Web Server Configuration
Mirax Web Server
Configuration
If slides are located on a network share, certain configuration settings in Mirax web server have to be modified, due to the default settings of Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS). After its installation Mirax web server is registered as a web application within IIS, executed with the default security settings, this is usually in the context of the IIS application, using the system’s account. This account is not able to access network resources.
This document covers the steps necessary to configure Mirax web server to access slides that are located on a network share
Note:
If slides are stored on a local drive of the web server, no action is necessary.
Overview:
· Establish a new user on the web server computer
· Assign this user to the Mirax web server IIS-applications
· Assign this user to the Mirax web server SlideHandler service
· Establish a new user on the computer that provides the network share
· Allow access to network share for this new user
Step 1: New User on Web Server Computer
Right click on icon “my Computer” on the Windows desktop. Select “Manage” from the menu that is displayed.
Navigate to branch “Users” like shown in screenshot to the left.Right click on folder “Users” and select “New User” from the context menu.
Specify name and password for the new user.
Select checkboxes #2 and #3.
Click on button “Create”, the dialog will reload in its initial state.
Click on button “Close”.
Note: The sole purpose of this account is to enable the web server applications „to reach out of the box“. It is not recommended that interactive users have access to this account. If there are already domain accounts for that purpose (application accounts), one of them can be used for the following steps.
Step 2: Assign User to IIS Applications
After doing the previous step, navigate in the left folder view of “Computer Management” to the folders for your “Internet Information Server”(Note: It is located in the main folder structure for Services and Applications)
Select the folder named “VI-Server”
Right click on the folder and select menu item “Properties” to access the dialog shown to the left.
Note the setting for application protection at the bottom. With this setting the Mirax web server will be operated with the computer’s System account and cannot access network resources.
Click on button “Remove”
Change the application protection to “Medium (Pooled).
Click on button “Create” (button “Remove” will have the caption “Create” after the application has been removed)
Switch to tab “Directory Security” and click on button “Edit” at the top of that tab.
The dialog shown to the left will be displayed.
Supply user name and password.
Set the checkbox values exactly as shown in the screenshot to the left.
Click on button “OK” to accept your new settings. Close the properties dialog with button “OK” to accept your changes to the web application.
Step 3: Assign User to SlideHandler Service
The Mirax web server applications utilize a service to handle requests for slide i/o. This service is the process that actually accesses the slide files. A service usually runs with system account privileges. As stated before this account cannot access resources on a network share. It is possible to execute a service with a different account that has the access rights. The following steps describe how to do this.
Go to “Services” in Computer Management and find the service “SlideHandler”Right click on the service name and switch to the “Log On” tab of the dialog that is displayed (see image to the left).
Type in user name and password in the fields.
Click on button “OK”
You will receive a confirmation dialog that states the user has been granted the right log on as a service.
Note the change in the column “Log On As”: The SlideHandler service now will be started with the user account you specified.
Step 4: New User for Network Share
It is necessary that the user that is used for the Mirax web server applications and service has full access rights to the network share that hosts the images.
If you created a new user on the web server computer you need to create a new user on the computer that provides the share. Log into the share provider with sufficient rights to add a user and follow the instructions provided in step #1 of this documentation. They apply both to the web server computer as well to the share provider computer.
Note: If you’ve been using an already existing domain user account, this step #4 is not necessary.
Step 5: Allow Access to Network Share
There are no special requirements when allowing access to the slide share. This part of the documentation is complimentary for the novice user.
Use Windows Explorer and navigate to the folder that is shared.Right click on the folder name and select properties from the context menu.
Switch to tab “Sharing”
Make sure the folder is shared (if the folder is not shared, make sure you’re working with the correct folder).
Click on button “Permissions”
Add the User to the list of users that have access to that share.
The user must have “Full Control” permissions, because read and write operations will be done by the user (the processes using that account).
Click on OK.
Finalizing / Testing the Settings
Adjust the file “SharedDir.ini” in the Mirax web server’s VI-Server folder to point to the network share. Do not use drive letters. Always use UNC path names.
Launch Mirax Viewer on a Workstation and right click on a slide in the slide folder tree. Select menu item “Teleconsultation” and follow the instructions to share a slide. If your settings are correct the slide will be shared successfully.
Once a slide has been shared, you can log into the remote web server and load the share from the remote location.
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