problem using erlsrv on windows server 2008

[Ryan Davis]

I'm trying to run rabbitmq <http://www.rabbitmq.com/> as a service on
Windows Server 2008, and running into some weird problems.  I'm new to
erlang, so please forgive me when I use the wrong terms.

Rabbitmq is running as a windows service using erlsrv.exe, under the
system account.  When I login as my user and trying to query it for
status, I cannot connect to the rabbit erlang node.  Some googling (and
a thread on the rabbitmq-discuss list
<http://lists.rabbitmq.com/pipermail/rabbitmq-discuss/2009-May/004038.html>)
indicated this was a cookie issue, that my user's erlang cookie wasn't
matching the system account's cookie, so therefore I didn't have any
permission to connect to the system's nodes.  Unfortunately, making the
.erlang.cookie files in "C:\Windows" and "C:\Users\Ryan" identical did
not solve my problem completely.  I now see some odd behavior:

If I login and try to get rabbit status, I cannot connect to the running
erlang.  If I restart the rabbit service, then I can connect just fine. 
If I log out and then log back in, I can't connect.  I've verified that
my .erlang.cookie is not changing between logins.

My best guesses are:

   1. Erlsrv is changing it's cookie after I logout (doesn't make sense)
   2. Windows Server 2008 is denying the connection due to some firewall
      / permissions rule I can't find (more likely, but why can I
      connect at all if there's some rule blocking it?)

I have added a firewall rules to open:

    * anything for erl5.7.1\erts-5.7.1\bin\erl.exe
    * anything for erl5.7.1\bin\erl.exe

I was unable to find anything on google about this issue.  Has anyone
else had similar problems?  Should I instead pursue adding a server and
getting a Linux-based solution (read: is Windows a second-class citizen
with Erlang)?

Thanks,

-- 
Ryan Davis
Acceleration.net
Director of Programming Services
2831 NW 41st street, suite B
Gainesville, FL 32606

Office: 352-335-6500 x 124
Fax: 352-335-6506