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About Services

The service control manager (SCM) maintains a database of installed services and driver services, and provides a unified and secure means of controlling them. The database includes information on how each service or driver service should be started. It also enables system administrators to customize security requirements for each service and thereby control access to the service.

Choosing the right background mechanism

Windows provides several mechanisms for running background work. The following table helps you choose the right one for your scenario:

Mechanism Best for Lifecycle Power impact
Windows Service (trigger-start) Responding to system events (device arrival, network change, domain join). Runs only when needed. Started/stopped by SCM on trigger. Low — idle when not triggered.
Windows Service (auto-start) Long-running daemons that must always be available (database engines, web servers, security agents). Runs from boot until shutdown. Moderate — always consumes resources.
Task Scheduler (maintenance) Periodic housekeeping (disk cleanup, log rotation, update checks). Runs during idle + AC power. Minimal — defers to idle periods.
Task Scheduler (event/time trigger) One-shot or recurring jobs tied to a schedule, logon, or system event. Created/deleted per schedule. Low — runs briefly, then exits.
Background task (UWP/WinRT) App-specific background work with resource quotas (tile updates, push notifications, geofencing). Managed by the system broker. Very low — strictly throttled by OS.

Important

Prefer trigger-start services over auto-start services. A trigger-start service consumes zero resources until its trigger event fires. This is critical for battery life on Modern Standby devices. See Service Trigger Events for details.

Tip

If your workload runs periodically and can tolerate scheduling delays, use Task Scheduler automatic maintenance instead of a service. Maintenance tasks are deferred to idle + AC power, minimizing impact on the user and battery life.

The following types of programs use the functions provided by the SCM.

Type Description
Service program A program that provides executable code for one or more services. Service programs use functions that connect to the SCM and send status information to the SCM.
Service configuration program A program that queries or modifies the services database. Service configuration programs use functions that open the database, install or delete services in the database, and query or modify the configuration and security parameters for installed services. Service configuration programs manage both services and driver services.
Service control program A program that starts and controls services and driver services. Service control programs use functions that send requests to the SCM, which carries out the request.

 

This overview discusses the following topics:

 

 

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