Vault Server Install on IIS with Sharepoint or other Service

[lbauer]

Due to inconsistencies in the web.config files, Sharepoint and other IIS Web Applications cannot co-exist on the same IIS server with Vault Server without special configuration.

The problem:
Sharepoint and other Web Applications modify the web.config file web site where it is installed. These changes will propagate down to the Vault Server's web.config file and can sometimes cripple settings required by Vault's web services. One simple solution to this problem is to create a new web site dedicated to Vault, and keep it separate from those other applications.

For those interested in the technical aspects, here's what is happening:

When installed, Sharepoint or other Web Applications change the settings of IIS / ASP.Net by placing a web.config file in web site root which overrides the settings found in ASP.Net. For example, with Sharepoint, the Session module is removed from any web application found under the web site where Sharepoint is installed. However, Vault cannot operate properly without session state to store things like authentication tokens and other users' settings.

The solutions:

--See this link for recommendations from Microsoft on how to run ASP.NET Web Applications on the the same machine as Sharepoint:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/828810


--An alternative solution is to create another web site, with no web.config in the new root. This allows Vault to use the standard ASP.Net configuration.

The steps are as follows:

1) Use the IIS administrative tool to create a second web site, in a directory other than %systemdrive%\inetpub\wwwroot.

2) Next, install Vault. On the Select Feature screen of the Server Installer select the Server component and browse to your new directory. On the WebSites dialog choose to install Vault to the new web site. For more information on installing to the new web site, see the "Updating System - Web Site" section of the Vault Install Guide at http://www.sourcegear.com/vault/support ... ytoinstall

3) For existing installations where Sharepoint or other Web Applications may later be installed, you may need to uninstall the Vault Server (keep your database), create the new website, then reinstall the Vault Server, installing it to the new web site. Make sure the new web site has execute permissions (scripts only) to the home directory.