Many organizations these days have incorporated iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad onto their networks. Increasingly, IT dep't are being asked to provide more and more access to data. WebDav is an HTTP standard that's been around for quite some time, and Apple seems to be embracing it as one of the primary methods to access files on iOS devices.
Luckily,Windows has supported WebDav for a LONG time--who remembers WebFolders on Windows 98?
This how-to will show you how to configure it on Windows 2008 so it will honor your normal NTFS permissions.
| 1. | Install IIS
First we need to install the WebDav components. WebDav is actually a part of IIS. This can be done on any Windows 2008 server, it does NOT need to be your File Server.
1. Open Server Manager, click on Roles, then click on "Add Roles"
2. Select Web Server (IIS) 3. Click on Next |  |
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| 2. | Install WebDav and authentication method
1. Next through to the Roles Services section.
2. Under "Common HTTP Features" select WebDAV Publishing 3. Under "Security" select "Basic Authentication" 4. Click Next 5. Click Install |  |
| 3. | Create WebDav Website
I like to create a new website for this, but you can modify the "Default Web Site if you wish.
1. Open IIS Manager (either through Server Manager or from the IIS Manager MMC)
2. Expand the server name and "Sites" so you see Default Web Site. Click on "Default Web Site" and then click on "Stop". 3. Right click on "Sites" and Add Web Site 4. Name the site "WebDav" and create the physical path in the location you wish. 5. Click OK 6. If you get a warning about "The binding '*:80' is assigned to another site", simply click "Yes" |  |
| 4. | Configure WebDav Authentication
1. Click on the "WebDav" web site.
2. In the Feature view, double click on the "Authentication" icon. 3. Disable all authentication methods (probably just Anonymous). 4. Enable "Basic Authentication" |  |
| 5. | Enable WebDav
1. Click on the "WebDav" web site.
2. In the Feature view, double click on the "WebDav" icon. 3. In the "Actions" section, click on "Enable WebDAV" 4. Now click on "Add Authoring Rule..." 5. Select "All Content", "All Users" and make sure all 3 check boxes in "Permissions" are selected. |  |
| 6. | Add Content
You could actually stop at this point. Share out the WebDav folder and people could start putting files right in there. But I like to take it to the next level and actually start putting file shares out there. Here's how:
1. Right click on the "WebDav" web site and add virtual directory.
2. Give the folder an alias and then type in the path to the share you wish to make available.
Fun facts! This method is completely compatible with DFS, so you can put in your DFS path instead:
\\domainname\dfsroot
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| 7. | Add User Folders
One nice feature of WebDav security, is if the user does not have access to something it simply will not show it at all! This is great user folders, but does require a little tweaking.
1. You first have to add the "List" right for Domain Users on the top level of your home folder.
2. Now, go through EVERY user folder under that to make sure Domain Users does NOT have the list right.
Sorry, this might take awhile!
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| 8. | Add the Share
Now repeat step #6 and add the top level of your user shares:
\\servername\usershare
WebDav will only display the folder they have access to (hopefully just their own user folder).
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| 9. | Comments on iOS
Let's talk a little bit about WebDav and the iOS environment. One reality we must come to understand is iPad is NOT like your laptop. Unless someone programs the functionality in (and I've only seen this in Quick-office, which doesn't allow user defined WebDav servers) you won't be able to just edit off the WebDav files. In most cases you will need to copy the file to the iOS device, edit it, then copy it back. The applications I've tested this with (Apple's Pages, Numbers and Keynote) don't overwrite but instead make new copies of files so you can end up with a vast confusion of files if you're not careful. Just be aware.
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| 10. | Using WebDav on your iOS Device
Screen shots are from an iPad but shouldn't vary much on an iPhone.
As I said above, I'm letting my VPN handle the security part of accessing the WebDav files.
First you must have an application that supports user defined WebDav servers. In this example I am using Apple's Pages (their word processor).
1. Select Copy From Webdav
2. When you get the sign in page, enter the name of your WebDav server, beginning with http:// 3. Use your domain and user name in the domain\username format. 4. Enter your password. 5. Touch the "Sign In" button. 6. Navigate to the file you want and it will copy into your Pages buffer and you can edit it from there. |
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