WebDAV Redirector Registry Settings
Following up on the release of the WebDAV module for IIS 7, I've been experimenting with the WebDAV redirector that comes with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. This redirector ships as an updated WebClient service, and if you're using Windows Vista it should already be installed, but on Windows Server 2008 you will need to install the "Desktop Experience" feature. Once installed, you can map drives to WebDAV shares much like mapping to a UNC path:
Through some experimentation, I discovered some WebClient service behaviors that I wanted to explain. For example, if I tried to map a drive to a web site that did not have WebDAV enabled I would get an error as expected. But after I enabled WebDAV, I would continue to get an error until some period of additional time had passed. I assumed that the status was somehow cached, and I was curious as to whether I could control that caching. I eventually discovered that there are several settings that control the behavior of the WebDAV redirector that can be configured in the following registry key :
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WebClient\Parameters
I found a variety of sources that documented one setting or another but I couldn't find a concise list, so I've collected the following list that contains what I've been able to discover so far:
Value & Description | Type | Values | Default | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AcceptOfficeAndTahoeServers
Specifies whether the WebClient service can connect to web sites that are running SharePoint or Office Web Server. |
DWORD |
|
1 | |||||||||
BasicAuthLevel
Specifies whether the WebClient service can use basic authentication to talk to a server.Note: Using basic authentication can cause serious security issues as the username/password are transmitted in clear text, therefore the use of basic authentication over WebDAV is disabled by default unless the connection is using SSL. That being said, this registry key can override the default basic authentication behavior, but it is still strongly discouraged. |
DWORD |
|
1 | |||||||||
FileAttributesLimitInBytes
Specifies the maximum size that is allowed by the WebClient service for all properties on a specific collection. |
DWORD | Size of attributes in bytes | 1,000,000 decimal(1 MB) | |||||||||
FileSizeLimitInBytes
Specifies the maximum size in bytes that the WebClient service allows for file transfers. |
DWORD | File size in bytes | 50,000,000 decimal(50 MB) | |||||||||
InternetServerTimeoutInSec
Specifies the connection timeout for the WebClient service uses when communicating with non-local WebDAV servers. |
DWORD | Time in seconds | 30 decimal | |||||||||
LocalServerTimeoutInSec
Specifies the connection timeout for the WebClient service uses when communicating with a local WebDAV server. |
DWORD | Time in seconds | 15 decimal | |||||||||
SendReceiveTimeoutInSec
Specifies the timeout in seconds that WebDAV the WebClient service uses after issuing a request, such as “GET /file.ext” or “PUT /file.ext”. |
DWORD | Time in seconds | 60 decimal | |||||||||
ServerNotFoundCacheLifeTimeInSec
Specifies the period of time that a server is cached as non-WebDAV by the WebClient service.Note: The WebClient service maintains a list of non-WebDAV servers that have been contacted. If the server is found in this list, a fail is returned immediately without attempting to contact the server. |
DWORD | Time in seconds | 60 decimal | |||||||||
SupportLocking
Specifies whether the WebClient service supports locking. |
DWORD |
|
1 |
Note: After changing any of these settings you will need to restart the WebClient service.
I hope this list helps someone else. ;-]
Comments
Anonymous
August 01, 2008
PingBack from http://www.deploymentzone.com/2008/08/01/sharepoint-webdav-and-http-not-https/Anonymous
December 29, 2010
Thank you very much for posting this information, sir. It has been very helpful!Anonymous
April 20, 2012
Thanks for posting. Great info!Anonymous
June 12, 2012
Hy Robert. I have a webdav issue where users can create a folder, file, etc. but cannot change the name of it. I would have thought that webdev access would allow all of these actions but it appears not. Any idea ? Someone said there's a setting to look at but I haven't found anything on this. I have searched so many sites for the answer or even a hint and I'm not getting either one. Any ideas? This happens to users at contribute level but not those with full control (like me).Anonymous
June 12, 2012
Hi stfromli, you should be able to rename files and folders over WebDAV, so some sort of configuraiton must be missing somwhere. That being said, you mention that some of your users have "contribute" level permissions. Are you using SharePoint?