At the Part 1 of the VDI Optimization – OS Services article, I went through several windows services which could be stopped/disabled in order to achieve better performance of your virtual desktop infrastructure and higher end user acceptance. At the current article I will add the rest of my list. Before that I would like to highlight again that It is very important to know that every windows service change must be very carefully evaluated for each VDI separately. What is good for my VDI, may not be good for yours.
Offline Files
The Offline Files service performs maintenance activities on the Offline Files cache, responds to user logon and logoff events, implements the internals of the public API, and dispatches interesting events to those interested in Offline Files activities and changes in cache state.
Recommended status: Disabled
Powershell command for applying recommended value: Set-Service ‘CscService’ -startuptype “disabled”
Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol Service
Provides support for the Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP) to connect to remote computers using VPN. If this service is disabled, users will not be able to use SSTP to access remote servers.
Recommended status: Disabled
Powershell command for applying recommended value: Set-Service ‘SstpSvc’ -startuptype “disabled”
Security Center
The WSCSVC (Windows Security Center) service monitors and reports security health settings on the computer. The health settings include firewall (on/off), antivirus (on/off/out of date), antispyware (on/off/out of date), Windows Update (automatically/manually download and install updates), User Account Control (on/off), and Internet settings (recommended/not recommended). The service provides COM APIs for independent software vendors to register and record the state of their products to the Security Center service. The Action Center (AC) UI uses the service to provide systray alerts and a graphical view of the security health states in the AC control panel. Network Access Protection (NAP) uses the service to report the security health states of clients to the NAP Network Policy Server to make network quarantine decisions. The service also has a public API that allows external consumers to programmatically retrieve the aggregated security health state of the system.
Recommended status: Disabled
Powershell command for applying recommended value: Set-Service ‘wscsvc’ -startuptype “disabled”
SSDP Discovery
Discovers networked devices and services that use the SSDP discovery protocol, such as UPnP devices. Also announces SSDP devices and services running on the local computer. If this service is stopped, SSDP-based devices will not be discovered. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.
Recommended status: Disabled
Powershell command for applying recommended value: Set-Service ‘SSDPSRV’ -startuptype “disabled”
Superfetch
Maintains and improves system performance over time.
Recommended status: Disabled
Powershell command for applying recommended value: Set-Service ‘SysMain’ -startuptype “disabled”
Tablet PC Input Service
Enables Tablet PC pen and ink functionality
Recommended status: Disabled
Powershell command for applying recommended value: Set-Service ‘TabletInputService’ -startuptype “disabled”
Themes
Provides user experience theme management.
Recommended status: Disabled
Powershell command for applying recommended value: Set-Service ‘Themes’ -startuptype “disabled”
Universal PnP Host Service
Allows UPnP devices to be hosted on this computer. If this service is stopped, any hosted UPnP devices will stop functioning and no additional hosted devices can be added. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.
Recommended status: Disabled
Powershell command for applying recommended value: Set-Service ‘upnphost’ -startuptype “disabled”
Volume Shadow Copy Service
Manages and implements Volume Shadow Copies used for backup and other purposes. If this service is stopped, shadow copies will be unavailable for backup and the backup may fail. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.
Recommended status: Disabled
Powershell command for applying recommended value: Set-Service ‘VSS’ -startuptype “disabled”
Windows Backup
Provides Windows Backup and Restore capabilities.
Recommended status: Disabled
Powershell command for applying recommended value: Set-Service ‘SDRSVC’ -startuptype “disabled”
Windows Defender Service
Protection against spyware and potentially unwanted software
Recommended status: Disabled
Powershell command for applying recommended value: Set-Service ‘WinDefend’ -startuptype “disabled”
Windows Error Reporting Service
Allows errors to be reported when programs stop working or responding and allows existing solutions to be delivered. Also allows logs to be generated for diagnostic and repair services. If this service is stopped, error reporting might not work correctly and results of diagnostic services and repairs might not be displayed.
Recommended status: Disabled
Powershell command for applying recommended value: Set-Service ‘WerSvc’ -startuptype “disabled”
Windows Firewall
Windows Firewall helps protect your computer by preventing unauthorized users from gaining access to your computer through the Internet or a network.
Recommended status: Disabled
Powershell command for applying recommended value: Set-Service ‘MpsSvc’ -startuptype “disabled”
Windows Media Center Network Sharing Service
Shares Windows Media Player libraries to other networked players and media devices using Universal Plug and Play.
Recommended status: Disabled
Powershell command for applying recommended value: Set-Service ‘WMPNetworkSvc’ -startuptype “disabled”
Windows Media Center Receiver Service
Windows Media Center Service for TV and FM broadcast reception.
Recommended status: Disabled
Powershell command for applying recommended value: Set-Service ‘ehRecvr’ -startuptype “disabled”
Windows Media Center Scheduler Service
Transfers files in the background using idle network bandwidth. If the service is disabled, then any applications that depend on BITS, such as Windows Update or MSN Explorer, will be unable to automatically download programs and other information.
Recommended status: Disabled
Powershell command for applying recommended value: Set-Service ‘ehSched’ -startuptype “disabled”
Windows Search
Provides content indexing, property caching, and search results for files, e-mail, and other content.
Recommended status: Disabled
Powershell command for applying recommended value: Set-Service ‘WSearch’ -startuptype “disabled”
Windows Update
Enables the detection, download, and installation of updates for Windows and other programs. If this service is disabled, users of this computer will not be able to use Windows Update or its automatic updating feature, and programs will not be able to use the Windows Update Agent (WUA) API.
Recommended status: Disabled
Powershell command for applying recommended value: Set-Service ‘wuauserv’ -startuptype “disabled”
WLAN AutoConfig
The WLANSVC service provides the logic required to configure, discover, connect to, and disconnect from a wireless local area network (WLAN) as defined by IEEE 802.11 standards. It also contains the logic to turn your computer into a software access point so that other devices or computers can connect to your computer wirelessly using a WLAN adapter that can support this. Stopping or disabling the WLANSVC service will make all WLAN adapters on your computer inaccessible from the Windows networking UI. It is strongly recommended that you have the WLANSVC service running if your computer has a WLAN adapter.
Recommended status: Disabled
Powershell command for applying recommended value: Set-Service ‘Wlansvc’ -startuptype “disabled”
WWAN AutoConfig
This service manages mobile broadband (GSM & CDMA) data card/embedded module adapters and connections by auto-configuring the networks. It is strongly recommended that this service be kept running for best user experience of mobile broadband devices.
Recommended status: Disabled
Powershell command for applying recommended value: Set-Service ‘WwanSvc’ -startuptype “disabled”
I hope my list is benefical for you as much as it is for me. Feel free to leave your recommendations and thoughts in the comments section bellow.
Resources: Microsoft, VMware, Citrix
Nikolay Nikolov
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