Troubleshooting

This section describes specific error messages or issues you may encounter when deploying SharePoint Portal Server across an extranet. It also provides suggestions for how to address each issue.

Features Do Not Function

For a table showing features of SharePoint Portal Server that are available when you deploy the server across an extranet, see the section Extranet Features earlier in this chapter.

Server Access Denied

If you cannot access the server, ensure that you have specified security on the new Web site. Until you specify either Anonymous access or Basic authentication, you cannot access the server from the extranet.

Error 401

If you have specified Anonymous access on the new Web site, you may receive error 401 (Unauthorized) when attempting to access the dashboard site. If this happens, ensure that the Internet Guest Access account is a reader on the hidden Portal folder in the workspace. For the procedure to add the Internet Guest Account as a reader on the workspace, see the section Security Settings earlier in this chapter.

If the Portal folder in the workspace does not inherit the security settings of the parent folder, you must add the Internet Guess Access account as a reader on the Portal folder.

Error 424

If you receive error 424 when attempting to access the dashboard site, try the following:

• Restart IIS Admin Service or restart the SharePoint Portal Server computer. Possible cause: you did not restart the server after configuring the proxy settings.
• Ensure that you are typing http://external_FQDN/workspace_name (or https:// if you enabled SSL). Possible cause: from the server, you are typing http://localhost/workspace_name for the URL. By default, SharePoint Portal Server does not support localhost out of the box.

You may receive error 424 when trying to navigate to the dashboard site by using HTTPS, but you might not receive the error when using HTTP. In this case, on the new Web site, ensure that you specify IIS Application Protection as low for the virtual directory for the workspace.

To specify IIS Application Protection:

1. On the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Services Manager.
2. Expand the node for the SharePoint Portal Server computer.
3. Expand YourVirtualWeb, where YourVirtualWeb is the name of the new Web site you created.
4. Right-click YourWorkspace under YourVirtualWeb, where YourWorkspace represents the name of the virtual directory for your workspace, and then click Properties.
5. Click the Virtual Directory tab.
6. In Application Protection, select Low (IIS Process).
7. Click OK.

Error 500

If you receive error 500 (internal server error) on the dashboard site, ensure that you have not selected the Check that file exists check box when configuring the Public and YourWorkspace virtual directories on the new Web site. If the Check that file exists check box is selected, clear the check box, and then restart IIS Admin Service.

To restart the IIS Admin Service:

1. On the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Services Manager.
2. Expand the node for the SharePoint Portal Serve computer.
3. Expand the node for the new Web site that you created.
4. For the Public and YourWorkspace virtual directories on the new Web site that you created:
   • Right-click the virtual directory, and then click Properties.
   • On the Virtual Directory tab, click Configuration.
   • On the App Mappings tab, select the entry for the * extension displaying the path to msdmisap.dll, and then click Edit.
   • Clear the Check that file exists check box.
   • Click OK, and then to close Application Configuration, click OK again.
   • To close the Properties page, click OK.
5. Restart IIS Admin Service.

Error 503

If you attempt to access the dashboard site and you receive error 503 (Service Unavailable), the server is restarting and the services have not yet started. Wait several minutes and try accessing the dashboard site again.

Error 519

If you receive error 519 when attempting to discuss a document, ensure that you have enabled discussions on the new Web site. To use Web discussions on your SharePoint Portal Server computer from the extranet, you must modify the registry. For the procedure to modify the registry, see the section Web Discussions earlier in this chapter. For detailed information about using Web discussions with SharePoint Portal Server, see Chapter 10, Planning Web Discussions.

Unable to Map Web Folder to Workspace

If you are unable to map a Web folder to the workspace, ensure that you have not selected the Check that file exists check box when configuring the Public and YourWorkspace virtual directories on the new Web site. If the Check that file exists check box is selected, clear the check box and restart IIS Admin Service.

To restart the IIS Admin Service:

1. On the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Services Manager.
2. Expand the node for the SharePoint Portal Serve computer.
3. Expand the node for the new Web site that you created.
4. For the Public and YourWorkspace virtual directories on the new Web site that you created:
   • Right-click the virtual directory, and then click Properties.
   • On the Virtual Directory tab, click Configuration.
   • On the App Mappings tab, select the entry for the * extension displaying the path to msdmisap.dll, and then click Edit.
   • Clear the Check that file exists check box.
   • Click OK, and then to close Application Configuration, click OK again.
   • To close the Properties page, click OK.
5. Restart IIS Admin Service.

Discussion Error

If you see a server execution or server unavailable error inside a discussion panel, ensure that the execute permissions are set to Scripts and Executables on the virtual directory for MSOffice on the new Web site.

To set permissions on the virtual directory:

1. On the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Services Manager.
2. Expand the node for the SharePoint Portal Server computer.
3. Expand the node for YourVirtualWeb, where YourVirtualWeb is the name of the new Web site you created.
4. Right-click the MSOffice virtual directory, and then click Properties.
5. Click the Virtual Directory tab.
6. In Execute Permissions, select Scripts and Executables.
7. To close the Properties page, click OK.

Script Execution Error

If you receive a script execution error, the custom header name (MicrosoftTahoeServer) for the new Web site is either not specified or specified incorrectly. For information about specifying the custom header name, see the section Web Site Creation earlier in this chapter.

No Access Externally

If you cannot access the SharePoint Portal Server computer from the extranet, try the following:

• Shut down the SharePoint Portal Server computer.
• Attempt to access the server from the Internet. The proxy server should return a message that the host is not available. This validates that access from the Internet to the proxy server is operating correctly.

If this test succeeds, the problem is possibly in the proxy server configuration for server publishing. For more information about server publishing, see the section Proxy Server Settings earlier in this chapter.

Host Not Found

If you receive error 11004 (host not found), ensure that your DNS server has an entry for the host you are trying to access.

If the entry exists, check the spelling of the URL that you are typing in the browser.

Page Cannot Be Displayed

If SSL is enabled and you receive this error, run adsutil.vbs. For more information, see the section Secure Sockets Layer earlier in this chapter.

Dashboard Site Settings Cannot Be Saved

If you cannot save settings on the dashboard site, you may not have write permissions on the workspace.

To specify write permissions:

1. On the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Services Manager.
2. Expand the node for the SharePoint Portal Server computer.
3. Expand the node for the new Web site you created.
4. For the YourWorkspace virtual directory on the Web site that you created, where YourWorkspace represents the name of the virtual directory for your workspace, do the following:
   • Right-click the virtual directory, and then click Properties.
   • On the Virtual Directory tab, select the Write check box.
   • Click Apply.
   • To close the Properties page, click OK.

Blank Page Displays

If a blank page displays when attempting to access the dashboard site from the extranet:

• The proxy server may be offline.
• You may need to map the internal static IP address and the external static IP address on the proxy server. For more information, see the section Proxy Server Settings earlier in this chapter.

Crawling a Web Site Fails

If you cannot crawl a Web site on the Internet, you may need to reconfigure the time-out settings or the proxy settings. For more information, see the sections, Settings for Crawling Web Sites on the Internet and Proxy Server Settings earlier in this chapter.

Subscriptions Do Not Function Properly

You cannot subscribe to folders by using the collaboration toolbar from Microsoft Office or Internet Explorer in the extranet scenario. You must subscribe to the folder from the dashboard site.

Server URL in E-mail Notifications Is Incorrect

You can modify the URL that SharePoint Portal Server uses in e-mail notifications by following the procedure shown in the section "E-mail Notifications" earlier in this chapter.

If SharePoint Portal Server does not display the modified URL as expected, ensure that you have:

• Typed the property name correctly. The property name is case-sensitive. Type the property name exactly as specified in the procedure shown in the section "E-mail Notifications."
• Restarted MSSearch.

Access Problems When Using HTTPS – Client Certificate Issues

If you have enabled SSL and are accessing the dashboard site of SharePoint Portal Server by using https://external_FQDN/workspace_name, you might experience sporadic functionality failure such as navigation failures or access violations. This indicates a possible problem with the security certificate—specifically, you may need to install the full certificate chain.

You may need to install the full certificate chain on the client computers if either of the following applies:

• You are using an internal certificate server to generate your own certificates.
• You are using a certificate that is not distributed with a Microsoft operating system.

To confirm that the security certificate is the problem:

1. When attempting to access the dashboard site, you receive a Security Alert dialog box stating that the security certificate was issued by a company you have not chosen to trust.
2. Click View Certificate on this box, and then click the Certification Path tab.
3. In Certification path, there is a red circle with an X in it next to one or more nodes.
4. When you click the node identified in step 3, the Certificate status displays the message that the certificate cannot be verified up to a trusted certification authority.

To fix this problem, install the full certificate chain on all client computers.

If you suspect that the certificate chain might be the cause of the problem, you can view the certificates on client computers.

To view the certifications on client computers:

1. On the client computer, click the Start menu, and then click Run.
2. Type mmc and then click OK.
3. On the Console menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in.
4. Click Add.
5. Select Certificates from the list, and then click Add.
6. Select Computer account, and then click Next.
7. Select Local computer, and then click Finish.
8. Click Close, and then click OK.

Access Problems When Using HTTPS – Server Certificate Issue

The common name specified for the SSL certificate must match the external FQDN of your server. For more information, see the section Secure Sockets Layer earlier in this chapter. For example, if the external FQDN is AdventureWorks.adventure-works.com (accessed by typing https://AdventureWorks.adventure-works.com), the SSL certificate must have a common name of AdventureWorks.adventure-works.com.

The dashboard site appears incorrectly and does not function if the common name does not match the external FQDN.

This also applies to internal SSL certificates.

IFrame Error when Using Netscape Navigator

If you designate that a Web Part run in its own process, separate from other processes, you receive an IFrame error when using Netscape Navigator.

To correct the IFrame error:

1. On the dashboard site, click Content.
2. Click the Web Part that runs in its own process. The Settings page for the Web Part opens.
3. Click Show Advanced Settings.
4. Clear the Isolate this Web Part's content from the other Web Parts check box.
5. To close the Settings page, click Save, and then to close the Content page, click Save.

Dashboard Site Appears Incomplete

When accessed, the dashboard site may appear complete when you use the HTTP protocol but incomplete when you use the HTTPS protocol. If you have previously accessed the site by using http://external_FQDN/workspace_name and then you enable SSL (so that you access the site using https://), the dashboard site may open with no style sheet applied (the background is white) and with broken links. To fix this problem, restart the server. You must restart the server after enabling SSL.

Dashboard Site Stops Functioning

Your dashboard site may stop functioning if you attempt to secure your server by running Windows 2000 Internet Server Security Tool (available for download from http://www.microsoft.com/TechNet/security/tools.asp). For the latest information about implementing IIS security configurations to secure your server, see http://www.microsoft.com/SharePoint/.