Help > System administration help > System services

System services

Mascot Server

Mascot Server runs a background service called Mascot Monitor (ms-monitor.exe). The Monitor service is responsible for managing sequence databases, and it must be running in order for the search engine to execute.

Microsoft Windows

On Microsoft Windows, when you install Mascot Server, the Mascot Monitor service is installed automatically. The service is called MatrixScienceMascotService, and it simply runs ms-monitor.exe. It can be controlled from the Services app and from the Start menu (Mascot Server Administration, Start/Stop Mascot Service). There are no configurable options, and the service is set to start automatically at boot.

Linux

On Linux, when you install Mascot Server, you have a choice how ms-monitor.exe should be started. The easiest option is to configure it as a systemd unit. Systemd is the default service manager on all recent Linux distributions (AlmaLinux, CentOS, Debian, RHEL, Ubuntu). The following instructions work for all versions of Mascot Server.

Download the systemd unit file: mascot.service
If you have installed Mascot Server outside the default location (/usr/local/mascot), please edit mascot.service and change the path in these lines:
```
WorkingDirectory=/usr/local/mascot/bin
PIDFile=/usr/local/mascot/bin/monitor.pid
```
The default is to run the service as root, which we recommend for simplicity. If this is not acceptable, then change the line User=root and follow the instructions in appendix G of the Installation & Setup manual, “Configuring Mascot to run as unprivileged user on Linux”.

Copy the unit file to the right place:

cp mascot.service /etc/systemd/system/
chmod 644 /etc/systemd/system/mascot.service

Reload systemd:
```
systemctl daemon-reload
```
You should now be able to start the service and view its log:
```
systemctl start mascot
journalctl -u mascot
```
Finally, enable the service so it is started automatically at boot:
```
systemctl enable mascot
```

Mascot Daemon

Mascot Daemon is divided into two components: a desktop user interface and an engine. The desktop interface is used to configure Daemon, edit tasks, view search results, etc. The engine is responsible for executing the tasks in the background.

On installation, the Mascot Daemon engine will run in the system tray. This is the preferred arrangement in all cases except when you want to run multiple instances of Daemon in separate remote desktop sessions on the same PC. This requires the engine to be configured as a Windows service.

Details for configuring Daemon as a system service can be found in Daemon help, In Depth, Mascot Daemon Service.

Mascot Distiller