Browsing to a site running on port 8080

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Posted by ig77, 02-01-2010, 12:21 AM
I have a Win 2008 Server VPS with IIS 7 I created a new site (alongside with the Default site that runs on port 80). The new site was given a port 8080. From my local dev machine, if i browse to the site using: http://66.71.xxx.xxx:8080/ I get a not found error. If I go to: http://66.71.xxx.xxx then I see the IIS 7.0 page. From the server, I can browse the site with port 8080, why can't I do it from outside the network? Thanks!
Posted by mattle, 02-01-2010, 12:48 AM
I'm sure there's some convoluted IIS sub-sub-sub menu that has some nonsense wording. My first inclination, however is that you need to open port 8080 in your firewall--whatever that means in MS-land.
Posted by kjsrs, 02-01-2010, 02:13 AM
I would double check the firewall on Windows 2008. Microsoft turns on the built-in firewall by default now on W2K8, and it might not be set up to allow port 8080 inbound traffic. Quick way to check: Start -> type in 'firewall' in the search field and hit enter.
Posted by ig77, 02-01-2010, 09:07 AM
I can open up "Windows Firewall with Advanced Security". Now, I am not sure what I am looking for. I browsed through Firewall under Monitoring options, but not sure what to do. Also, is there a way to set the Default Site point to a location other than c:\inetpub\wwwroot without messing up too many things?
Posted by route, 02-02-2010, 06:43 AM
useful info, thanks
Posted by kjsrs, 02-02-2010, 07:34 PM
To test, from Windows Firewall with Advanced Security, click on the Windows Firewall Properties link and set the Firewall state to Off for each of the three tabs. Then test your site on port 8080. I've always deleted the Default Site and created a new site, but if you want to change the file location, right click on the Site name and select Basic Settings..., then change the Physical path to your new location.
Posted by Host Ahead, 02-09-2010, 12:45 PM
A better wat to test if the port is open is to do a telnet on port 8080 to your server. Example (type in Command-line on your client PC): telenet 66.71.xxx.xxx 8080 If it gives you a blank window, the port is open, if it keeps saying "connecting..." or "could not connect" it's a port issue. If that is the issue, in Windows Firewall, add an exception, choose for port and type 8080. Test again through telnet, if telnet allows access (blank screen) and it still fails there's another problem. You could try to mimic a HTTP request to your server using telnet, but try the port thing first.
Posted by mattle, 02-09-2010, 01:21 PM
Er...you're kind of merging two separate possibilities into one here...You won't be able to connect unless both of the following are true: Your firewall is configured to allow TCP requests from your location on port 8080.The web server is configured to listen on port 8080 to requests from your location. Depending on your firewall's behavior, the difference between one or the other being untrue may not be so easy to tell. I don't know about Windows firewall, but many firewalls simply drop packets that aren't allowed--this mimics the behavior you'd see if you did get past a firewall but tried to connect to a port that had no listener. Just to clarify that point, if you get connected, type: If the webserver is listening on that port, you should get the source for your directory index.
Posted by Host Ahead, 02-09-2010, 01:29 PM
Hi, My bad, you're correct about the telnet thing. If you want a page to be viewed then type GET /whateverpage.html If you type GET / you'll probably get a 403 (forbidden) because IIS doesn't allow it by default, unless you have configured a default page
Posted by mattle, 02-09-2010, 03:19 PM
Either way, if you get a 403 response you know you're talking to the web server!