to run and thereby created a work-space sub-folder (as any jobs that had run would have done so as the former administrator-privilaged user, and the regular Jenkins-user profile may not have proper permissions to the old workspace folders and files.

I hope this helps save you time and headaches in managing (imho) the best CI option I've come across.

Best regards, Rob

PS - I found another discussion that may also help: Install Jenkins slave as a Windows service in command line

(Update 2023-11-03) This method it becoming out of date given newer versions of Java. Please look into this bit of documentation from Cloud Bees: https://docs.cloudbees.com/docs/cloudbees-ci-kb/latest/client-and-managed-controllers/how-to-install-windows-agents-as-a-service

Upvotes: 27

Eric Weintraub
Eric Weintraub

Reputation: 1027

While other answers are effective, if you are like me and wanted the EXACT same agent experience you had before JavaWebstart died (when Oracle became the evil empire) and you couldn't just launch the JNLP file anymore... here it is....

The Java Agent (slave) gui that would allow you to configure the agent as a Windows Service did so via a open source package called WinSW (https://github.com/winsw/winsw).

All you have to do is utilize this tool in conjunction with the launch directives the Jenkins console provides you in the node configuration screens. While oddly NOT in the user guide for Jenkins, Cloudbees did make a KB about it here: https://docs.cloudbees.com/docs/cloudbees-ci-kb/latest/client-and-managed-masters/how-to-install-windows-agents-as-a-service

The net-net is this:

  • Ensure OpenJDK 17 is installed and in the system path so "java" works in any directory
  • Create a Agent Folder
  • Download a copy of the Agent.jar into the folder from your Jenkins Server (see the url for it in the node configuration screen)
  • Grab yourself a copy of WinSW-x64.exe and place it in the folder from here: https://github.com/winsw/winsw
  • Create yourself a WinSW-x64.xml from the template file also in the WinSW repo and fill in the various info like Service Name, etc...
  • Run WinSW-x64.exe INSTALL (of note: you can run UNINSTALL too)

If you look at a Windows Service install from the old java gui you will see they make a jenkins-slave.exe, thats WinSW-x64.exe, in fact you can simply rename WinSW-x64.exe but if you do the .xml file must match for the INSTALL command to work.

Cheers!

Upvotes: 2

Kamal Baldawa
Kamal Baldawa

Reputation: 51

The easiest way to set up Jenkins node (slave) as a service is to use https://nssm.cc/

  1. Unzip the nssm into C:\ drive
  2. Run command -> C:\nssm-2.24\win54>nssm install "JenkinsAgent"
  3. In the pop-up, you can give a path to startagent.bat available in Jenkins

You can also configure user you want to use for running jenkins jobs.

Screenshot

Upvotes: 1

Monger39
Monger39

Reputation: 129

I have taken the

  • jenkins.exe
  • jenkins.exe.config
  • jenkins.xml

from a Jenkins 'master' installation. Next I have adapted the XML to contains the startup parameters for my slave. This gives something like:

<executable>%JAVA_HOME%\bin\java.exe</executable>
  <arguments>-Xrs -Xmx256m -Dhudson.lifecycle=hudson.lifecycle.WindowsServiceLifecycle -jar "C:\Tools\jenkins_slave\slave_95\agent.jar" -jnlpUrl http://jenkins_master:9090/computer/slave_95/slave-agent.jnlp -secret 999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 -workDir "C:\jenkins_slaves_workdir"</arguments>

In the XML I have also: - edited the fields for id,name,description to my preferences - removed the content of the 'extensions' block

After that I can just start the windows service running an admin shell on the slave using the command:

sc create <service_name> binpath= "C:\Tools\jenkins_slave\slave_95\Jenkins.exe" start= auto

Which is in principle the same as starting the Jenkins master service.

Upvotes: 3

mac
mac

Reputation: 1

service may need to be started explicitly after system startup. You may need to:

  1. go to the "log on" tab and start the service as a user with administrative rights on the machine

or

  1. Start the jenkins agent via windows scheduler via instructions here: https://wiki.jenkins-ci.org/display/JENKINS/Launch+Java+Web+Start+slave+agent+via+Windows+Scheduler

Upvotes: 0

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