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HomeHomeUsing DNN Platf...Using DNN Platf...Administration ...Administration ...How to make a shared folder on another server visible/searchable in DNN?How to make a shared folder on another server visible/searchable in DNN?
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11/16/2013 2:58 PM
 

I have been tearing my hair off to the stage where I am soon bald to get this to work, please help me!

I have set up an internal DNN 7.1.2 site to act as a place to collect knowledge for the IT department. At the heart of this solution are 2 modules: Canam Wiki Pro, that is working as it should, and a search engine from DNN Sharp called Search boost, also working fine.

But I have one big problem, a showstopper. I need Search Boost to be able to index folders on document servers in our internal network. And I just don't get it to work.
I asked the very helpful support of DNN Sharp for some advice. The advice I got was:

" What I think it will work for you is to add the network location as a virtual folder in IIS, and place it under Portals/X folder. I think that would work."

I agree that this should be the solution. But I can't make it visible inside DNN and thus not for Search Boost to index.

This is what I have tried:

  1. I made a folder on another server, like this: \\DOCSERVER\DOCSHARE.
  2. On DNN server and in IIS Manager I located the folder DNNROOT -> PORTALS -> 0.
  3. I choose ADD VIRTUAL DIRECTORY and point to \\DOCSERVER\DOCSHARE and also entered to connect with a user that have access to that folder, I called the virtual directory DOCTEST.
  4. It now shows up in IIS manager as a directory under the PORTALS -> 0 folder. I restart IIS and DNN. But the folder DOCTEST do not show up under SEARCH TARGETS in Boost Search manager. Also, if I in DNN go to ADMIN -> FILE MANAGEMENT, it doesn't list DOCTEST, but all other local folders that I have in PORTALS -> 0.
  5. I try on server DOCSERVER to add full user rights to the shared DOCSHARE to all and everything, also to "IIS AppPool\ASP.NET v4.0" which is the user the DNN site is using. It doesn't do any difference.
  6. Out of curiosity I open up the file explorer on the DNN server, go to D:\DNNSITE\Portals\0 folder and just make a folder called BANANAS. After I restart the IIS server and go into the DNN site. The folder BANANAS do not show up under FILE MANAGEMENT, but when entering the Search Boost manager and the SEARCH TARGET settings I can see and include the folder BANANAS for indexing.
I hope that you can see what I am trying to achieve. I want Search Boost to also index the folder on another server (\\DOCSERVER\DOCSHARE) but how do I make that folder visible inside DNN, so that Search Boost can index it?

Thanks for any ideas or suggestions.


 

 

 
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11/17/2013 12:17 AM
 

Virtual folders do not really exist as part of the underlying file system - they only exist as a construct of the web server.

As such When dnn is looking for files it utilizes the underlying file system - NOT the web server file path.  As such it wont ever be able to see the virtual folder because it does not exist in the underlying file system.

To do what you want in dnn - your best option would be a utilize a UNC type folder provider -  http://www.evotiva.com/Products/DNNGl... - is one of the best around.

This will let you make your UNC file path a full class citizen of the dnn file system - you would be able to read and write to the UNC file path from the DNN file manager - and provided the other modules are properly respecting the DNN folder provider module - they should be able to access the files automatically as well - with not need for anything like virtual directories etc.

And at 50 its a pretty reasonable price as well.

Westa

 
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11/17/2013 2:36 PM
 
Wes Tatters wrote:

To do what you want in dnn - your best option would be a utilize a UNC type folder provider -  http://www.evotiva.com/Products/DNNGl... - is one of the best around.

 

Thanks a lot Wes, that was some great advice!
As you say 50 bucks is not a lot of money, I will check it out. 

 
New Post
11/24/2013 4:21 PM
 
Wes Tatters wrote:

To do what you want in dnn - your best option would be a utilize a UNC type folder provider -  http://www.evotiva.com/Products/DNNGl... - is one of the best around.

Westa

 

I have now purchased the Evotiva DNNGlobalStorage, and it seems to be a great module.

Now I have yet another challenge to overcome:

My DNN site is run with the following IIS user:  "IIS AppPool\ASP.NET v4.0".

So when configuring the UNC access it says of course that  "IIS AppPool\ASP.NET v4.0" must have read/write access to the UNC folder.

That UNC folder is on another server. Both the DNN server and the server with the UNC are in the same domain. But on the server with the folder I want to share, how would I give access to the  "IIS AppPool\ASP.NET v4.0" user, that is local on the DNN server? Can it be done?

And what about two other possibilities:

  1. Could I have the DNN site running on a domain user instead? Or would that possibly break something internally with DNN?
  2. I googled and found something called ASP.NET Impersonation. If I understood that correctly I should have an entry in web.config that looked something like <identity impersonate="true"
              userName="domain\user" 
              password="password" /> . Would that help? Or again would I break something with DNN?
I hope that I can fix this without involving the guys administering the AD. It's easier I think to get an audience with the Pope and ask him to rewrite the bible than getting these guys to change anything for me.
 
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11/24/2013 5:04 PM
 

I would definitely suggest this is something you need to talk to your site admins about - you should never go playing with permissions in any server environment that you dont fully understand.

West

 
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