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  1. #1
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    Problem with proprietary web publishing software

    I'm not sure if this is the best place to ask this, so if it's not, mods, please move!

    I have a client who does basic web-design but doesn't know html/css and relies heavily (or should I say exclusively) on publishing programs like FrontPage.

    Anyway, she uses this proprietary publishing software that is not available to the public, hence there is no place where I can research the API that this software uses to connect to web servers to publish. There's no website I can access, no person I can contact, etc. It's all secret and hush-hush.

    Anyway, I moved my server to WebNX a few months ago and installed LiteSpeed Web Server. Ever since, the client has been unable to publish using this software.

    The client is the go-between between me and the company that provides this publishing software and they told her that it used simple ftp to publish and that my firewall was blocking their IP addresses. I went ahead and checked the logs and found nothing of the sort either in the ftp or the firewall logs, but to make them happy, I whitelisted the IPs to see if that made a difference. It didn't. I even turned off the firewall temporarily to see if it was the firewall and they still couldn't publish.

    I sent my client the server specs including all modules I have installed on the servers to see if there is something that we needed to add to make this work with this program. As I can't research it myself, I was at the mercy of my client and the software company.

    They said there was no issue with how I had my server set up as it used simple ftp to communicate. (By the way, no one, including myself, has had any issues with ftp on this server.)

    So, anyway, as they were working on the issue, the software company moved the publishing system of my client to a different server temporarily and the sites published fine without a hitch, but on the server my client is supposed to be on (theirs for their publishing program, not mine, which has not changed), it won't publish. Why they can't just move her to the other server permanently is beyond me.

    Anyway, I'm NO programmer, but logic tells me that if my server is the same and one of their servers can publish to mine but another cannot, it's an issue with the other server. Something on that server is preventing it from communicating with mine OR something on their server PAIRED with something on my server is preventing it, but since the variable is their server, the easiest fix would be to find out the difference between their new server and the old one to fix this.

    Am I thinking in the right place? Does that make sense?

    The software owner is telling my client that since they have 1000s of clients and SHE is the only one having this issue, it MUST be my server, but my thinking is that if one of their servers can connect to mine and another cannot, it must be the difference between the two servers (module-wise, software-version-wise, etc), that must be the culprit.

    Am I entirely wrong?

    Signed Frustrated Scott
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  2. #2
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    You could log the packets coming from the server IP address as she tries to publish and then you ought to be able to see exactly why it isn't able to upload through FTP.

    Perhaps there's an easier way to fix it, but that's what I'd do anyway. You'd be able to see exactly what commands were being sent to your FTP daemon and where it was going wrong.

  3. #3
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    I suggest to ask the software owner to run some FTP tests on the client's publishing server, preferably with a simple ftp program (eg. the ftp utility in windows/linux). This should pinpoint whether the problem is connectivity or software related.

  4. #4
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    Thanks for the tips. I'll try both!
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  5. #5
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    I would question them on why it is your fault if:

    1) Nobody else is having FTP issues?
    2) One of their servers can connect without problem, while the older one cannot.

    It is clearly an issue on their end OR a combination of things with your servers AND their old one.
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  6. #6
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    That's exactly what I was thinking, but I he says since this client is the ONLY one to have issues of his 1000s, that it must be me, but logic dictates otherwise.

    And I can confirm that there are no FTP issues as it's the same server our main site is hosted on and it's our largest server. I originally thought it had to do with LS, but since one of their servers can connect, that's not the case.
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  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by powerMonster-Scott View Post
    That's exactly what I was thinking, but I he says since this client is the ONLY one to have issues of his 1000s, that it must be me, but logic dictates otherwise.

    And I can confirm that there are no FTP issues as it's the same server our main site is hosted on and it's our largest server. I originally thought it had to do with LS, but since one of their servers can connect, that's not the case.
    You are using logic when dealing with the makers of non-publically available web publishing software? You shouldn't be at that lol.

    In all seriousness, I would bet money on it being a bug in their software. Software with such a small userbase has probably not being tested much. If we can learn anything from Microsoft, it's that not all software is created equal.
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  8. #8
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    My bad for thinking logically!
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  9. #9
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    Okay, here's an update. This client of mine had to go and purchase a whole new reseller hosting account from another company and moved their client's site to this new provider and got everything all set up and guess what?

    It wouldn't publish! LOL Now the owner of this proprietary system has stopped blaming me and my hosting company and has admitted that there must be something wrong on his end, but doesn't know what it is.

    I'm just sorry my client had to go through all this trouble and expense of getting another reseller account only to find out that it wasn't me and my servers, but the publishing company from the beginning.
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  10. #10
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    Interesting Scott. Keep us posted as to developments as it will be instructive to find out how this pans out. Hopefully, with you on top!

  11. #11
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    Thanks! I find it interesting that when it was just me (a small host) it was all my fault. Now that my client went to a much bigger host, it's now the software developer's fault. If he would have done some simple diagnostics and troubleshooting steps, he may have figured this out sooner instead of passing the blame. I can't tell you how many hours both me and my client have spent on this darned piece of software. And sometimes, as we all come to find out, arrogance just gets in the way of problem solving.
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  12. #12
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    Welcome to the software industry. Everyone passes the buck it seems. A company that has a piece of software used by 1000's yet is not publicly available? That alone sounds like BS to me.

    Help her transition to Dreamweaver. Adobe may suck, but at least Dreamweaver works
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  13. #13
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    Unfortunately, Dreamweaver is too big of a jump for my client. She still works in FrontPage and doesn't fully understand the underpinnings of web design. She only uses wysiwyg programs and is very picky even with that. She's going to stick to FP and this publishing suite no matter what.
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  14. #14
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    DW is WYSIWYG Why does she simply not just use the Publish feature in FrontPage? It at least works.
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  15. #15
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    Since the program relies on ftp - is it maybe the passive/active mode?

    We have a cpanel vps - for years, we connect using filezilla's default mode (passive). A month ago, I could not connect to any site... I changed it to active and it connects...

    Maybe something similar?
    Or a wrong config in the software settings? Or cached problem? Maybe she is using the old IP?
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  16. #16
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    Is it FrontPage that isnt' publishing or another piece of software? Reading through the thread, it was hard to diagnose where the problem was exactly.

    I'd say that this 'publishing system' used something akin to DAV or FrontPage extensions, and the move from Apache to LSWS removed this functionality (ie. mod_dav).
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