Cracking the Vault

Vault Build Numbers

In the Help>About and Server logs is reported the build number of the version of Vault Server used.

This can help sometimes for you to confirm what version of the software is actually being used if there is some misunderstanding or miscommunication with the servers Administrator.

For example if they are trying to log in Vault 2009 from a Vault 2010 client. Looking at the log files on the server can tell you what version they are actually using.

Vault 2014 (RTM)        18.0.110.x

Vault 2013 (SP1)         17.1.16.0

Vault 2013 (RTM)        17.0.62.0

Vault 2012 (Update 2)  16.2.17.0

Vault 2012 (Update 1)     16.1.58

Vault 2012 (RTM)             16.0.56.X

Vault 2011 (Update 2)     15.2.66.X

Vault 2011 (Update 1)     15.1.58.X

Vault 2011 (RTM)             15.0.58.X

Vault 2010 (Update 2)     14.2.x.x

Vault 2010 (Update 1)     14.1.x.x

Vault 2010 (RTM)         14.0.63.x

Vault 2009 (RTM)         13.0.47.x

Vault 2008 (SP1)         12.1.145.x

Vault 2008 (RTM)         12.0.123.x

 

RTM = Release to Manufacturing, ie, no patches applied

DatabaseError [109]

You can sometimes see this error in the Vault Server vlog. (Note DatabaseError [109] is a generic error. The Exception(Inner) message is more indicative.)

Error: Soap Exception ( mesg-id = xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx )
Exception: DatabaseError [109] 
Stacktrace: 
Server stack trace: 


Exception rethrown at [0]: 
   at System.Runtime.Remoting.Proxies.RealProxy.HandleReturnMessage(IMessage reqMsg, IMessage retMsg)
   at System.Runtime.Remoting.Proxies.RealProxy.PrivateInvoke(MessageData& msgData, Int32 type)
   at Connectivity.Document.Services.FolderService.AddFile(Int64 folderId, String filename, String comment, DateTime lastWrite, FileAssociationParam[] associations, BOM bom, Stream file, FileClassification fileClass, Boolean hidden)
   at Connectivity.Web.Services.v17.DocumentService.AddFile(Int64 folderId, String fileName, String comment, DateTime lastWrite, FileAssociationParam[] associations, BOM bom, FileClassification fileClassification, Boolean hidden, ByteArray`1 fileContents)

Exception(Inner): Timeout expired.  The timeout period elapsed prior to completion of the operation or the server is not responding.
Stacktrace(Inner):    at Connectivity.Core.Database.TransactionContext.OnSqlException(SqlException e)
   at Connectivity.Core.Database.SqlAccess.ExecuteReaderInternal(SqlCommand cmd)
   at Connectivity.Core.Database.SqlAccess.ExecuteReader(CommandType commandType, String commandText, SqlParameter[] commandParameters, Int32 commandTimeout)
   at Connectivity.Core.DataAccess.OwnershipAndAccessControlCheck.ProcessReadOnly()
   at Connectivity.Core.DataAccess.DirectorExtentions.PostBuild(ArrayList builders)
   at Connectivity.Document.DataAccess.Folders.AddFile(Int64 folderId, String name, String comment, Int32 checksum, Int64 fileSize, Int64 createUserId, Nullable`1 createDate, DateTime lastWriteTime, FileAssociationParam[] associations, BOM bom, FileClassification fileClass, Boolean hidden, Boolean unmanaged)
   at Connectivity.Document.BusinessLogic.FolderBL.AddFile(Int64 folderId, String filename, String comment, Int64 createUserId, Nullable`1 createDate, DateTime lastWrite, FileAssociationParam[] associations, BOM bom, Stream file, FileClassification fileClass, Boolean hidden, Boolean unmanagedFile)
   at Connectivity.Document.BusinessLogic.FolderBL.AddFile(Int64 folderId, String filename, String comment, DateTime lastWrite, FileAssociationParam[] associations, BOM bom, Stream file, FileClassification fileClass, Boolean hidden, Boolean unmanagedFile)
   at Connectivity.Document.Services.FolderService.AddFile(Int64 folderId, String filename, String comment, DateTime lastWrite, FileAssociationParam[] associations, BOM bom, Stream file, FileClassification fileClass, Boolean hidden)
   at System.Runtime.Remoting.Messaging.StackBuilderSink._PrivateProcessMessage(IntPtr md, Object[] args, Object server, Int32 methodPtr, Boolean fExecuteInContext, Object[]& outArgs)
   at System.Runtime.Remoting.Messaging.StackBuilderSink.SyncProcessMessage(IMessage msg, Int32 methodPtr, Boolean fExecuteInContext)

It will also normally be accompanied by a Client Side User Interface error dialogue message.

This normally indicates a performance bottleneck issue that needs investigating.

It can be alleviated by increasing the SQL timeouts in the web.config file. Please refer the Advanced Configuration Guide for the version of Vault that you are using for more information.

Illegal pathname or filename during Vault Backup

I have created a Vault environment with a remote SQL (AUTODESKVAULT instance on another machine) which finally went fine and I could work in Vault very well.

However creating a Vault Backup failed with an error message pointing to the SQL Share folder:
The logs gave me following details:
Connectivity.Application.VaultManager.ServiceException: IllegalPath [139] (\\KEVINVMWARE25\SQLShare) ---> Connectivity.Core.Exceptions.CoreException: IllegalPath [139] (\\KEVINVMWARE25\SQLShare)

To solve this I needed to create the AutodeskVault windows user ( with the default password Au1oDSK@26200 ) on the remote SQL machine and give full permissions on the SQL Share folder in the sahring and security tab.
I also needed to make sure that the networkservice has full access on the share as well.

After this the backup finished successfully.

ASP.NET error The remote host closed the connection. The error code is 0x800704CD.

In the Windows Event Viewer you can sometimes see a number of ASP.NET errors

One such error is

Source: ASP.NET 2.0.50727.0

Event ID : 1309

Application Virtual Path: /AutodeskDM/Services

Exception type: HttpException

Exception message: The remote host closed the connection. The error code is 0x800704CD.

 

 

This happens when a client request information, but cancels the request before it is complete.

 

No action is required from the Administrator

Vault Server (IIS) often down? Restart your IIS regularly

You maybe encounter random problems where Vault is unavailable after some specific actions like checking in a file, copy design etc.

Error messages are for example:
- error 0
- The underlying connection was closed: A connection that was expected to be kept alive was closed by the server.

The consequence is usually that IIS is down and needs to be restarted.

Often the problem is caused by various workflows in the Vault in combination and/or IIS getting out of memory.

We made the experience on different customers that the amount of errors (IIS "crashes") can be reduced if you regularly restart your IIS.

As best practice you could restart the IIS after the daily backup has been finished.

Limiting Users Connecting to A Vault Server

In some situations it is necessary to limit the numbers of Users connecting to a Vault Server.

 

This can be achieved in a number of ways, such as using different licence servers for each Vault Server. In this blog article, I am discussing Limiting Web Site Usage by throttling the number of Concurrent Connections.

In Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, on the Default Web Site, in the Advanced Settings, is an expandable node called "Connection Limits". there is a setting "Maximum Concurrent Connections", which in IIS 7.0, has a default setting of "4294967295". Enforcing a non-default setting requires an IISRESET.

Changing this value will limit the number of connections at anyone time to the Vault Server. When the limit is reached, a user will receive a message like this.

"The request failed with HTTP Status 503: Service Unavailable"

Notes 

Each Vault Client application will consume 1 connection. (Example 1 machine with 1x Vault Thick Client and 1x Inventor, runing and logged into Vault, will consume 2 connections)

Logged in but inactive clients release connections, which is then re-acquired following any client-server communication, such as browsing.

When mulitple users are connected to a Vault, the above error message will persist until the total number of connections to the Vault server drops below the defined limit, or the user logs into another Vault Server.

Vault Professional will poll the Vault Server every 5 minutes, see "Vault Licence Release Behaviour"

 

Monitoring Current Connections.

You can use the Windows Performanc Monitor to see the number of users who are connected to the Vault Server using the Web Service\ Current Connections Counter.

The instance selection will depend on if there are other websites running on the same server. For default Vault Server installations, selecting either the "_Total" or "Default Web Site" should be sufficient.

The CHECK_POLICY and CHECK_EXPIRATION options cannot be turned OFF when MUST_CHANGE is ON.

When trying to "Add Workgroup", after entering the Replication Credentials, appeared this message in the User Interface.

The CHECK_POLICY and CHECK_EXPIRATION options cannot be turned OFF when MUST_CHANGE is ON.

 

In the ADMS Console running from the Publising Workgroup, was this entry.

2/02/2013 2:50:22 AM Connectivity.Application.VaultManager.ServiceException: The CHECK_POLICY and CHECK_EXPIRATION options cannot be turned OFF when MUST_CHANGE is ON. ---> System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException: The CHECK_POLICY and CHECK_EXPIRATION options cannot be turned OFF when MUST_CHANGE is ON.
   at Connectivity.Core.Database.TransactionContext.OnSqlException(SqlException e)
   at Connectivity.Core.Database.SqlAccess.ExecuteNonQueryInternal(SqlCommand cmd)
   at Connectivity.Core.Database.SqlAccess.ExecuteNonQuery(CommandType commandType, String commandText, Int32 commandTimeout, SqlParameter[] commandParameters)
   at Connectivity.Core.DataAccess.DatabaseSecurity.CreateDatabaseLogin(DatabaseUser databaseuser)
   at Connectivity.Core.BusinessLogic.WorkgroupBL.Create(String sqlServer, String description, String sauser, String saPassword, String agentUser, String agentPassword, String Label)
   at System.Runtime.Remoting.Messaging.Message.Dispatch(Object target, Boolean fExecuteInContext)
   at System.Runtime.Remoting.Messaging.StackBuilderSink.SyncProcessMessage(IMessage msg, Int32 methodPtr, Boolean fExecuteInContext)
   --- End of inner exception stack trace ---
   at Connectivity.Application.VaultManager.AddWorkgroupCommand.AddWorkgroup(String remoteServerName, String remoteWorkgroupName, String remoteSQLServerUser, String remoteSQLServerPassword, String remoteWindowsUser, String remoteWindowsPassword, Boolean useDefaultPassword, String workgroupLabel)
   at Connectivity.Application.VaultManager.AddWorkgroupCommand.AddWorkgroup(AddWorkgroupForm form)

 

This happened because the VaultSys account on the Subscriber  was not correctly configured and suffered from a Microsoft UI bug.

On the Subscriber it was necessary to run this Query, afterwhich the problem went away.

ALTER LOGIN VaultSys WITH PASSWORD='%DefaultVaultSyspwd%'

Error message "The selected file did not contain any mappable properties" on specific Inventor File

You find yourself in a situation where Vault can´t read properties anymore from an Inventor file.

Symptoms are for example that you can´t map any properties anymore with this file.
If you import properites from Vault and pick this file you get this error message:

"The selected file did not contain any mappable properties"
If you try to import from a file you get this error:

"Unexpected Error"

If you open the file in Inventor it looks ok.

Usually the problem is caused by some corrupted or incorrect UDP names or UDP values in Inventor.

To find the property which is causing the issue you need to perform some trial and error.

You need to delete every property one by one and check if the problem reoccurs or not.

Please be aware that multiple UDPs can cause the issue.

If you could identify the properties which cause the issue you can try to modify their names and values to understand if the issue is the property name or property value.

A know issue is for example if you have a property name with the German character "ß". This could cause problems reading the properties properly from Vault.

SP1 of Vault 2013: What does it include?

Usually a servicepack such as SP1 for Vault 2013 cotains all previous hotfixes.

However this applies only for global hotfixes (something which is fixed for all Vault languages).

Hotfixes which only applies to a specific localized Vault environment (such as German, English, French, Italian etc.) are usually not part of the a servicepack!

Esepecially this German hotfix Unable to invoke the Vault Log In dialog from Inventor Task Scheduler is not part of Vault 2013 SP1!

So if you experience the problem in German Task Scheduler which was described in the previous blog post after installing SP1 of Vault 2013 please make sure you apply this hotfix.

Cannot login to ADMS 2013 after installing SP1

Issue:

When trying to login to ADMS after installing Vault 2013 SP1, You are prompted with the SQL account login and password dialog for ADMS and cannot login using any known SQL Administrator account passwords.

 

Solution:

We discovered ESET Nod32 4.2.71.2 Anti-Virus was installed on the Server.

We removed this Anti-Virus from the Vault system, restarted the server then were able to successfully login to ADMS SQL account then administrator account.

The migration process initiated properly and completed successfully.   

 

Please see previous blog mention for ESET NOD32