Ektron Windows Service: is it really started?

  • Updated

Having a fully started Ektron Windows Service helps ensure that your CMS is functioning properly. In some cases the Ektron Windows Service shows as started in the Windows Services window but is actually not fully started. Here is how to confirm that it is fully started and what to do if it is not. 

NOTE: When you need to interact manually with the Ektron Windows Service (EWS), you should "Stop" and "Start" EWS (versus choosing to "Restart" it because sometimes the service will not fully start up when doing the latter).

To ensure that EWS is fully started, look at the Windows Event Viewer.

  1. Go to Windows EventViewer > Applications and Services Logs > EktronL4 (version 8.5 and above) or EktronL2 (8.0.2 and below) . Verify that you see an entry that states Service started successfully. If you do not, then you will see an error or a warning. 

  2. If a warning occurs, follow the steps in this certificate KB.

  3. If that does not fix the issue or there is no warning in the L2/L4 logs, open C:\Program Files(x86)\Ektron\EktronWindowsService40\Ektron.ASM.EktronServices40.exe.config (replace "40" with "30" for version 8.0.2 and lower and substituting "C:" for the drive on which Ektron CMS is installed).

  4. Change the following entries:

    From: 

    <addkey="debugenabled" value="0">


      To:  

    <addkey="debugenabled" value="1">

  5.  In 8.6.1 and higher you will also need to set the debug level:

    From: 

    <addkey="debugloglevel" value="1">


      To:  

    <addkey="debugloglevel" value="3">

  6. Go to C:\Program Files(x86)\Ektron\EktronWindowsService40\log (again replacing "40" with "30" for version 8.0.2 and lower and substituting "C:" for the drive that Ektron CMS is installed on).

  7. Sort the log based on date modified and open the newest one and scroll to the bottom and work your way backwards to see why EWS did not start. Two common reasons for the service not starting is incorrect entries in the asset server table or an issue with the WSPath.
    • Verify your WSPath is correct by using  this article.
    • Your asset server table may have incorrect entries. Check for servers that should not be connected to the database with this query. If you see a server which should not be connected delete the row. 
      • select callbackurl from assetservertable

  8. For EWS to function properly, the entries in the asset server table must be correct. Only the machine names of Web servers connected to your site's database should be listed in this table. If you see other machines listed, those entries need to be removed from the asset server table. To fix this, do the following:
    1. Backup the database.
    2. Run the following command in SQL Management Studio:  delete from AssetServerTable
    3. Stop and start the Ektron Windows Service.
    4. Verify that the service was successfully started in the L2/L4 logs.

See also this KB article about issues that prevent EWS from fully starting.