dasBlog

New Post: I get MSDeployPublish error when I try to publish the blog

ttodorov — Thu, 02 May 2013 16:12:51 GMT

I downloaded the source of dasBlog from here, opened it in Visual Studio 2012, compiled it and tried to publish the Web project to IIS. When I get to the "Start Preview" button and click it, I get the following error:

"The target "MSDeployPublish" does not exist in the project."

Can anyone give me a hint what am I doing wrong?

New Post: I get MSDeployPublish error when I try to publish the blog

ttodorov — Thu, 02 May 2013 16:12:51 GMT

New Post: Live Writer unable to post to dasBlog due to 504

davedev — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 12:49:38 GMT

Hi Scott,

Glad you're interested as well. I'll be sure to post the resolution here, assuming there will be one.

Maybe what really got GoDaddy's attention was the last line of my previous reply:

> If I think of something I’ll be sure to let you know. In the meantime, I’m investigating new hosts.

- Dave

New Post: Live Writer unable to post to dasBlog due to 504

davedev — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 12:49:38 GMT

New Post: Live Writer unable to post to dasBlog due to 504

scottmarlowe — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 11:17:58 GMT

Hey guys,

Yeah, I'm still following along and interested if a solution is discovered. I'm surprised you're getting anywhere with GoDaddy. Their initial responses to you were about the same to me as when they swapped out .NET versions from underneath my site then tried to tell me I had programming errors when I hadn't touched anything!

Thanks for doing the legwork and I hope they come up with something.

Scott

New Post: Live Writer unable to post to dasBlog due to 504

scottmarlowe — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 11:17:58 GMT

New Post: Live Writer unable to post to dasBlog due to 504

davedev — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:57:05 GMT

Hi Daniel,

We probably shouldn't eliminate the possibility that ASP.NET has a bug...

Related?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925248?wa=wsignin1.0

- Dave

New Post: Live Writer unable to post to dasBlog due to 504

davedev — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:57:05 GMT

Hi Daniel,

We probably shouldn't eliminate the possibility that ASP.NET has a bug...

Related?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925248?wa=wsignin1.0

- Dave

New Post: Live Writer unable to post to dasBlog due to 504

davedev — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:52:55 GMT

Hi Daniel,

Good to know, thanks. I'll CC you on my next reply to GoDaddy.

Did you get a chance to try my suggestion yet? Deleting all occurrences of the lowercase word "post" from my last blog post allowed me to submit it (though I only submitted it as a draft since it's still a work-in-progress).

Also, if you can find the time, it would be great if you could repro the problem on your site's root with my custom HTTP handler, just to eliminate the possibility that the problem is a coding/app issue or that I made some kind of embarrassing mistake. If you're interested and you have any questions about how to repro, please let me know - contact me here.

- Dave

New Post: Live Writer unable to post to dasBlog due to 504

davedev — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:52:55 GMT

New Post: Live Writer unable to post to dasBlog due to 504

DanielMoth — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:12:24 GMT

Hi Dave

I don't know about scottmarlowe, but I am actually very interested since the problem still exists for me, so thank you for all the info. Feel free to add my to the email thread with GoDaddy if you think it will help, although you have definitely taken the repro to the next level and I have nothing more to add...

Cheers
Daniel

New Post: Live Writer unable to post to dasBlog due to 504

DanielMoth — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:12:24 GMT

New Post: Live Writer unable to post to dasBlog due to 504

davedev — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:08:05 GMT

Hi everyone,

GoDaddy has bumped it up to their "Advanced Technical Support Team".

Sorry if I've been annoying any dasBloggers that aren't interested in these updates. I'll post again if there's a resolution.

- Dave

New Post: Live Writer unable to post to dasBlog due to 504

davedev — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:08:05 GMT

New Post: Live Writer unable to post to dasBlog due to 504

davedev — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 15:53:02 GMT

Hi everyone,

GoDaddy's Fourth Reply

Dear Dave,

Thank you for the follow up.

We've reviewed the information you've provided so far, however you had stated you had been using Community Server previously and had no issues with posting to it using Windows Live Writer, and have only experienced issues since you've started using BlogEngine.NET. This would seem to suggest that there is something different between how the two applications handle posting to them that results in one of them working and the other not working.

In order to further troubleshoot this matter, we would need specific instructions for how we can duplicate the issue with POST requests being truncated. We need something we can test so we can experience the issue first-hand. If it's something that can only be duplicated after logging into an application, do not provide us with login credentials, just the instructions as to how to duplicate this.

Please let us know if we can assist you in any other way.

Sincerely,
Joe M.
Online Support

My Response

Hi Joe,

I appreciate your continued interest in helping me to resolve this issue.

> you had stated you had been using Community Server previously and had no issues with posting to it using Windows Live Writer, and have only experienced issues since you've started using BlogEngine.NET

I did not state that to you, but yes I did write that in the discussion to which I had provided a link to you.

The difference in time between my last Community Server post and my first BlogEngine.NET post was quite a while - several months perhaps. Furthermore, I upgraded to 4GH from the standard hosting. So at first I thought it was an application error, just like you, but I’ve come to realize now that there’s evidence to the contrary.

Also note that Daniel Moth, the person whom started that discussion, is also on GoDaddy hosting but he is using an entirely different blog application (dasBlog) and he has experienced the same symptoms as me. Furthermore, he wrote this:

>> For the period in which this started happening (last 2 months) there is nothing out of the ordinary

So it seems that Daniel was using dasBlog continuously when he started experiencing this strange behavior.

Regardless, my comments about Community Server and BlogEngine.NET are old and unrelated to the question that I’ve asked you. As I’ve already shown, I was able to reduce the issue so that it’s not related to any particular application. The code example that I’ve provided to you is not part of any third-party application. It’s a custom HTTP handler that I wrote to test a theory that there was something wrong at the HTTP handler level and it looks like I was proven correct: POST data is being truncated before it reaches custom HTTP handlers in ASP.NET, depending on the presence of the word “post” in the POST body and perhaps other innocuous differences in the data. Also, when POST data is truncated, the response from the server is not received by the client.

No exceptions are thrown. I also suspect that there are no HTTP errors being logged either, but you’d have to check that because I don’t have access to the server logs.

> This would seem to suggest that there is something different between how the two applications handle posting to them that results in one of them working and the other not working.

Yes, it would suggest that, but only if you ignore the code and the screenshots that I’ve already sent to you showing that POST data is being lost or truncated before it’s received by a custom HTTP handler, based on whether the word “post” appears in the POST body or perhaps other innocuous differences in the data, entirely outside of the aforementioned applications. (My custom HTTP handler is configured at my site’s root while my blog software is installed under the /blog/ folder, which is configured as its own application in IIS.)

> In order to further troubleshoot this matter, we would need specific instructions for how we can duplicate the issue with POST requests being truncated.

Ok, I’ve provided troubleshooting steps below.

> If it's something that can only be duplicated after logging into an application, do not provide us with login credentials, just the instructions as to how to duplicate this.

No, it has nothing to do with any third-party application – whatsoever.

Troubleshooting steps:

1 Create a new website in your shared hosting environment on the same server that my site (davesexton.com) is located.
2 Build a .NET assembly named “MetaWebLogWrapper.dll” using the code I provided to you for an HTTP Handler named “TestRequestHandler”. Or you can just copy the MetaWebLogWrapper.dll assembly from the bin folder in my website (I give you permission). Alternatively, the source code and other documents used for the repro appear in the discussion here: http://dasblog.codeplex.com/discussions/284630
3 Configure TestRequestHandler at your site’s root. An example web.config was provided to you or you can grab a copy from http://dasblog.codeplex.com/discussions/284630
This is the important part:
  <system.webServer>
      <handlers>
          <add name="TestHandler_MainSite" verb="*" path="testhandler.axd" type="MetaWebLogWrapper.TestRequestHandler, MetaWebLogWrapper" resourceType="Unspecified" requireAccess="Script" preCondition="integratedMode"/>
      </handlers>
  </system.webServer>
4 Follow along with the screenshots that I sent you to reproduce all of the success and failure cases. You can also get a couple of examples from http://dasblog.codeplex.com/discussions/284630
_ _ _ a There is only one GET request but it’s a success case just to show that the handler works. It can be reproduced by simply requesting the handler in a browser.
_ _ _ b POST requests can be sent using Fiddler, as I’ve shown in the screenshots. http://www.fiddler2.com/fiddler2/
_ _ _ c Note that I have not provided the 20K byte examples in their entirety, but these are not necessary to repro the problem.

Please let me know if there’s any additional information that you need.

Thanks,
Dave

New Post: Live Writer unable to post to dasBlog due to 504

davedev — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 15:53:02 GMT

Hi everyone,

GoDaddy's Fourth Reply

Dear Dave,

Thank you for the follow up.

We've reviewed the information you've provided so far, however you had stated you had been using Community Server previously and had no issues with posting to it using Windows Live Writer, and have only experienced issues since you've started using BlogEngine.NET. This would seem to suggest that there is something different between how the two applications handle posting to them that results in one of them working and the other not working.

In order to further troubleshoot this matter, we would need specific instructions for how we can duplicate the issue with POST requests being truncated. We need something we can test so we can experience the issue first-hand. If it's something that can only be duplicated after logging into an application, do not provide us with login credentials, just the instructions as to how to duplicate this.

Please let us know if we can assist you in any other way.

Sincerely,
Joe M.
Online Support

My Response

Hi Joe,

I appreciate your continued interest in helping me to resolve this issue.

> you had stated you had been using Community Server previously and had no issues with posting to it using Windows Live Writer, and have only experienced issues since you've started using BlogEngine.NET

I did not state that to you, but yes I did write that in the discussion to which I had provided a link to you.

The difference in time between my last Community Server post and my first BlogEngine.NET post was quite a while - several months perhaps. Furthermore, I upgraded to 4GH from the standard hosting. So at first I thought it was an application error, just like you, but I’ve come to realize now that there’s evidence to the contrary.

Also note that Daniel Moth, the person whom started that discussion, is also on GoDaddy hosting but he is using an entirely different blog application (dasBlog) and he has experienced the same symptoms as me. Furthermore, he wrote this:

>> For the period in which this started happening (last 2 months) there is nothing out of the ordinary

So it seems that Daniel was using dasBlog continuously when he started experiencing this strange behavior.

Regardless, my comments about Community Server and BlogEngine.NET are old and unrelated to the question that I’ve asked you. As I’ve already shown, I was able to reduce the issue so that it’s not related to any particular application. The code example that I’ve provided to you is not part of any third-party application. It’s a custom HTTP handler that I wrote to test a theory that there was something wrong at the HTTP handler level and it looks like I was proven correct: POST data is being truncated before it reaches custom HTTP handlers in ASP.NET, depending on the presence of the word “post” in the POST body and perhaps other innocuous differences in the data. Also, when POST data is truncated, the response from the server is not received by the client.

No exceptions are thrown. I also suspect that there are no HTTP errors being logged either, but you’d have to check that because I don’t have access to the server logs.

> This would seem to suggest that there is something different between how the two applications handle posting to them that results in one of them working and the other not working.

Yes, it would suggest that, but only if you ignore the code and the screenshots that I’ve already sent to you showing that POST data is being lost or truncated before it’s received by a custom HTTP handler, based on whether the word “post” appears in the POST body or perhaps other innocuous differences in the data, entirely outside of the aforementioned applications. (My custom HTTP handler is configured at my site’s root while my blog software is installed under the /blog/ folder, which is configured as its own application in IIS.)

> In order to further troubleshoot this matter, we would need specific instructions for how we can duplicate the issue with POST requests being truncated.

Ok, I’ve provided troubleshooting steps below.

> If it's something that can only be duplicated after logging into an application, do not provide us with login credentials, just the instructions as to how to duplicate this.

No, it has nothing to do with any third-party application – whatsoever.

Troubleshooting steps:

1 Create a new website in your shared hosting environment on the same server that my site (davesexton.com) is located.
2 Build a .NET assembly named “MetaWebLogWrapper.dll” using the code I provided to you for an HTTP Handler named “TestRequestHandler”. Or you can just copy the MetaWebLogWrapper.dll assembly from the bin folder in my website (I give you permission). Alternatively, the source code and other documents used for the repro appear in the discussion here: http://dasblog.codeplex.com/discussions/284630
3 Configure TestRequestHandler at your site’s root. An example web.config was provided to you or you can grab a copy from http://dasblog.codeplex.com/discussions/284630
This is the important part:
  <system.webServer>
      <handlers>
          <add name="TestHandler_MainSite" verb="*" path="testhandler.axd" type="MetaWebLogWrapper.TestRequestHandler, MetaWebLogWrapper" resourceType="Unspecified" requireAccess="Script" preCondition="integratedMode"/>
      </handlers>
  </system.webServer>
4 Follow along with the screenshots that I sent you to reproduce all of the success and failure cases. You can also get a couple of examples from http://dasblog.codeplex.com/discussions/284630
_ _ _ a There is only one GET request but it’s a success case just to show that the handler works. It can be reproduced by simply requesting the handler in a browser.
_ _ _ b POST requests can be sent using Fiddler, as I’ve shown in the screenshots. http://www.fiddler2.com/fiddler2/
_ _ _ c Note that I have not provided the 20K byte examples in their entirety, but these are not necessary to repro the problem.

Please let me know if there’s any additional information that you need.

Thanks,
Dave

New Post: Live Writer unable to post to dasBlog due to 504

davedev — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 12:53:57 GMT

Hi Everyone,

GoDaddy's Third Response

Dear David,

Thank you for taking the time to reply. You have asked multiple questions, and I have attempted to answer them individually below:

Question: What application error? Why do you keep referring to this as an error? The POST data is being truncated. The application is not throwing an exception. Are you seeing something different than me?
Answer: When visiting http://davesexton.com/testhandler.axd?i=1 address, we get the following error-

Received HTTP Handler Request.Reading InputStream property.Content-Length: 0Stream Length: 0CanWrite: FalseIterations: 0Content: Done.

Question: What application vendor? There is no application vendor!
Answer: I apologize if we assumed the site was based on an application or framework not your own.

Question: What other details do you need?
Answer: We can find no issue with server or its ability to process POST requests, and would require that you provide specific evidence that indicates it is a server-side issue before we could investigate further.

Question: What aspect of the hosting may cause POST data to be truncated before it’s received by a custom HTTP handler, but only depending upon particular sequences of bytes and perhaps specific kinds of HTTP headers?
Answer: That is not a hosting or server-related issue.

I have attempted to provide most pertinent information based on the data you provided. If I misunderstood your request, or if any part of my response is unclear, we would appreciate you letting us know. In the meantime, tell us if there is anything else we can do for you.

Regards,

Nathan T.
Online Support Team

My (Probably Final) Response

Hi Nathan,

> When visiting http://davesexton.com/testhandler.axd?i=1 address, we get the following error

That is not an error at all. That is the expected output of my custom HTTP handler. It shows a successful GET request, just like screenshot #3.

The problem is with POST requests. The problem is not with GET requests. I’ve shown this already in my troubleshooting steps, which you asked me to provide with screenshots, though now it seems like you’ve completely ignored them.

Apparently you haven’t even tried to reproduce the actual problem. It’s very discouraging.

> [snip]
> That is not a hosting or server-related issue.

I understand you feel that way. You’ve placed the burden on me to prove otherwise, though I feel that I’ve already done so. I don’t know what else I can provide to prove to you that something strange is happening in your hosting environment that is beyond my control.

If I think of something I’ll be sure to let you know. In the meantime, I’m investigating new hosts.

Thanks for your support,
Dave Sexton

New Post: Live Writer unable to post to dasBlog due to 504

davedev — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 12:53:57 GMT

Hi Everyone,

GoDaddy's Third Response

Dear David,

Thank you for taking the time to reply. You have asked multiple questions, and I have attempted to answer them individually below:

Question: What application error? Why do you keep referring to this as an error? The POST data is being truncated. The application is not throwing an exception. Are you seeing something different than me?
Answer: When visiting http://davesexton.com/testhandler.axd?i=1 address, we get the following error-

Received HTTP Handler Request.Reading InputStream property.Content-Length: 0Stream Length: 0CanWrite: FalseIterations: 0Content: Done.

Question: What application vendor? There is no application vendor!
Answer: I apologize if we assumed the site was based on an application or framework not your own.

Question: What other details do you need?
Answer: We can find no issue with server or its ability to process POST requests, and would require that you provide specific evidence that indicates it is a server-side issue before we could investigate further.

Question: What aspect of the hosting may cause POST data to be truncated before it’s received by a custom HTTP handler, but only depending upon particular sequences of bytes and perhaps specific kinds of HTTP headers?
Answer: That is not a hosting or server-related issue.

I have attempted to provide most pertinent information based on the data you provided. If I misunderstood your request, or if any part of my response is unclear, we would appreciate you letting us know. In the meantime, tell us if there is anything else we can do for you.

Regards,

Nathan T.
Online Support Team

My (Probably Final) Response

Hi Nathan,

> When visiting http://davesexton.com/testhandler.axd?i=1 address, we get the following error

That is not an error at all. That is the expected output of my custom HTTP handler. It shows a successful GET request, just like screenshot #3.

The problem is with POST requests. The problem is not with GET requests. I’ve shown this already in my troubleshooting steps, which you asked me to provide with screenshots, though now it seems like you’ve completely ignored them.

Apparently you haven’t even tried to reproduce the actual problem. It’s very discouraging.

> [snip]
> That is not a hosting or server-related issue.

I understand you feel that way. You’ve placed the burden on me to prove otherwise, though I feel that I’ve already done so. I don’t know what else I can provide to prove to you that something strange is happening in your hosting environment that is beyond my control.

If I think of something I’ll be sure to let you know. In the meantime, I’m investigating new hosts.

Thanks for your support,
Dave Sexton

New Post: Live Writer unable to post to dasBlog due to 504

davedev — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 20:31:04 GMT

Hi Everyone,

It appears that the HTTP headers have nothing to do with it. I can reproduce the problem using the same headers that IE sends with a GET request. I haven't mentioned this to GoDaddy, but I don't think that should matter. Right? :)

- Dave

New Post: Live Writer unable to post to dasBlog due to 504

davedev — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 20:31:04 GMT