Here’s a head scratcher.
I have two identical servers, with identical operating systems. One is my primary HomeSeer server. It is running HS3 without issue for years.
I have a second test platform, which is my backup HS3 server. It also runs fine when I need it. I tasked this server with HS4 testing last October. It has been fine, rolling back and forth between HS3 and HS4 testing. It has been fine for several months. I have uninstalled and reinstalled both versions dozens of times without issue. Around the beginning of last month I began getting an error that the webserver port was in use.
“4/4/2020 9:43:30 AM ~!~Warning~!~Error starting web server, port in use? Are you running a web server on the designated port? Edit settings.ini in the Config folder and change gWebSvrPort=## to a different port #. The requested address is not valid in its context”
Now look at these data points:
This seems to prove that it is something that changed in my production HS3 environment, but I cannot envision what it could be, nor can I envision how it could be affecting two new machines, but not the production machine. I’m thinking it can only be a plug-in executable, but none of them seem to start prior to HS throwing the error. I also cannot figure why it continues to run just fine on my production server.
There must be something I am not seeing. Honestly, I may be a bit “snow blind” from looking at this problem every weekend for a month. I am just not seeing how all of the above could be true.
I have two identical servers, with identical operating systems. One is my primary HomeSeer server. It is running HS3 without issue for years.
I have a second test platform, which is my backup HS3 server. It also runs fine when I need it. I tasked this server with HS4 testing last October. It has been fine, rolling back and forth between HS3 and HS4 testing. It has been fine for several months. I have uninstalled and reinstalled both versions dozens of times without issue. Around the beginning of last month I began getting an error that the webserver port was in use.
“4/4/2020 9:43:30 AM ~!~Warning~!~Error starting web server, port in use? Are you running a web server on the designated port? Edit settings.ini in the Config folder and change gWebSvrPort=## to a different port #. The requested address is not valid in its context”
Now look at these data points:
- This error occurs whether I start HS3 or HS4, as long as it is based on my production environment
- I can bring over a fresh copy of my HS3 installation from my production environment and I will get the error
- I can put a fresh install of HS4, without converting my production and it does not error
- I went to my office desktop machine and the results are identical, my HS3 production system shows the same error on my desktop. An in-place upgrade to HS4 shows the same error. A fresh blank install of HS4 does not error
- I can switch the port in settings (tried 81 and 8080) and I get the same error when I use my production environment under HS3 or converted to HS4, regardless of the port
- My production environment still starts and runs just fine on my production server
- I can install a backup of my production environment from January and it will run on the backup server or my desktop. A backup from March 3 or later will error on any machine.
- I tried rolling my backup server back to its state in January, in case it was a Windows update. Starting the HS3 from that backup works fine. Starting my current HS3 and any backup taken in March on the earlier O/S snapshot will error. A fresh HS4 installation runs fine.
- Importing my data from HS3 into HS4 does not cause the error.
- Netstat -a -b shows nothing on port 80 (or 81 or 8080) with or without HS running
- IIS or World Wide Web publishing service are not installed or running on any of the three machines
This seems to prove that it is something that changed in my production HS3 environment, but I cannot envision what it could be, nor can I envision how it could be affecting two new machines, but not the production machine. I’m thinking it can only be a plug-in executable, but none of them seem to start prior to HS throwing the error. I also cannot figure why it continues to run just fine on my production server.
There must be something I am not seeing. Honestly, I may be a bit “snow blind” from looking at this problem every weekend for a month. I am just not seeing how all of the above could be true.
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