Patched Apache Requires Minimum Values for GID and UID

ID: Q185553

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft FrontPage 98 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

When you try to list Web pages or publish to a FrontPage extended Apache server compiled with the FrontPage patch, the following error message appears:

The server could not complete your request. Contact your Internet
service provider or web server administrator to make sure that the
server has the FrontPage Server Extensions installed. For more specific
information, click Details.

When you click Details, the following error message appears in FrontPage Explorer:

404 File Not Found.

File Not Found. The requested URL /_vti_bin/shtml.exe/_vti_rpc was not
found on this server.

Depending on the server configuration, errors similar to the following may be logged in the Apache server's error_log:


   [Date: Time:]Incorrect permissions on web root
   "/usr/local/apache/htdocs//_vti_pvt" and webroot's _vti_pvt directory in
   FrontPagealias()

   [Date: Time:]access to
   /usr/local/apache/htdocs//_vti_bin/shtml.exe/_vti_rpc
   failed for <IP address>, reason: File does not exist.

CAUSE

The FrontPage patched Apache servers on UNIX require both the UID (User Identification) of the user and GID (Group Identification) of the group that own the content to be a value higher than the values defined as follows:


   UID
   ---
   Linux - 15
   All other versions of UNIX - 11

   GID
   ---
   HPUX - 20
   IRIX - 20
   SUNOS4 - 20
   SCO - 24
   All other versions of UNIX - 21

The above restrictions apply only to the Apache Web server, with the Microsoft FrontPage patch compiled into it.

NOTE: The pre-compiled Apache binary that ships with the FrontPage 98 extensions and is installed by using the change_server.sh script, is a FrontPage patched Apache server.

The source code that contains this requirement is included with the FrontPage Server Extensions distribution. It is located in the following directory:

/usr/local/frontpage/currentversion/apache-fp/fpexe.c.

Refer to lines 28 through 47.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, you must ensure that the content is owned by a user and group that meet the UID/GID restrictions explained in the CAUSE section of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

GID information can usually be found in the /etc/group(s) file. UID information can usually be found in the /etc/passwd file.

The third-party products discussed here are manufactured by vendors independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.

Additional query words: Unix Patch Apache

Keywords : fpunix FPAPA fp98
Version : WINDOWS:98
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb