I already asked this question at the JOS-.NET board but Joel is closing that board down so here it is again:
Do web hosting providers allow you to install Windows Services? I want to play around with some automation stuff, which I can currently do fine from my own dev pc, but I would like to start opening this stuff up to the public. However, do web hosts allow you to run installutil.exe?
If anyone has experience with this please let me know. Thanks.
No, 99% of the hosting providers, at least for shared hosting environments do NOT let you install windows services to augment your site functionality.
If you are on a VPS or dedicated setup, and have access to remote desktop into the machine then yes, you can.