How to Configure FrontPage to Connect through a Raptor Firewall

ID: Q237960

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft FrontPage 2000 Server Extensions

SYMPTOMS

After you upgrade from the FrontPage 98 Server Extensions to the FrontPage 2000 Server Extensions, you can no longer open FrontPage Webs that reside on an Internet Information Server (IIS) computer when connecting through a Raptor firewall.

The FrontPage 2000 Client will return the following error messages:

The folder 'http://servername' isn't accessible. The folder may be located on an unavailable volume or protected with a password. For details see C;\TEMP\wecerr.txt.
The server sent a response which FrontPage could not parse.

The FrontPage 98 Client will return the following error message:
The server could not complete your request. Contact your Internet service provider or web server administrator to make sure that the web server has the FrontPage Server Extensions installed. For more specific information, click Details.
If you click Details , usually no additional information is provided and the box is blank.


CAUSE

When you attempt to open a FrontPage 2000 Extended Web that can be browsed anonymously, FrontPage makes a post to the Author.dll file. This causes an HTTP 401 error to be returned to the FrontPage Client for authentication. The HTTP 401 error never makes it through the firewall or proxy server, and the FrontPage Client times out.


RESOLUTION

A supported fix that corrects this problem is now available from Microsoft, but it has not been fully regression tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem. If you are not severely affected by this specific problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next FrontPage 2000 service pack that contains this fix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information on support costs, please go to the following address on the World Wide Web:

http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/overview/overview.asp
The French version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:

   Date       Time    Version     Size     File name     Platform
   -------------------------------------------------------------
   08/20/1999 22:57   4.0.2.3112  823,351  Fp4Awel.dll   x86


WORKAROUND

Method 1

To work around this problem, you must cause a complete HTTP 401 error to be generated. To do this, you will need to restrict anonymous access to the _vti_aut and _vti_adm virtual directories for each Web. When you open a FrontPage Web, FrontPage accesses these virtual directories anonymously. By restricting anonymous access to this file, a complete HTTP error is returned earlier in the Open Web Sequence, and this error is correctly passed through the firewall. To do this, perform the following steps:
  1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack, point to Microsoft Internet Information Server, and click Internet Service Manager.


  2. Under the computer name, locate the virtual server that is extended with FrontPage.


  3. Click the plus sign (+) next to the virtual server and locate the _vti_bin virtual directory.


  4. Click the plus sign (+) next to the _vti_bin virtual directory and locate the _vti_aut and _vti_adm virtual directories.


  5. Right-click the virtual directory _vti_aut and click Properties.


  6. Click the Directory Security tab and click Edit for Anonymous Access and Authentication Control.


  7. Click to uncheck the Allow Anonymous Access check box.


  8. Click to check both the Basic Authentication and Windows NT Challenge/Response check boxes.


  9. Click OK, and then click OK again.


  10. Right-click the virtual directory _vti_adm and click Properties.


  11. Click the Directory Security tab and click Edit for Anonymous Access and Authentication Control.


  12. Click to uncheck the Allow Anonymous Access check box.


  13. Select both the Basic Authentication and Windows NT Challenge/Response Authentication check boxes.


  14. Click OK, and then click OK again.


The steps above will need to be performed for each virtual server and subweb that you have configured with the FrontPage 2000 Server Extensions that you connect to through the firewall.

If you later uninstall and reinstall the Server Extensions to the Web site, you will need to configure _vti_aut and _vti_adm without Anonymous Access again using the steps above.

Method 2

If you have many virtual servers, the following workaround may be easier to use:
  1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack, point to Microsoft Internet Information Server, and click Internet Service Manager.


  2. Under the computer name, locate the virtual server that is extended with FrontPage.


  3. Click to select the virtual server.


  4. In the right hand pane, locate the _vti_inf.html file and click to select it.


  5. Right-click _vti_inf.html and click Properties.


  6. Click the File Security tab.


  7. Click Edit for Anonymous Access and Authentication Control.


  8. Uncheck the Allow Anonymous Access check box.


  9. Click OK, and then click OK again to exit out of the _vti_inf.html Properties dialog box.


Note: If you uninstall and reinstall the Server Extensions to the virtual server, you will need to follow the steps again to configure _vti_inf.html without Anonymous Access.


STATUS

This problem occurs when you use the FrontPage 2000 Server Extensions with the Raptor firewall, Gauntlet Internet firewall, and the WinProxy proxy server.


MORE INFORMATION

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

Additional query words: front page

Keywords : fpse2000
Version : winnt:
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbprb


Last Reviewed: November 16, 1999
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