FileMaker Security Certificate not working

[phohoa]

I recently renewed the SSL certificate for our FM database server running FM Server Advanced 9 v. 3 on Mac OSX 10.4, and now all the FM web functions have stopped. The machine is hosting some IWP pages and some PHP pages as well. I set up the SSL certificate over a year ago through an intermediate, and it has been running fine for a year. I just renewed, and now the web publishing components do not work.

From the internet, I can get to the index page via https hosted on Apache, without being stopped by a warning, so the SSL certificate to from the web server to the internet works. But the web publishing is now not working properly. When I run the PHP test from the Admin console, I get this: "The server certificate on the web publishing engine is invalid (error 51: unknown error" I never had to get a certificate for the web publishing engine before. When I check the Keychain, the Filemaker certificate is listed as valid, with an expiration date a few years away. I have tried everything I know, including reinstalling the entire FM Server again and it's still acting the same. Anybody have any ideas how I can proceed.

[Steven H. Blackwell]

You are propbably going to have to contact FMI Tech Support. IIRC, Server uses a self signed certificate. Yiur renewal of some certificate may have been the underlying cause here.

Steven

[phohoa]

I finally got the FM web publishing to work, and I thought I would write what I did here in case someone else runs into the same thing (Keep in mind that it may have just been a glitch on my system).

Background: After I put in the new certificate, the web publishing acted erratically (PHP wouldn't connect with the server, network users were locked out of files, etc.) So I disengaged the web publishing engine and tried to deploy it again, and it would never connect. It would say "connection with web server failed." Even after I entered the IP address and port number manually (when connection with the web server fails, the deployment wizard allows you to enter it manually), the message would say "connection with web server successful", but when the web publishing engine attempts connection, it failed, and give me message stated earlier.

This is what worked. I made it an insecure server. Took off SSL encryption and ran the web server through port 80. (Make sure you can access the index page through http, not https, to make sure encryption is off- you may have to reboot) Then when I went to FM Admin Console, and deployed the web publishing engine, everything went without a hitch; it connected smoothly. I then went back and secured the web server (put back the SSL and put it back to port 443) and now the SSL certificate is applied.

[Steven H. Blackwell]

Good information. Thank you for posting it and for following up on it.

Steven