C# Service Status On Remote Machine

Question

I'm an expert programmer, so therefore, I don't have a clue as to WTH I'm doing :)

On a serious note; no, I'm not expert by any means. I do have a problem though, and don't know how to fix it. The good thing is, I (think I) know what the problem is, and I'm hoping someone here can help.

Here's the synopsis of the problem. I am creating a form in C# that will do some server and database administration task for me. I have a button that when clicked is supposed to return the service status of "x" service on "y" server. The status is printed on the screen to a textbox.

Here's my code:

     private void button2_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        string fs = "Service X Status = ";
        string mr = "Service A Status = ";
        string qp = "Service B Status = ";
        string sp = "Spooler Service Status = ";
        ServiceController fssc = new ServiceController("xService", "yServer");
        ServiceController mrsc = new ServiceController("aService", "yServer");
        ServiceController qpsc = new ServiceController("bService", "yServer");
        ServiceController spsc = new ServiceController("Spooler", "yServer");

        try
        {
            txtGtwySts.AppendText(sp + spsc.Status.ToString());
            txtGtwySts.AppendText(Environment.NewLine);
            txtGtwySts.AppendText(fs + fssc.Status.ToString());
            txtGtwySts.AppendText(Environment.NewLine);
            txtGtwySts.AppendText(mr + mrsc.Status.ToString());
            txtGtwySts.AppendText(Environment.NewLine);
            txtGtwySts.AppendText(qp + qpsc.Status.ToString());
        }
        catch (Exception crap)
        {
            string msg = "";
            int i;
            for (i = 0; i < crap.Message.Count(); i++)
            {
                msg += "Error # " + i + " Message: " + crap.Message + "\n";

            }
            MessageBox.Show(msg);
            MessageBox.Show(i.ToString());
        }
    }

I get exceptions, basically saying: Cannot Open "Service" on "Server." Since this is a remote server, I'm assuming this is a credential/security problem. I do NOT, however, have any problems with the Spooler service.

My question is...How can I pass userID and password to this server so that it will authenticate or runas so I can check the status of these services, it that is the problem. If someone doesnt think its the problem, then please inform me where I've went wrong :)

Parishioner

OK, I've found how to do this, but I don't quite understand how to code. From what I've read, I need to wrap what I want to do above in some code that impersonates the userID and then after it gets me the requested information, undoes the impersonation. I understand that hard-coding the user information is not the most secure way to do it, but will suffice for what this is going to be used for. I'll keep researching on how to impersonate in C#. – Parishioner

Answer 1

Finally figured it out...

Created a new class, and is shown below:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
using System.Security.Principal;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Security.Permissions;

public class ImpersonateUser
{
    [DllImport("advapi32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
    public static extern bool LogonUser(
    String lpszUsername,
    String lpszDomain,
    String lpszPassword,
    int dwLogonType,
    int dwLogonProvider,
    ref IntPtr phToken);
    [DllImport("kernel32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
    public extern static bool CloseHandle(IntPtr handle);
    private static IntPtr tokenHandle = new IntPtr(0);
    private static WindowsImpersonationContext impersonatedUser;
    // If you incorporate this code into a DLL, be sure to demand that it
    // runs with FullTrust.
    [PermissionSetAttribute(SecurityAction.Demand, Name = "FullTrust")]
    public void Impersonate(string domainName, string userName, string password)
    {
        //try
        {
            // Use the unmanaged LogonUser function to get the user token for
            // the specified user, domain, and password.
            const int LOGON32_PROVIDER_DEFAULT = 0;
            // Passing this parameter causes LogonUser to create a primary token.
            const int LOGON32_LOGON_INTERACTIVE = 2;
            tokenHandle = IntPtr.Zero;
            // ---- Step - 1
            // Call LogonUser to obtain a handle to an access token.
            bool returnValue = LogonUser(
            userName,
            domainName,
            password,
            LOGON32_LOGON_INTERACTIVE,
            LOGON32_PROVIDER_DEFAULT,
            ref tokenHandle); // tokenHandle - new security token
            if (false == returnValue)
            {
                int ret = Marshal.GetLastWin32Error();
                throw new System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception(ret);
            }
            // ---- Step - 2
            WindowsIdentity newId = new WindowsIdentity(tokenHandle);
            // ---- Step - 3
            {
                impersonatedUser = newId.Impersonate();
            }
        }
    }
    // Stops impersonation
    public void Undo()
    {
        impersonatedUser.Undo();
        // Free the tokens.
        if (tokenHandle != IntPtr.Zero)
        {
            CloseHandle(tokenHandle);
        }            
    }        
}    

}

and the original code that I posted is wrapped by:

ImpersonateUser iu = new ImpersonateUser();
iu.Impersonate("[domain]","[username]","[password]");
// code you want to execute as impersonated user.....
iu.Undo();

Parishioner

Does this only work in environments where everything is hooked up to a domain controller? – Barnum

This will work cross-domain only if the have a trust set up between them. – Outbalance