So I have this Asp.NET application that needs to run on the WEBSERVER but see files in a directory on FILESERVER out on the net. (The files are, inevitably, Foxpro tables being accessed through OleDb.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First cut, the OleDbConnection fails to open the data (\\\\FILESERVER\\Sharename\\datafolder) with an “invalid path or file name” error. That’s because the ASP.NET application is running under the WEBSERVER\/aspnet user context which does not have permission to see the network share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“No problem,” we say. “Let’s just use the web.config file to tell Asp.NET to run under a context that does<\/strong> have permission to see the share:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This works – except<\/strong> that every time we uploaded a new version of the .aspx files to the webserver, it threw an exception: “Cannot execute a program. The command being executed was [..]\\v1.1.4322\\csc.exe \/noconfig …”. Basically it didn’t appear to have rights to run the compiler to do that special ASP.NET on-the-fly compilation of the classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Investigation seemed to indicate that it should have the appropriate access rights, but all the same, we couldn’t make it work without commenting out the <identity> specification; re-starting the IIS process; then putting it back after the successful compilation so that the network share was visible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second cut was to omit the <identity> override, but to bracket the OleDb call with special in-line user impersonation code using Win32 LogonUser() calls. Well that didn’t work (and when I find out why, perhaps I’ll post about it).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<system.web>\n :\n <identity impersonate=\"true\"\n userName=\"NETDOMAIN\\net_user\"\n password=\"secret\"\/>\n :\n<\/system.web>\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n