How do I start Compute Server as a service (grb_rs)?

Compute Server (grb_rs) can be started either as a process:

> grb_rs

or as a service:

> grb_rs install
> grb_rs start

While these options are similar, there are some important differences to consider.

License file location

If the license file is not in one of the default locations, the service grb_rs might not be able to read the environment variable GRB_LICENSE_FILE. This is due to different environment settings for services.

We recommend placing the license file in the default location for your platform:

• Windows: C:\gurobi\gurobi.lic or C:\gurobi<version>\gurobi.lic
• Linux: /opt/gurobi/gurobi.lic or /opt/gurobi<version>/gurobi.lic
• macOS: /Library/gurobi/gurobi.lic or /Library/gurobi<version>/gurobi.lic

where <version> should be replaced by 1202 for Gurobi 12.0.2.

Log file location

It is not possible to specify a custom path for log file creation when running grb_rs as a service; please refer to the documentation for further information. For information about rotating log files, see How does log rotation work with Gurobi Compute Server?

The log file for a systemd service can be accessed through the system service manager. E.g.:

> journalctl -u grb_rs.service

The log file of the Windows service is stored here:

C:\gurobi_server<version>\win64\bin\service.log

Other environment settings

When installing Remote Services as a service (using either grb_rs start or grb_rs install), the path to grb_rs is embedded into the service configuration. Thus, the usual concerns about setting the GUROBI_SERVER_HOME environment variable do not apply.

This is especially relevant when running two versions of Gurobi Compute Server on the same machine. This can occur when switching Gurobi versions, where it is desirable for both services to start automatically during the changeover period.