Question

I have two identical servers. Both Win2k3. I have a web service that queues emails and an application that consumes that service. Both are hosted on both machines using identical folder structures, permissions, and IIS settings. One is called “test” and the other “prod”.

Ideally, the app on prod will point to the ws on prod. However, when that is the case, I get the following error page:

Server Error in ‘/Apps/UTMv1’
Application.

The request failed with HTTP status
401: Unauthorized. Description: An
unhandled exception occurred during
the execution of the current web
request. Please review the stack trace
for more information about the error
and where it originated in the code.

Exception Details:
System.Net.WebException: The request
failed with HTTP status 401:
Unauthorized.

Source Error:

An unhandled exception was generated
during the execution of the current
web request. Information regarding the
origin and location of the exception
can be identified using the exception
stack trace below.

Stack Trace:

[WebException: The request failed with
HTTP status 401: Unauthorized.]
System.Web.Services.Protocols.SoapHttpClientProtocol.ReadResponse(SoapClientMessage
message, WebResponse response, Stream
responseStream, Boolean asyncCall)
+431201 System.Web.Services.Protocols.SoapHttpClientProtocol.Invoke(String
methodName, Object[] parameters) +204
utm.AppManagerEmailer.Emailer.AddToQueue(String
txtFrom, String txtTo, String
txtSubject, String txtBody, Int32
intAppId, Boolean blnIsBodyHtml) in
C:\Documents and
Settings\username\Desktop\Projects\utm\utm\Web
References\AppManagerEmailer\Reference.cs:93
utm.test.Page_Load(Object sender,
EventArgs e) in C:\Documents and
Settings\username\Desktop\Projects\utm\utm\test.aspx.cs:23
System.Web.Util.CalliHelper.EventArgFunctionCaller(IntPtr
fp, Object o, Object t, EventArgs e)
+14 System.Web.Util.CalliEventHandlerDelegateProxy.Callback(Object
sender, EventArgs e) +35
System.Web.UI.Control.OnLoad(EventArgs
e) +99
System.Web.UI.Control.LoadRecursive()
+50 System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain(Boolean
includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean
includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint) +627

Version Information: Microsoft .NET
Framework Version:2.0.50727.3053;
ASP.NET Version:2.0.50727.3053

If the app on prod points to the ws on test, it works. Also, if the app on test points to the ws on prod, it works.

For fun, I tried using the ws on prod in another app. It behaved the same as the original app.

Also, I have other web services running on prod that work properly. This is the only one that seems to be causing problems.

Here’s the code I use in the app to new-up the emailer and queue an email:

Emailer e = new Emailer();
e.Credentials = System.Net.CredentialCache.DefaultCredentials;
int intEmailId = e.AddToQueue(fromEmail, toEmail, subject, body, 103, true);

Here’s the code for my web service:

using System;
using System.Collections;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.Services;
using System.Web.Services.Protocols;
using System.Xml.Linq;
using System.Net.Mail;
using System.Collections.Generic;

namespace AppManager.WebServices
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Summary description for emailer
    /// </summary>
    [WebService(Namespace = "http://www.mydomain.com/apps/appManager/")]
    [WebServiceBinding(ConformsTo = WsiProfiles.BasicProfile1_1)]
    [ToolboxItem(false)]
    // To allow this Web Service to be called from script, using ASP.NET AJAX, uncomment the following line. 
    // [System.Web.Script.Services.ScriptService]
    public class Emailer : System.Web.Services.WebService
    {
        [WebMethod]
        public int AddToQueue(string txtFrom, string txtTo, string txtSubject, string txtBody, int intAppId, bool blnIsBodyHtml)
        {
            Email e = new Email()
            {
                From = new MailAddress(txtFrom),
                Subject = txtSubject,
                Body = txtBody,
                IsBodyHtml = blnIsBodyHtml,
                AppId = intAppId
            };
            e.To.Add(txtTo);
            e.AddToQueue();

            return e.Id;
        }

    }
}

So, what do you think could be the problem?

Answer 1

It really sounds like a configuration difference between the two servers.

That said, you may want to check out this KB http://support.microsoft.com/kb/896861

Microsoft added some loopback protection code that could result in a 401.1 error if FQDN’s don’t match exactly.

Check your system Event Viewer to see if there are any more details.