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Various problems with Norman Patch & Remediation Update Server

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Date published: 2010-12-22      

Product:
Patch and Remediation

Operations System(s):
Windows 2000
Windows 2003 Server

Problem description

Any of the following problems can be an indication that Internet Information Services is not configured properly:

  • All agents appear offline.
  • Access to the Update Server Website is denied.
  • The Update Server Website returns an "Internal Server Error" message.
  • The Update Server Website returns a "Service Unavailable" message.
  • The Update Server Website appears garbled and missing images.
  • "Detection results not found" appears in the Platform column of the Computers page.

Communication issues between the Update Server and the IIS Web server typically arise if the default settings in IIS have been altered by the administrators or if configuration settings are modified as the result of security policies instituted on the server or across the network.

Problem solution

A) Make certain ASP.NET 1.1 is selected instead of ASP.NET 2.0 or higher:

  1. On the IIS server, go to Start > Programs > Administrative Tools > Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager (in Windows 2000 Server, IIS is called Internet Services Manager).
  2. Expand Web Sites (Windows 2003) or the Server name (Windows 2000) then right-click and choose Properties on PatchLink Update Server.
  3. Visit the ASP.NET tab and make certain ASP.NET 1.1 is chosen instead of ASP.NET 2.0 or higher. Some portions of the PatchLink Update Server 6.4 SP2 website require ASP.NET 2.0, See the directory settings below.

B) Verify the Web Server Extensions are configured properly:

  1. On the IIS server, go to Start > Programs > Administrative Tools > Internet Information Services(IIS) Manager.
  2. Highlight Web Server Extensions.
  3. The following items need to be enabled:
          Active Server Pages
          ASP.NET v1.1.4322
          ASP.NET v2.0.50727
          PatchLink Update Server

C) Verify the account membership of the PLUS ADMINS group:

  1. Within Computer Management, drill into Local Users and Groups and then select Groups.
  2. Within the properties of the PLUS ADMINS group, verify the following accounts exist:
          Administrator
          ASPNET
          IWAM_" SERVERNAME"
          NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE
          PatchLink
          PLUS ANONYMOUS
          PLUS_AGENT

D) Verify the permissions and directory settings for the web site:

  1. On the IIS server, go to Start > Programs > Administrative Tools > Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager (in Windows 2000 Server, IIS is called Internet Services Manager).
  2. Expand Web Sites (Windows 2003) or the Server name (Windows 2000) then expandPatchLink Update Server.
  3. Use the following chart to ensure that the PatchLink Update Server directories are appropriately configured. Pay special attention to the virtual directories.

To view and modify directory settings, right-click on the directory name > select Properties> switch to the Directory Security tab > click Edit in the Authentication and access control section.

Directory settings:

Directory Name Virtual Dir Application Name Application Pool Execute Permissions Basic Auth Anonymous Access ASP .NET version
Root (PatchLink Update Server) - PatchLink Update Server DefaultAppPool Scripts Only Yes No 1.1
AgentCenter Yes AgentCenter PatchLink Update Server Services Scripts Only Yes Yes 2.0
Configuration-Management Yes Default Application Configuration-Management Scripts Only Yes No 2.0
DAgent Yes DAgent PatchLink Update Server ISAPI Scripts Only No Yes 1.1
Gravitix Yes Gravitix PatchLink Update Server Storage Scripts Only Yes Yes 1.1
SCM No - - Scripts Only Yes No -
Update Yes Update PatchLink Update Server ISAPI Scripts and Executables Yes No 1.1
UpdateStorage Yes GravitixStorage PatchLink Update Server Storage Scripts Only No Yes 1.1
Admin No - - Scripts Only Yes No -
aspnet_client No - - None Yes No -
bin No - - Scripts Only Yes No -
Components No - - Scripts Only Yes No -
Computers No - - Scripts Only Yes No -
Deploy No - - Scripts Only Yes No -
Deployments No - - Scripts Only Yes No -
Download No - - Scripts Only Yes No -
ErrorMessages No - - Scripts Only Yes Yes -
Graphing No - - Scripts Only Yes No -
Groups No - - Scripts Only Yes No -
Help No - - Scripts Only Yes No -
images No - - Scripts Only No Yes -
includes No - - Scripts Only Yes No -
Inventory No - - Scripts Only Yes No -
Packages No - - Scripts Only Yes No -
Reports No - - Scripts Only Yes No -
ScmArchives No - - Scripts Only Yes No -
Shared No - - Scripts Only Yes No -
StyleSheets No - - Scripts Only No Yes -
Support No - - Scripts Only Yes No -
Users No - - Scripts Only Yes No -
Vulnerability No - - Scripts Only Yes No -
Web.UI.SCM No - - Scripts Only Yes No -
Welcome No - - Scripts Only Yes No -

 

  1. Reset the IIS server using one of the following options:
    • Open a command prompt and type iisreset.
    • In the Windows Start menu, click Run, type iisreset in the Open field and click OK.
  2. In IIS Manager, check one of the directories you made changes to and verify that the changes have been saved.