Here's something you might not know: the Windows explorer is a different WebDAV client (i.e. implementation) than the Word WebDAV client. During development we came across several cases where the client software behaved differently. For example: if you go to Network Places (XP) and choose 'Add Network Resource' and type in 'http://myserver/dmxdav.axd/' you'll get a Windows Explorer window with a regular folder icon and '\\myserver\dmxdav.axd'. Needless to say this doesn't lead anywhere. We need to connect through WebDAV. Try again with 'http://myserver/dmxdav.axd/Folder 1', where Folder 1 is a folder under your root. OK, now it should show you a Windows Explorer with a web folder icon (regular folder with little blue world in it) and 'http://myserver/dmxdav.axd/Folder%201' in the title. Notice a couple of things: (1) you're in webDAV because the protocol is http, (2) you've landed in 'Folder 1', and (3) Windows translated 'Folder 1' into 'Folder%201' for you (=mime encoded).

So how can I get to the root using 'Add Network resource'? Well, try the following. Add a network resource and fill in 'http://myserver/dmxdav.axd/foo' where 'foo' does not exist! Guess what: you're in the root using proper WebDAV. Somehow the request for 'http://myserver/dmxdav.axd' fails. Now do the following (remember to delete the added network resources from My Network Places just to restart the process every time). Open Word and select File > Open. In the textbox fill in 'http://myserver/dmxdav.axd/' and click 'Open'. Voila, you're in. Now check the Windows Explorer under My Network Places. It's there: a proper link to the root of your DMX. This example illustrates Word using a different client in accessing WebDAV. Keep this in mind when testing. Make sure you run several tests using different clients (Windows and Office) to seek out any errors.

Finally a note about authentication. When you're using these clients and you have not yet logged in you might be challenged for authentication. What you fill in are your regular DNN account details. If not challenged then there is public access. The root is also visible this way. It will not show you anything you have no access to. Try the following: without having started your browser and having logged into DNN, set up a webDAV connection with either the windows or office client. Try to connect to the root. You will see anything that is publically visible. Now open IE and log into your DNN. Hit refresh on your client. Now you should see the content that was meant for you.

It appears that there may be more than just pecularities with this implementation of WebDAV.

I have been testing WebDAV in DMX4 Pro now for about 2 weeks. In particular, I am attempting to use the DMX4 repository as a mirror to a path on my hard drive.

To accomplish this I have tested the following products which work successfully with the Windows implementation of WebDAV:

- SynchronEX
- BitKinex
- WebDrive
- SuperFlexible File Synchronizer

(Since Windows is inherantly a single version file system I set the versioning parameter in DMX4 to 1 copy for testing to avoid confusing synchronization.)

When I use these products with the DMX4 implementation of WebDAV I am experiencing many errors:

- Files get created in the repository but the file name in DMX4 is blank. Random occurances.
- File dates do not act as expected so synchronization repeats.
- Permissions are inconsistent and some files cannot be deleted. Random occurances.
- Browsing, copying, deleting are very inconsistent. I have had so many different results from executing the same operation that it is difficult to identify a pattern to the errors.

Another problem, which may be more of a storage issue, is that after running reindexing previously deleted files are reinstated as invalid entries. I believe that this is primarily  for files which were uploaded with WebDAV and then deleted (whether they were deleted by WebDAV or through the DMX4 web interface).

Many of the above problems have also occurred when uploading/deleting files through the Windows Explorer drag and drop method as well. I may be experiencing more of this than most folks because I am working with large sets to stress test the system. My minimum upload set is 45MB, 7 folders, 62 files. The largest set I have tested is 11.8GB, 2,482 folders, 19,753 files. When we finally implement we will have over 35GB of data with potentially many more folders and files.

On the whole, this different version of WebDAV is so inconsistent that I fear implementing it right now.

Our primary impetus to implement DMX4 instead of DMX3 is to gain the advantages of WebDAV for creating a mirror and allowing administrators to upload/delete large numbers of files quickly.

Is it possible to either switch to the Windows standard WebDAV implementation within DMX4? If not, can I get access to the parameters and controls used on the host server so I can adjust timings and settings which may help stabilize this implementation?

I have found one of the causes for problems with WebDAV and DMX4.

The file sets I have uploaded include several files with an apostrophe (') included in the filename. (This IS a valid character for Windows filenames.)

When DMX4 WebDAV receives the file it stores the file with a blank filename plus the original filename extension. So for example, the file:

   my'fil.fil

copies to DMX4 as:

   .fil

Furthermore, if more than one file in a directory contains an apostrophe then multiple files are created with a blank filename. If more than one file has an apostrophe in the filename and the files have the same extension, DMX stores multiple copies of the same file name. So, uploading the following files:

   my'fil1.fil
   my'fil2.fil

results in the following files being stored:

   .fil
   .fil

Since there are now two files in the directory with exactly the same name, it is a duplicate filename the directory is basically corrupt.

 

Hi Lance,

I'll look at the name parsing. What you missed is that 'DMX 4 WebDAV' as you call it is a 'server', so not subject to a 'Windows' version or not. MS is not very open about their software as we all know, so the only way to go about it is to implement something which conforms to the 'industry standard' (WebDAV is a W3C standard) and weed out inconsistencies coming from the various clients. We cannot 'switch to the Windows standard WebDAV implementation within DMX4' as you suggest. It is nonsensical. You've just stumbled on an inconsistency and it is immensely helpful that you've managed to narrow it down to a specific pattern. That helps us in finding the cause. As always we keep on refining the product.

Kind regards,
Peter Donker

Lance/Peter:

Thanx. This thread is proving to be quite insightful.

Laverne

Hi Peter,

I have been testing for special characters when uploading files. I have tested all of the special characters on a standard keyboard (not extended ASCII characters).

I uploaded filenames with special characters in both WebDAV and through the DMX web interface. In addition to the single quote (') problem I found two more characters which cause a problem: the percent sign (%) and the ampersand (&).

When I upload a filename with a percent sign using the DMX web interface there are no problems. But, when I copy the file containing the percent file using WebDAV by dragging and dropping to Windows Explorer I get the following error:

     "an error occurred copying some files."

Likewise, when I upload a filename with an ampersand with WebDAV I get the same error;

Additionally, when I upload that same file containing the ampersand using the DMX web interface, I get the following error:

A critical error has occurred. Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

I hope this helps.

Lance

Thanks Lance. There's a potential this leads to errors in the mime-encoding. I'll try and get some time to debug this.
Peter

Peter:

WebDAV, Vista and Office 2007 do not seem to work together. Open in Word, Vista seems to think the file is a zip and tries to decompress it.

Open in Internet Explorer will not link to the appropriate folders in DMX.

Are we in uncharted territory or is there a work around for WebDAV?

Thanx

Laverne

Lance,

About the special characters this is how far I've got. The ' and [ I've managed to track and solve. However, the % and & elude me for now. The WebDAV server is not even being hit when you try to push a file with that in the name. It's like IIS stops the request before it gets to my code. I'm not aware of any solutions to this. Just as a sanity check, I decided to try it with Sharepoint. Guess what, it also chokes on the % and &. Maybe our server is not that bad at all ;-)

Peter