Added guide for Windows Service

website/source/docs/guides/index.html.md

@@ -45,3 +45,5 @@ The following guides are available:
 * [Sentinel](/docs/guides/sentinel.html) - This guide covers using Sentinel for policy enforcement in Consul.
 
 * [Server Performance](/docs/guides/performance.html) - This guide covers minimum requirements for Consul servers as well as guidelines for running Consul servers in production.
+
+* [Windows Service](/docs/guides/windows-guide.html) - This guide covers how to run Consul as a service on Windows.

website/source/docs/guides/windows-guide.html.md

@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+---
+layout: "docs"
+page_title: "Windows Service"
+sidebar_current: "docs-guides-windows-service"
+description: |-
+  For our friends running Consul on Windows, we have good news. By using the _sc_ command either on Powershell or 
+  the Windows command line, you can make Consul run as a service. For more details about the _sc_ command
+  the Windows page for [sc](https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms682107(v=vs.85).aspx)
+  should help you get started.
+
+---
+
+# Overview
+For our friends running Consul on Windows, we have good news. By using the _sc_ command either on Powershell or 
+the Windows command line, you can make Consul run as a service. For more details about the _sc_ command
+the Windows page for [sc](https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms682107(v=vs.85).aspx)
+should help you get started.
+
+Please remember to create a permanent directory for storing the configuration files,
+as it would be handy, if you're starting Consul with the _-config-dir_ argument. 
+
+The steps presented here assume, that the user has launched **Powershell** with _Adminstrator_ capabilities.
+
+If you come across bugs while using Consul for Windows, do not hesitate to open an issue [here](https://github.com/hashicorp/consul/issues).
+
+## Detailed steps involved in making Consul run as a service on Windows
+Download the Consul binary for your architecture.
+
+Setup your environmental _path_ variable, so that Windows can find 
+the Consul binary. (Will be handy for quick Consul commands)
+Use the _sc_ command to create a Service named **Consul**, which starts in the _dev_ mode.
+
+   ```text
+   sc.exe create "Consul" binPath="Path to the Consul.exe arg1 arg2 ...argN"
+   [SC] CreateService SUCCESS 
+   ```
+   
+   
+   If you get an output that is similar to the one above, then your service is
+   registered with the Service manager. 
+   
+   
+   If you get an error, please check that
+   you have specified the proper path to the binary and check if you've entered the arguments correctly for the Consul
+   service.
+
+After this step there are two ways to start the service:
+
+* Go to the Windows Service Manager, and look for **Consul** under the 
+  service name. Click the _start_ button to start the service.
+* Using the _sc_ command:
+   
+     ```text
+     sc.exe start "Consul"  
+     
+     SERVICE_NAME: Consul
+            TYPE               : 10  WIN32_OWN_PROCESS
+            STATE              : 4  RUNNING
+                                    (STOPPABLE, NOT_PAUSABLE, ACCEPTS_SHUTDOWN)
+            WIN32_EXIT_CODE    : 0  (0x0)
+            SERVICE_EXIT_CODE  : 0  (0x0)
+            CHECKPOINT         : 0x0
+            WAIT_HINT          : 0x0
+            PID                : 8008
+            FLAGS              : 
+     ```
+If you followed the steps above, congratulations, you have successful made Consul 
+run as a service on Windows. The service automatically starts up during/after boot, so you don't need to
+launch Consul from the command-line again. 

website/source/layouts/docs.erb

@@ -359,6 +359,9 @@ Certificates</a>
           <li<%= sidebar_current("docs-guides-performance") %>>
             <a href="/docs/guides/performance.html">Server Performance</a>
           </li>
+          <li<%= sidebar_current("docs-guides-windows-service") %>>
+            <a href="/docs/guides/windows-guide.html">Windows (Service)</a>
+           </li>
         </ul>
       </li>