Stop and start services, application pools, and websites

Azure DevOps Server 2022 | Azure DevOps Server 2020 | Azure DevOps Server 2019 | TFS 2018

For Azure DevOps Server to operate correctly, all required services, application pools, and web sites must be running on the appropriate server(s). In single-server deployments, each component must run on the server that runs Azure DevOps Server. In multiple-server deployments, each component runs on the appropriate server. In addition, you may need to stop an element to perform a particular task, such as moving your deployment to a different set of hardware.

For operations such as backing up or restoring databases, you can run the TFSServiceControl command to start or stop all Azure DevOps Server services and application pools.

Stop or start a service, application pool, or web site

  1. If you’re not a member of the Administrators group on the server that hosts the service, application pool, or web site that you want to manage, get added now. For more information, see Set administrator permissions for Azure DevOps Server.

  2. Log on to the server that hosts the service, application pool, or web site.

  3. Open Computer Management.

  4. In the navigation pane, expand Services and Applications.

  5. Perform one of the following actions, depending on the element to stop or start:

    • For a service, open the navigation menu for the service, and then select Stop or Start.
    • For an application pool, open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, expand the local computer and open Application Pools. Open the navigation menu and select Stop or Start.
    • For a web site, open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, expand the local computer, and open Web Sites or Sites. Open the navigation menu and then select Stop or Start.

Location of services, application pools, and web sites

The following table lists the server on which each service, application pool, and web site must be running. The Name column lists the display name for each element with service names in parentheses. The services vary depending on which features of Azure DevOps you have installed.

Element Location Name
Services Application-tier server Code Coverage Analysis Service
Internet Information Services Administration Service (IISADMIN)
HTTP SSL (HTTPFilter)
Visual Studio Team Foundation Build (VSTFBUILD) (only when Team Foundation Build is installed)
Visual Studio Team Foundation Background Job Agent (TFSJobAgent)
World Wide Web Publishing Service (W3SVC)
. Server that hosts the databases for Azure DevOps SQL Server (TFSINSTANCE)
SQL Server Agent (TFSINSTANCE) (SQLSERVERAGENT)
. Server that hosts SQL Server Reporting Services IIS Admin Service (IISADMIN)
HTTP SSL (HTTPFilter)
SQL Server Reporting Services (TFSINSTANCE) (ReportServer)
World Wide Web Publishing Service (W3SVC)
. Server that hosts SQL Server Analysis Services SQL Server Analysis Services
Application pools Application-tier server Azure DevOps Server Application Pool
Azure DevOps Proxy Server Application Pool (only when Azure DevOps Proxy Server is installed)
Web sites Application-tier server Azure DevOps Server
Azure DevOps Proxy Server (only if Azure DevOps Proxy Server is installed)

Q & A

Q: Which service account supports each service?

A: See Service accounts and dependencies in Azure DevOps Server.

Q: Are there additional services that Azure DevOps Server supports?

A: Yes, Azure DevOps Server includes a set of web services and application-level services See Azure DevOps Server architecture.

Q: What services depend on service accounts?

A: See Service accounts and dependencies in Azure DevOps Server.

Q: How do I change the Azure DevOps Server service account or password?

A: See Change the service account or password for Azure DevOps Server.

Q: How do I change the service account or password for SQL Server Reporting Service?

A: See Change the service account or password for SQL Server Reporting Services.