Using the Microsoft OLE DB provider for Internet Publishing in a server environment (320431)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server 2001
This article was previously published under Q320431

SUMMARY

The Microsoft OLE DB provider for Internet Publishing (MSDAIPP.DLL) was originally designed and engineered to be an OLE DB provider that allows client computers to connect to Microsoft Front Page or to Hypertext Transfer Protocol-Distributed Authoring Version (HTTP-DAV) servers to retrieve and modify file and folder items. The provider can be called from OLE DB interfaces and ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) objects by using either programs or scripts. The provider is intended to be used in a client environment, and as a result, it has certain limitations when it is used in a server environment, most notably in server-side scripting. Microsoft SharePoint Development does not support the use of this provider in a Web Part in a digital dashboard, or using this provider in server-side scripting with SharePoint Portal Server (SPS).

MORE INFORMATION

SharePoint Portal Server Development is currently researching this problem. At this time Microsoft recommends the use of the ServerXMLHTTP in place of the MSDAIPP provider.

The following list describes some of the problems that may occur when you use the provider on a server:
  • The authentication dialog box is hidden:

    When you access certain resources on a server, the user frequently has to provide authentication information. When the provider is used by a Microsoft Office program, Windows Explorer, client-side scripts, or any custom client software program, the authentication information can be passed through API calls to the provider. If authentication is required, but if authentication information is not passed to the provider by the caller program, the provider generates a dialog box that prompts the user to enter the user name, the domain, and the password.

    However, if the provider is used on a server in a multiple-user server-side scripting solution, this dialog box appears in the default desktop of the calling user. Because the user does not have a desktop on the server, the provider stops responding while it waits for the user input. The user does not have any way to provide the information that is required in this dialog box.
  • Wininet limits on connections:

    By default, Wininet limits the number of connections for each user for each server to two connections. If the script tries to create more than two connections, or if the user runs the scripts at the same time, any attempt to connect after the second attempt stops responding and it eventually times out. Therefore, if the portal has a number of Web parts that contain scripts that are using ADO with the provider, the portal does not render correctly and it appears to stop responding.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

Microsoft is researching this problem and will post more information in this article when the information becomes available.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:4/25/2005
Keywords:kbhowto kbinfo KB320431
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