IIS permissions

[spugnor]

Hey guys.

Got an application where i am working that reads data from various sensors, and stored them in a DB. The default package for this software includes IIS functionality, and from what i can tell is running. The problem is, when i try to access the site either remotely or from the local machine, i get errors in IE telling me i do not have permission to access that page.

If there any quick and dirty way to tell if this is an IIS thing or if it is something else entirely (such as a windows security issue). I've talked with the software people, and they are telling me it is either a windows issue or an IIS issue, but they don't know. And i know next to nothing about IIS, so i am lost as well.

I figured i would trot this out and see if any of the [H] people could lend a hand with this. Would be a nice big feather in my cap if i can get this up and running. Thanks in advance.

 

[PTNL]

This is still too vague to really focus on a particular area. Some questions I can think of are:

1 - Is this a vendor product, a completely custom app, or a custom app that is working with a vendor product?
2 - What error message(s) are shown?
3 - Any error messages in the server's log? (ie: "eventvwr")
4 - At what point does this app fail? Does it fail immediatle upon start, or are you able to get into the app a little bit before the error(s) occur?
5 - Can this problem be reproduced in test environment(s)? If not, what differences exist between production environment and the test environment(s)?
6 - If this is a custom app, have any code changes been deployed? Are you able to roll back to a previous working build? Are any use cases available for the software people to test?
7 - Have any security patches, GP changes, and/or server settings been changed recently?
8 - What "permissions" are being claimed as missing or incorrect?
9 - What technologies is this application using?

 

[spugnor]

This product is licensed from the OEM. It is off the shelf software, and works fine in other locations, so i'm sure it's a setup issue of some sort.

The error i get in IE when i attempt to open the page is this:

You are not authorized to view this page.
Http error 401.1 - Unauthorized: Access is denied due to invalid credentials. Internet Information Services.

This makes me think it's a permission issue, as i posted in the original post. But i don't know where such a thing would be, as it's not asking for a user name or password, it just won't let me access it. I've poked around on the net, but so far i haven't come up with anything concrete to try.

I'll admit i know nothing about IIS, which is why i am stuck.

 

[Vashypooh]

Does the website have guest permissions enabled? Or are you using windows authentication or what?

 

[PTNL]

Off-hand, this sounds like an IIS permissions setting in the defined IIS website itself.

The problem I come back to is that any permission settings would be something that only take a few seconds to enact. Which is why this should be something documented somewhere, or something that the vendor should freely provide given the simplicity. Especially because this affects the success/failure of running the app.

If you can post the vendor/application name, then please do so. But I think your answer will either come from re-reading the install documentation or contacting the vendor again. If you're not comfortable in IIS, then be ready to work with them over the phone to get the instant feedback for troubleshooting.

And learning the fundamentals of IIS might be a good homework assignment.

 

[spugnor]

Does the website have guest permissions enabled? Or are you using windows authentication or what?

No idea, actually. I don't even know how to check. If someone could tell me where to look, i could look and report back. I have poked around the menus in IIS, and there is an area where you can set up username/password combinations. I'd have to walk over and check it to see what it's set to.

 

[spugnor]

Off-hand, this sounds like an IIS permissions setting in the defined IIS website itself.

The problem I come back to is that any permission settings would be something that only take a few seconds to enact. Which is why this should be something documented somewhere, or something that the vendor should freely provide given the simplicity. Especially because this affects the success/failure of running the app.

If you can post the vendor/application name, then please do so. But I think your answer will either come from re-reading the install documentation or contacting the vendor again. If you're not comfortable in IIS, then be ready to work with them over the phone to get the instant feedback for troubleshooting.

And learning the fundamentals of IIS might be a good homework assignment.

Well, i know the lady who did the setup of this, and let's just say she wasn't hired for her ability with computers...

The application is called "access", made by ion technology. The application is also called "winPM.net". All this is running on a windows server 2003 SP-1 OS.

I just looked in the IIS settings for the folder that holds the website data (i think), and this is what i found:
Authentication and Access control tab:
Enable anonymous access is checked (with username and PW)
Authentication access: no check boxes checked
IP filtering is off

 

[spugnor]

Actually, if anybody knows of a good "IIS for dummies" (especially if it's online), i could do some reading.

 

[PTNL]

The problem is that we don't know *which* authentication mechanism is needed for the app to start. Which is why the vendor should be the first stop on your list. Once you get that from them, then you'll know *what* needs to be set, and any further questions can have more relevant answers.

 

[spugnor]

I don't think the application cares. The actual application just fills a database. At least from what i understand.

I actually did find a very easy walk through for these settings (my google-fu is stronger today that before, i guess). It mentions basic authentification (i had NO authentification method selected, which was why it wasn't asking for username and password). Got that fixed, now it asks, but i still cannot access the page.

The article also said that i need to set NTFS permissions for the inetpub folder, but it doesn't say what they should be. I am trying to access this from the actual machine in question, which is currently logged in as admin, so that shouldn't be an issue, but i do not know for sure.

If there was a phone in that room, i could call tech support and get this resolved. But there isn't a phone line in that room, and no cell signal either. Which is why i am bugging you guys!

 

[spugnor]

Update:

Got the IIS permissions and the folder permissions squared away. Boy the documentation sure isn't clear on how to do all that, it was mostly trial and error.

Bad thing is, the next hurdle is application specific, as the "webreach" component is not putting the diagrams in the right spot for IIS, and i don't know why. That i am going to have to call for help on, as i am sure none of you software gurus work with that package!

I would like to thank those of you who did try and help, you actually did get me motivated to find the answers i needed to find. Sometimes a swift kick in the butt works wonders.