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The WebDav Problem
One day your servers are running great the next day all h--l breaks loose.
Why?
Server operating systems, alone, are a complex environment, coupled with many protocol layers, installed applications and services it can get even worse. Recently, while reviewing the Win2k Event viewer I noticed that our IIS Admin service had terminated unexpectedly 61 times.
6/7/2003 8:43:25 AM
Service Control Manager
Error None 7031
N/A
WWW
The IIS Admin Service service terminated unexpectedly. It has done this 61 time(s). The following corrective action will be taken in 1 milliseconds: Run the configured recovery program.
Also, the World Wide Web Publishing Service (IIS) terminated and was restarted via the services option to restart upon an unexpected termination. This all took place over a period of about a day and a half. Since this was a mission critical production server I did not hesitate to open a support case with Microsoft.
Following is a brief description of what takes place upon opening the MS support request.
- Call Microsoft 800 line. The charge is $245.00 per incident. If the problem is found to be a Microsoft products "bug" the money is refunded. I use this number for developers: (800) 936-5800
- You are then given a case number and put thru to a Microsoft support specialist. And specialists they are. I was really impressed.
- The support specialist offers his name and contact information immediately and prompts you for more information concerning your case.
- Minimizing any confusion on the clients expectations about what is to be resolved the MS support specialist pinpoints the case objective right away. So, if you have multiple problems the MS support specialist will hone in on one specific problem that will be tackled and solved. These guys are good at this and usually, if not always, find the problem immediately.
Following is the initial communication from the Microsoft support tech that handled my case. Very professional and to the point.
Everything is laid out clear and concise to eliminate any potential miscommunication concerning the objective of the case.
| First Microsoft communication |
|
Hi John, I'm writing to follow up on the new case SRX030619600717. Here's a summary of the case so far: ***PROBLEM*** Over the past 24 hours, the IIS Services have terminated unexpectedly repeatedly, in some case 60 times in a row. ***CASE OBJECTIVE*** For the purpose of this case, we will be determining the cause of the IIS Services crashing. If it is found that the crash is due to a Microsoft component, I'll be able to facilitate a direct fix for you. If the problem is due to a 3rd party component or your custom code, I won't be able to directly fix the problem but I should be able to determine root cause. ***NEXT STEPS*** I am currently downloading the 2 crash dump ZIP archives and will begin debugging immediately. I'll contact you with more information as soon as it is available. |
I didn't even have a chance to respond. Within a few hours I received this communication from MS tech support
| Second Microsoft communication |
| Hi John, I just left you a voicemail and wanted to follow up with an email. The source of the problem is a known issue with ntdll.dll. The reason IIS is crashing is because the particular vulnerability is taken advantage of via the WebDAV protocol, which is enabled by default in IIS 5. To resolve the problem, please download and install the hotfix for this issue, available here: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];815021 The article also has detailed information on the problem. Because this is a problem with a Microsoft component, you will not be charged for his case. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. |
I know that this hotfix should have been installed on the server earlier thus preventing this entire fiasco but...
Out of the last 4 support requests I've opened with MS over the last 4 years I paid for one of them. I would not hesitate to open a support case with MS especially with a mission critical business server.
John
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John Cesta is a contract programmer. John's current project is designer and lead developer of the automated hosting software at bestcfhosting.com, a ColdFusion MX hosting company. John is currently working on commercializing his programs and offering them to the IIS community at serverautomationtools.com