KF Web Server Frequently Asked Questions

Common Problems

Questions & Answers

Common Problems

This occurs when you site is using a custom error script.

The problem is caused by a bug in the script. To fix this problem add the following code to the very top of your custom error script:

<?kfl
$statuscode = envvar("HTTP_ERR_STATUSCODE");
if ($statuscode == 304)
{httperror(304);}
?>

Make sure that you do no add any space or new line code before or after the above text.

To download that latest example custom error script file that contains this fix select this link: servererror.zip

This feature is turned off by default as it slows down the system performance.

Go to the "Server -> Logging" menu and select the option "Log Debug Info" and press "OK" and the "Save and Restart" the server.

This option causes more detailed information on the failure to be written to the system log file (system.log, in your logs directory).
Before you look at the system log, attempt to access the problem request again to make sure the information is written to the log file.

After the problem has been resolved turn this feature off again.

It is easy to add new extensions to the list which KF Web Server will serve.

Here is how to do it:

Go into the Administration page by right clicking the KFWS monitor and select administration.

Go to the MIME menu and you will see all the extensions that are configured.

Check to see if the file type is already listed, but does not have the extension you are using.
If this is the case then select the edit button next to the MIME type. Change the "Extensions" field to add your extension and press OK. Then press "Save and Restart".

If none of the MIME types suit your file then you will have to add a new one and add the extension of your file.

The first thing to try is to restart the server using the menu from the KF Web Server Monitor in your system tray. This will clear the lock out and allow you to try again. Make sure both the user name and password are the ones you recorded.

If this does not work then it is likely that the admin user name and password are different from the one you entered.

To solve this you will need to alter KF Web Server's configuration file by hand. Use notepad to edit the file called kfws.conf, which you will find in the directory C:\Program Files\KeyFocus\KFWS\conf.

Search for the string "REALM Admin".

You should see a line like this just below <REALM Admin>

    user admin cGFzc3dvcmQ=

This is the user name and encrypted password of the admin account. Change it to:

    user admin

and save the file. This will set the admin password to blank and enable you to log on. You will need to restart the KF Web Server to make this take effect.

Once you have logged on go to the "Security" menu and then to the "Realms" sub menu.

Next press the "edit" button next to the Admin Realm.

Next press the "edit" button next to the admin user.

You can then enter a new password for the admin account.

Press "OK" and then "Save and Restart".

There are two main types of configuration errors that can stop multiple web sites from working.

The first are security configuration errors. If a web sites Document Root directory does not have the correct security settings then a request will be rejected. This is the first thing to check. Go to the "Security -> Directories" menu and check the settings.

The second thing to check is the configuration of each web site. Read the following questions to find out more on how to configure multiple web sites.

1. How do I set up multiple web sites?
2. How do I set up multiple web sites so a user can access them all?
3. How does the server select the web site a user should see?

Go to the "Server -> Logging" menu and select the option "Log Debug Info" and press "OK" and the "Save and Restart" the server.
This option will not fix the problem, but will make the server write extra information to the system log to help you resolve it.

Before you look at the system log, attempt to access the web sites causing the problem using a browser as you want a user to access your sites.

Go to the logs sub-directory and open the file system.log in Notepad.

Each successful request will look some thing like this:
[2002/06/15 12:11:30.093 6 +0000] Debug Connection {INFO} <Request: port: 9727, Host: 127.0.0.1, Local IP: 127.0.0.1. Matched web site: Admin>
The "port", "Host" and "Local IP" values are those that have been passed by the browser to the server. The "Matched web site" value is the name of the web site that the server selected. This may not be the web site you want and if this is the case then you will need to amend your configuration.

If the server could not find a match then you will have seen a Forbidden error and a entry something like this:
[2002/06/15 12:11:33.978 6 +0000] Debug Connection Error {INFO} <Request: port: 3001, Host: 127.0.0.1, Local IP: 127.0.0.1>
This means the server could not find a web site configuration that matches the values passed into the browser. You will need to change your web site configuration so that a match can be made.

There are many reason why a CGI request could fail, it could be that the CGI Filter is not properly configured or the CGI application itself has failed.

To track down the problem more information is required:

Go to the "Server -> Logging" menu and select the option "Log Debug Info" and press "OK" and the "Save and Restart" the server.

This option causes more detailed information on the failure to be written to the system log file. Before you look at the system log, attempt to access the problem request again to make sure the information is written to the log file.

To enable POST requests do the following:

In Administration go to the "Web sites" menu and edit the web site you are using for your CGI application.

Select the "Security" sub-menu.

In the field "Request Types:" make sure all three options GET,HEAD and POST are selected.
Press OK and "Save and Restart".

The allowable characters are as follows:

• A..Z
• a..z
• 0..9
• space
• _
• -
• .
• Extended ASCII range 128..165

If you cannot alter you file or directory names to conform to this character set then there is an option to turn off this secure checking.
Go to the "Security -> General" menu and select the "Less Secure File Names" option.

When a browser attempts to view such a page it may open a large number of connections to your server and exceed the permitted maximum allowed.

If this occurs then you will need to change the configuration of your web site.

1. In the Admistration screen go to the "Web Sites" menu
2. Press the "Edit Web Site" button of the web site causing the problem.
3. Select the "Security" sub-menu.
4. Increase the value of the "Max Open Connections Per IP" setting. Try 25 or a higher number, depending on the number of images on the page.
5. Press "OK" button
6. Select the "Server" menu.
7. You may also need to increase the "Max Clients" setting to 100 or over.
8. Press the "Save and Resart" button