IIS Site Bindings
Bindings specify under which host name, port number and IP address a web site is available in the network. Several DPE installations can be in use simultaneously, but need different configurations in that case to be accessible. This chapter shows several possible scenarios to configure the DpeWebApplication. It is recommended that the IIS server and clients belong to the same time zone to guarantee date time searches within DPE pages to work properly.
IIS Bindings Overview
Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager under Control Panel → System and Security → Administrative Tools , open the “Sites” in the Connections section.
Select the installation you want to make accessible for the browsers.
Select the DPE site you wish to activate and choose “Edit bindings” in the context menu.
A dialog called “Site Bindings” opens. Click on the “Add” button. If to change an existing entry, click on “Edit”.
Enter the following settings:
| Type | http: (currently there is no alternate setting) |
| IP Address | You can limit the binding to a specific network card, if e.g. Internet and another card is connected to the DMZ. All unassigned means any connection is accepted. |
| Port | The default port for http is 80. |
| Host Name | Normally you leave this field empty. If setting it it will only accept requests that have the specified host name in the URL. |
If you have choosen to install DPE with HTTPS you have to add a https binding (default port 443) and remove the http binding.
We do not support http and https at the same time. Only one may be configured.
After that click OK.
Make sure the instance you want to use is running. This is displayed in the section “Manage Web Site” on the right side of the IIS.
Binding scenarios
You have different possibilities to make the DpeWebapplication available to the clients. Here is a short introduction of four scenarios and their advantages and disadvantages:
USE DPE AS DEFAULT WEBSITE
In IIS Manager under [Computername]\Sites there is an entry called “Default Web Site”. Open the Site Bindings (Right Click-> Edit bindings) move the HTTP settings to your DPE entry and stop or delete the Default Web Site.
This can be done without consulting a domain administrator but should only be done if the Default Web Site is not needed to fulfill other functions.
USE PORTS
Open the Site Bindings (Right Click-> Edit Bindings) of the according DPE Site and define a port number other than 80 for the according web site as described above.
Doing so will make DPE available over another port. This can be done without being a domain administrator.
Example for using port 1024: you can access DPE WebApplications by http://HOSTNAME:1024/DpeWebapplication
DEFINE HOST NAME
For this option you need a defined DNS Entry to be used as hostname to address the DPE Site. This DNS entry has to be created by a domain administrator.
Open the Site Bindings (Right Click-> Edit Bindings) of the according DPE Site and enter the hostname into the according field. As default the active DPE version gets the hostname “dpe.example.com”.
USE .HOSTS
In this scenario you can edit the “hosts” file (generally located in the directory [Windows Directory]\System32\drivers\etc) adding an entry or change an existing one.
This option works similarly to the Host Name scenario (see above), but does not require a domain admin clearance. However this configuration has to be done on every machine you want to run DpeWebapplication on; therefore this procedure is not recommended in a productive system but could be relevant for a test scenario.