Question

Why am I getting an 500 Internal Server Error when connecting externally to SBS 2003 default websites (https)?

Asked by: KioskGeek

Hi everybody,

This morning I could no longer access the default websites of our SBS 2003 server from outside our LAN. This has always worked well before. IIS is running, and I can connect to the websites (/remote, /exchange (owa), ...) just fine from within our LAN.

The error I'm getting reads as follows:
500 Internal Server Error

An error occurred while trying to rate the website using the webfiltering service.

I have tried running the Internet & E-mail wizard, and set it to regenerate a certificate. This didn't change a thing. Why am I getting this message all of a sudden (no settings have been changed..), and how do I get rid of it? I've read elsewhere that this might well have to do with the fact that we did not purchase a SSL certificate for our server. What I don't get is why how this worked perfectly for over one year. Also, could there be another reason to this?

Thanks!

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2009-08-11 at 14:34:01ID24644745
Tags

https

,

windows server

,

small business server 2003

,

outlook 2003

,

certificate

,

IIS

,

SBS 2003

Topics

Microsoft IIS Web Server

,

SBS Small Business Server

,

Exchange Email Server

Participating Experts
1
Points
500
Comments
6

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. sbs 2003 with ISA 2004. Installed new SSL certific…
    Hi, I have a SBS 2003 setup with ISA 2004, OWA worked when i used the certificate it generates when using the internet connection wizard. When i changed the SSL certifcate to one i brought the OWA stopped working. I changed it in IIS by changing the SSL on the default web si...
  2. Help with OWA SSL Certificate in Server 2008 SBS
    Hi, I've recently set up my first 2008 SBS server managing files and emails for a local company. I'm using a domain I've purchased to access OWA on the server and created the certificate request using the domain remote.example.com I may have made a mistake at this stage bu...
  3. second ssl certificate on isa 2006 and sbs
    Hi, I am running sbs 2003 iis 6 behind a ISA 2006 server and I am now trying to publish a second site through the ISA with a ssl certificate. I have OWA initially setup and working fine through the ISA with a self signed cert but when I try and add the new additional domain ...
  4. SSL Certificate SBS 2008 IIS 7
    Hi all, We are trying to enable remote access to our exchange server so we can access the emails via OWA. Now we have mail.<domain>.co.k pointing to the SBS 2008 server. I have been to www.testexchangeconnectivity.com and run the test and get te following error; ExRC...
  5. Windows 2008 SBS - SSL Certificate Type
    I am trying to purchase and install a Trusted Certificate for a Windows 2008 SBS standard server. It was setup using all of the wizards and to this point, everything is working perfectly, except users of OWA are getting warnings about the certificate. Also one mobile device i...

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: Sci-Fi-SiPosted on 2009-08-11 at 14:45:18ID: 25073805

I doub't it your cert, mine ran out in Feb and my site still runs fine (it was only for a secure login to the backend)

500 Internal Server Error, generally means a server is not running or is inaccessible. You might get this if you're running PHP, .NET or ColdFusion or some server based scripting language.

When you say you're using a webfiltering service do you know which ports are being filtered?

 

by: KioskGeekPosted on 2009-08-12 at 00:29:23ID: 25076372

Hi Sci-FI Si,

Thanks for your reply. What I don't understand is that SBS's default websites (OWA etc) are available from inside the LAN.

This error:
500 Internal Server Error

An error occurred while trying to rate the website using the webfiltering service.

Is generated by IE when I try to access the server from e.g. my home office (https://server/exchange)

I'm not using a webfiltering service and all ports are configured correctly on our SOHO. Please see below:

MSSQL wan1/0.0.0.0 1433/tcp 192.168.40.3 1433/tcp    
RDP SBS wan1/0.0.0.0 3389/tcp 192.168.40.3 3389/tcp    
SBS HTTP wan1/0.0.0.0 80/tcp 192.168.40.3 80/tcp    
SBS HTTPS wan1/0.0.0.0 443/tcp 192.168.40.3 443/tcp    
SBS IMAP 4 SSL wan1/0.0.0.0 993/tcp 192.168.40.3 993/tcp    
SBS IMAP4 PORT 143 wan1/0.0.0.0 143/tcp 192.168.40.3 143/tcp    
SBS vpn 3 wan1/0.0.0.0 500/tcp 192.168.40.3 500/tcp    
SMTP wan1/0.0.0.0 25/tcp 192.168.40.3 25/tcp    
sbs Remote Web Workplace wan1/0.0.0.0 4125/tcp 192.168.40.3 4125/tcp    
sbs ftp wan1/0.0.0.0 21/tcp 192.168.40.3 21/tcp    
sbs vpn 1 wan1/0.0.0.0 1723/tcp 192.168.40.3 1723/tcp    
sbs vpn 2 wan1/0.0.0.0 1701/tcp 192.168.40.3 1701/tcp    
sbs vpn 4 wan1/0.0.0.0 4500/tcp 192.168.40.3 4500/tcp    

 

by: Sci-Fi-SiPosted on 2009-08-12 at 04:48:20ID: 25077672

Hi KioskGeek,

It looks as though the port mapping is ok, though I don't get the 0.0.0.0 but that's just me. As long as your external Internet IP address is being mapped to your internal Exchange server's IP you should be fine.

I take it that your Exchange server is also your web server runnning IIS?

As far as a 'default' website goes in IIS that's just any site where the host headder is blank, otherwise you would put the DNS name in there that you want IIS to respond to ie.

www.mydomainname.com
mydomainname.com

It's generally a good idea to specify the network card you want IIS to listen for connections with - in your case 192.168.40.3

I take it your router is also in the same subnet as your Exchange server ie 192.168.40.x

http://95.214.24.200/exchage

I would suggest trying to get a connection to your server first through http, then when that's working ok move to https

 

by: KioskGeekPosted on 2009-08-12 at 06:28:05ID: 25078475

Hi Sci-Fi-Si,

Wan1/0.0.0.0 basically points to the static route of all communication coming from the Wan1 port on our SOHO.

SBS 2003 has IIS enabled as you can define this in the Configure E-mail and Internet connection Wizard... iit runs the Exchange OWA, reporting, remote workplace, ... sites.

We have the following enabled:
- Outlook Web Access
- Remote Web Workplace
- Outlook Mobile Access
- Outlook via the Internet

Additionally, I'd like to add that the "Connect to SBS"-VPN works just fine.

In the IIS manager, access is granted to our Soho device (192.168.40.3).

Please note that the way this is all configured has actually worked for more than over a year! No settings have been changed in the meantime...

Other sources are telling me this has to do with an invalid SSL certificate... Do you think I will need to purchase a certified one in order to get this fixed?

 

by: Sci-Fi-SiPosted on 2009-08-12 at 08:09:41ID: 25079521

You can self certify without any problem. The only time to pay for a cert is because if the alert box appears saying "Acme Co. is not a trusted... do you wish to continue" So if it's just members of your company it shouldn't matter.

There are also a number of FREE SSL generating websites.The Mozilla, FF and Safari browsers have some of the free SSL websites the root authority built into them as CA's so there's no need to pay for one (after it's only a prime number). IE however does not recognise free SSL websites as authorities.

I got a 500 error berofe I had setup my ColdFusion server with an SSL. An easy way to check this is to have a default website on your server which you can visit externally through HTTP instead of HTTPS.

All the best

Sci-Fi Si

 

by: KioskGeekPosted on 2009-08-12 at 10:15:26ID: 25080713

Sci-Fi Si,

Your comments made sense, but I figured out what exactly went wrong myself in the meantime...

The license for our Fortigate 50 B (our Soho) has experide yesterday, which resulted in the web filtering service not working properly. Simply disabling this service on the Fortigate backend immediately resulted in Mobile outlook and OWA becoming available again.

Thanks you for all your help! All the best,

Johan

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...