How do I get an exe to run on a remote server?

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1

I am simply trying to run an exe on a server. When I run it from my PC it runs just fine:

Start-Process ‘\dkta\logs\ZIM\ProcessZIMLogFiles.exe’ -PassThru -WindowStyle Hidden

All this exe does is it moves log files to some other places.

Jenkins reports that it runs the exe but the exe file does not actually do what it’s supposed to. So those log files are kept untouched in that directory (*\dkta\logs\ZIM*).

Started by timer
Running as SYSTEM
Building in workspace C:\Program Files\Jenkins\workspace\Maintenance\ZIM Installation Logs
[PIM Installation Logs] $ powershell.exe -NonInteractive -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\Users\ZI_WEB~1\AppData\Local\Temp\jenkins3930611360259041345.ps1

Handles NPM(K) PM(K) WS(K) CPU(s) Id SI ProcessName

  0       2      468       1844       0.02   5084   0 ProcessZIMLogFiles

Finished: SUCCESS

Is my command to run the exe wrong? which is:

Start-Process '\\dkta\logs\ZIM\ProcessZIMLogFiles.exe' -PassThru -WindowStyle Hidden

Jenkins setup:
Jenkins: 2.414.3
OS: Windows 10 - 10.0
Java: 11.0.19 - Microsoft (OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM)

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2

Hello @svte and welcome to this community. :wave:

The command you’re using to run the executable seems correct.
However, the issue might be related to the permissions of the Jenkins agent running the job.

You see, when Jenkins runs a job, it does so under a specific user account (in your case, it’s running as SYSTEM).
This user account might not have the necessary permissions to access the network location (\\dkta\logs\ZIM) or to execute the ProcessZIMLogFiles.exe file. :thinking:

Here are a few things you could maybe try:

  1. Check the permissions of the Jenkins user: Make sure the SYSTEM user has the necessary permissions to access the network location and execute the file.
  2. Run the job as a different user: You can configure Jenkins to run the job as a different user that has the necessary permissions. You can do this using the Authorize Project plugin.
  3. Use a script to run the executable: Instead of running the executable directly, you can use a PowerShell script that includes error handling and logging. This can help you identify any issues that might occur when running the executable.

Here’s an example of how you could modify your PowerShell command to include error handling:

try {
    Start-Process '\\dkta\logs\ZIM\ProcessZIMLogFiles.exe' -PassThru -WindowStyle Hidden -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
    Write-Output "Error: $_"
}

This script should output an error message if the Start-Process command fails.