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Display Name (?):

Message Queuing

Short Name (?):

MSMQ

Executable (?):

mqsvc.exe

Library (?):

None.

Depends On (?):

Distributed Transaction Coordinator, NT LM Security Support Provider, Remote Procedure Call (RPC), Server

Supports (?):

None.

Description (?):

Provides a communications infrastructure for distributed, asynchronous messaging applications.

OS (?):

2000 Professional, XP Home/Professional, Vista Home/Business, 2000 Server, Server 2003, Vista Server

Startup (?):

Default	Home	Workstation	Server	Minimal	Tweaked	Automatic
Automatic	Manual	Automatic	Automatic	Manual	Disabled	Disabled

Explanation (?):

The message queueing service is a system of a Windows server, which is also available for non-server versions of Windows, that gives applications a centralized and documentated structure for use with queueing requests in a distributed environment. This service is especially entwined with .NET applications (such as C#). It uses COM+ events to provide stable, efficient, secure and priority based message delivery through the use of COM APIs. The system has two main modes for the messages. The first is public which allows any application to check the global catalog for past and currently queued message events. This would allow multiple applications to take action on a single message, but raises issues of data hiding and security. The second is private which means that once a message is sent then only the receiving system will get information on it.

In much simplier terms this service is a common means for programs to talk with each other. It sends a message through the queue and then the message queue hands it off to the receiving audience when it is able to handle it. This concept isn't a very new one, and in fact the general name for such a system is a buffer. The advantages of using this common means is that an application developer doesn't need to worry about the implementation of a buffer, and the usage of it can be figured out by reading documentation on the matter. The disadvantage though is that the implementation can change according to the needs of Microsoft, and not the developer, as well as the potential for Microsoft leaving in buffer underruns.

As this service is only expected to be found on a workstation/server computer environment most people should not be concerned with it. Several components of Windows use this feature such as Windows Media Instrumention (WMI), a system that provides a common device database, Microsoft Message Queueing (MSMQ) and COM+ Queued Component (QC) functionality. In normal circumstances this service is non-mission critical, but it is extremely possible that it is required by some third party applications as well as some Microsoft products in which case those programs may fail to operate correctly without it. Therefore, if you wish to disable this service then verify that once you disabled it that all functions of your server continue to run properly afterwards. Really though, if you don't need the functionality of this service then you can set it to manual or disabled, but I would recommend removing it instead from add / remove components which can be found in the control panel's add / remove programs.