Configuring IIS for Web UI

Set up Microsoft Windows IIS (Internet Information Services) to host Web UI.

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The Connect Server Web UI (Web UI) is a web-based file server that enables the file access through a browser, and transfer files using the Aspera Connect browser plugin. Additionally, you can set up the HTTP Fallback to establish HTTP- or HTTPS-based file transfers with clients that don't have the fasp connectivity. On Windows, Web UI is built upon Internet Information Service (IIS).

Connect Server on Windows uses IIS authentication. If user names use the extended character set, both the client and server machine must be set to use the same codepage, and the client must use IE 7 or later (other browsers don't support users names using extended characters). For more information, refer to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938418.

Follow these steps to set up IIS for Web UI:

  1. Set up the Internet Information Service (IIS) for Web UI

    The IIS for Web UI should have the following items configured:

    • Supports Active Server Pages (ASP)
    • Supports Basic Authentication
    • On Windows Server 2008, you should have the ASP, ASP.NET, and the Basic Authentication services installed.

    Follow the instructions for the version of your Windows to enable the IIS's ASP and the Basic Authentication support:

    OS Instructions
    XP, 2003 Go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Internet Information Service (Manager). In the left panel, navigate into the "Server's name" > Web Sites > (web site name) > aspera > user, right-click it and select Properties.
    Bring up Web UI's properties.
    In the Properties window, select the Directory Security tab and click the Edit under the Anonymous access and authentication control (or Authentication and access control on Windows 2003). In the Authentication Methods window, check only the option Basic authentication (password is sent in clear text).
    Enable the Basic authentication.
    On Windows XP x64 and 2003, ASP web service extension should be allowed. Go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Internet Information Service (Manager). Select the Web Service Extensions > Active Server Pages and click Allow.
    Enable the ASP support.
    Vista, 2008, 7 Go to Start menu > Administrative Tools > Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager. In the left panel, navigate into the (Server name) > Sites > (web site name) > aspera. In the right panel, double-click the Authentication under the IIS section.
    Click the Authentication.
    In the Authentication window, do the following settings:
    • Disable the Anonymous Authentication.
    • Disable the ASP.net Impersonation.
    • Enable the Basic Authentication.
  2. Add IIS 6 compatibility, ASP.NET and Basic Authentication role services (IIS 7-only)

    If your computer is running IIS 7 or higher, II6 compatibility components, ASP.NET and Basic Authentication role services should be added. Go to the Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Server Manager. Navigate into Server Manager > Roles > Web Server (IIS) and click Add Role Services.

    Click Add Role Services.

    In the Add Role Services, check the following options:

    • IIS 6 Management Compatibility
    • ASP.NET
    • Basic Authentication

    All sub-options in these items should be included, as illustrated in this graph:

    Check the IIS 6 Management Compatibility to install.

    With all role services checked, click Next and follow the instructions to install it.

  3. Enable SSL certificate (Optional)

    If you wish to set up SSL certificate for Web UI, download and execute the IIS 6.0 Resource Kit Tools: Microsoft Download Center: Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 Resource Kit Tools.

    When installed, go to Start menu > All Programs > IIS Resources > SelfSSL and launch SelfSSL. In the SelfSSL's Command Prompt, execute the following command, enter y when prompted:

    > selfssl
  4. Restart IIS

    When you have finished updating IIS's configuration, go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Internet Information Service (Manager). In the left panel, select the "Server's name" > Web Sites > (web site name), start or restart it to apply the new settings.

To access Web UI, on a client machine, go to the following address with a browser:

Scope URL
HTTP http://<server-ip-or-name>/aspera/user
HTTPS https://<server-ip-or-name>/aspera/user

When adding files to Web UI, avoid using the following characters in the file names: / \ " : ' ? > < & * |