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Troubleshooting SmartSync Server

Errors While Scanning the File System

Occasionally, SmartSync server can experience issues while scanning the file system that result in errors in the file listings. If this occurs, use the server reset command. The SmartSync Server reset page is available through you browser at http://<serveraddress>/smartsync/reset.sync where <serveraddress> is the address of your SmartSync server.

When you open the server reset page, the page should finish loading and then display a blank white page in the browser. You SmartSync Server in IIS will restart and the file scan will reset and rescan for client files. If you are still experiencing errors after attempting a server reset then contact CaseWare Technical Support for further assistance.

Application Pool Crashes with Error 5011

This error is caused by the use of long file paths where the path and the file name together are greater than 260 characters. SmartSync Server requires that file paths are less than 260 characters. This includes any file managed by the SmartSync Server and includes files in the sync folder, such as the sync log.

SmartSync Server File List not Refreshing

SmartSync Server caches its file listing for the lifetime of the server process. The server tracks any changes to the scanned folders while it is active and integrates changes into the file listing displayed in Working Papers. If the service has stopped or the server is rebooted, it needs to rebuild the index. This is required because changes may have occurred since the last time the server was running and checked the folders.

If the list of files on the SmartSync Server displays unchanged for over 24 hours in Working Papers, regardless of changes, contact CaseWare Support

Published files don't appear on SmartSync Server page

If published files don't display on the File | Open | SmartSync Server page, attempt the process with locally stored files. If the local files display, there may be an issue with the drive storing the published files.

SmartSync Server and SmartSync Version Compatibility

It is recommended that both SmartSync Server and Working Papers with SmartSync always run the same version. The SmartSync Server version must be equal or later than the Working Papers with SmartSync version. However, once a parent file has been accessed by the later Working Papers version, it will no longer operate with previous version.

Duplicate Parent Files on Server

If files are duplicated on the server, ensure the Publish File location in the Configuration Editor is referencing a UNC path and not an absolute path. For information on modifying the publish file location, see Modifying the Parent File and Publish File Location.

Example: \\SERVER01\Share\File Path.

Kerberos Authentication and Network Authentication Issues

Windows Authentication is the recommended setup for SmartSync Server. The following authentication issues can occur when using IIS Windows Integrated Authentication for SmartSync Server:

Kerberos authentication fails or is very slow

In Kerberos authentication, each request to the server gets authenticated. The Authorization header carries all group memberships of the user and can exceed the accepted size. To resolve this issue, complete the procedures below. For more information see the Microsoft articles http://support.microsoft.com/kb/970875 and http://support.microsoft.com/kb/954873.

Adjusting Authorization header size

Adjust the MaxRequestBytes and MaxFieldLength parameters to increase the accepted header size.

  1. Open the Registry Editor on the server where SmartSync Server is installed.
  2. Find HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\HTTP\Parameters
  3. Create the following DWORD values:
    1. aMaxFieldLength
    2. MaxRequestBytes
  4. Enter a value above 16384 to increase the header size.

Session-based Kerberos Authentication

To switch to session based Kerberos authentication:

  1. Open the command prompt on the server where SmartSync Server is installed.
  2. Enter the following commands:
    • cd %SystemRoot%\System32\inetsrv
    • appcmd set config /section:windowsAuthentication /authPersistNonNTLM:true
  3. Restart IIS service for your changes to take effect.

Note: The authPersistNonNTLM property controls the re-authorization requirement of Kerberos authentication. Setting this value to true will prevent Kerberos from authenticating every request to SmartSync Server.

Fallback to NTLM Kerberos (session-based) Authentication

To configure NTLM authentication on IIS as fallback:

  1. Open the Server Manager.
  2. In the right navigation pane click on Roles | Web Server (IIS) | Internet Information Server.
  3. In the Connections pane, click on the SmartSync entry.
  4. Double-click Authentication.
  5. Select Windows Authentication.
  6. On the right pane, click Providers. If Provides is not available edit the file applicationHost.config.
  7. Promote Negotiate above NTLM:
    1. Select NTLM from the list of Enabled Providers.
    2. Click Move Down until NTLM appears above Negotiate in the list.

Editing applicationHost.config

  1. With Administrator credentials, open C:\Windows\System32\inetsrv\config\applicationHost.config with a text editor.
  2. Search for <windowsAuthentication enabled="true" useKernelMode="true" />.

  3. Add the following 4 entries between the bold text:

    <windowsAuthentication enabled="true" useKernelMode="true" />
    <providers>
    <add value="NTLM" />
    </providers>
    </windowsAuthentication>
    </authentication>

  4. Save and close the file.
  5. Restart IIS service for your changes to take effect.

Specifying a mapped network drive or UNC path (for example, \\network\path\) as the location for the top-level parent blocks user access to network resources

Users logged on with IIS Windows Authentication cannot access network resources (UNC) while maintaining the user identity. Example: The current user is authorized for HTTP communication, but file access to the network is done through the default the NetworkService account, under which the SmartSync web application is running.

Resolve this issue by providing an Impersonation fallback to enable switching to NTLM (session based) authentication. To resolve this issue, complete the following procedures:

Fallback to NTLM (session-based) Authentication

To configure NTLM authentication on IIS as fallback:

  1. Open the Server Manager.
  2. In the right navigation pane click on Roles | Web Server (IIS) | Internet Information Server.
  3. In the Connections pane, click on the SmartSync entry.
  4. Double-click Authentication.
  5. Select Windows Authentication.
  6. On the right pane, click Providers. If Provides is not available edit the file applicationHost.config.
  7. Promote NTLM above Negotiate:
    1. Select NTLM from the list of Enabled Providers.
    2. Click Move Up until NTLM appears above Negotiate in the list.

Editing applicationHost.config

  1. With Administrator credentials, open C:\Windows\System32\inetsrv\config\applicationHost.config with a text editor.
  2. Search for <windowsAuthentication enabled="true" useKernelMode="true" />.

  3. Add the following 4 entries between the bold text:

    <windowsAuthentication enabled="true" useKernelMode="true" />
    <providers>
    <add value="NTLM" />
    </providers>
    </windowsAuthentication>
    </authentication>

  4. Save and close the file.
  5. Restart IIS service for your changes to take effect.

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