What is a Windows NT/200x/XP service? On Windows NT/200x/XP, a service is a special kind of executable program that runs in the background. Services are used for programs that are constantly working, such as network protocols or database servers. Most WWW servers on Windows NT/200x/XP are implemented as services. A service is different from other programs in several ways: Services aren't run interactively, although the NET START and NET STOP commands can be used to start or stop a server. The Services control panel is used to start, stop, or pause a service. Services don't act with the authority of the logged-in user. That means that services can't see user environment variables or read files that are readable only by the logged-in user. You can set the account that a service uses in the Services control panel. Services run even when no one is logged in to the machine. The most important thing to remember is that you have to take special steps to make resources available to services. In general, you need to make files available to the Everyone group, and you have to have environment variables (like PATH) be system environment variables. How do I run a Perl script as a Windows NT Service? You can run your Perl scripts as Windows NT Services via a program called srvany.exe, which comes with the Windows NT Resource Kit. Once srvany.exe is installed, read the srvany.wri file which should be with it. This document will explain how to set up registry entries for your new service. After you are set up, to run your script as a service do: x:>srvany perl script.pl How do I run a Perl script as a Windows 200x/XP Service? You can run your Perl scripts as Windows 200x/XP Services by accessing the Microsoft Management Console. The Windows 200x/XP help files contain plenty of information on how to start the MMC and how you can use it for Perl scripts.