Configuring Remote Administration

The VisualSVN Server Manager console uses Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) for remote administration. Connecting to WMI on a remote computer requires that Windows Firewall and security settings be configured properly on the server.

The following configuration steps apply to domain and non-domain environments. Non-domain environments may require additional steps.

The following main steps enable VisualSVN Server Remote Administration:

1. Configure the Windows Firewall rules to allow network connections to WMI,
2. Grant appropriate user access permissions.

Windows Firewall

Connecting to WMI remotely requires that you first configure the Windows Firewall on the server to allow this. Incorrect Windows Firewall settings are usually identified by receiving the "RPC Server Unavailable" error message when trying to remotely connect to the VisualSVN Server using the management console.

Windows Firewall configuration should be done locally on the server by the user with administrator rights. While Windows Firewall can be configured via the Control Panel, you may find it easier to use the the netsh utility at the command prompt. Appropriate command lines are as follows:

• For Windows XP/Windows Server 2003:
  netsh firewall set service RemoteAdmin enable
• For Windows Vista/Windows Server 2008 (note that command line should be executed in the elevated command prompt):
  netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="windows management instrumentation (wmi)" new enable=yes

More detailed instructions are available in the article Configuring Windows Firewall to Enable Remote Administration.

Security settings

The following permissions are required to administer VisualSVN Server remotely:

• Permissions to access DCOM and WMI remotely,
• Special permissions to manage resources related to VisualSVN Server.

Incorrect user access rights settings are usually identified by receiving the "Access is denied" error message when trying to connect remotely to VisualSVN Server. Note that in a non-domain environment, granted permissions can be filtered-down by User Account Control (UAC).

Users who are local administrators on the computer where VisualSVN Server is installed automatically obtain all required permissions to administer the server remotely.

To grant all the required permissions to a non-administrative user, you should include the user in the following local groups on the computer where VisualSVN Server is installed:

• VisualSVN Server Admins,
• Distributed COM Users.

More detailed instructions are avaliable in the Configuring User Access Rights to Enable Remote Administration article.

See Also:

KB21: Configuring Windows Firewall to Enable Remote Administration
KB23: Configuring User Access Rights to Enable Remote Administration