BUG: Applications Named Only with IIS Application Path and Not Host Name (277226)

SYMPTOMS

A Commerce Server 2000 site has been unpackaged to the root of a Web site. You try to add a second application to the root of another Web site. After you specify the name of the Application, the Commerce Site Packager terminates unexpectedly.

When you browse the Pup.log file, you find that the following error message is logged:

Error importing application for [Application Name] 5:A resource with this name already exists [VDir Name]

where Application Name is the name contained in the PUP package you are unpackaging, and VDir Name is the name of the directory under Internet Information Server (IIS) where the application is being unpackaged.

CAUSE

Commerce applications are stored in the Admin database based on the names of the IIS application path only. The display name of the node in the Admin hierarchy is the nonsecure host name concatenated with the IIS application path.

For example, suppose you want these applications in a site:

www.store.com
www.store4kids.com

You cannot do this because the IIS application path of each of these is '/' (the root) and they are stored in the Admin database with only '/' as their name. So, when you try to create the second application with the root as its IIS application path, the Commerce Site Packager terminates unexpectedly after specifying the application name.

The same thing occurs in this case because each is named 'bizdesk' in the Admin database:

www.store.com/bizdesk
www.store4kids.com/bizdesk

RESOLUTION

To have multiple Applications for a single Site accessible from the root of each Web server, you can do the following:

Unpackage each Application to a sub directory on the target Web site. Each sub directory needs to be unique for the site.
Follow the steps in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article to move each Application to the root of each Web server:
275299 HOWTO Enable Retail and Business Desk Applications to Run at the Root of Separate Web Sites

MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

Create two Web sites (Site1 and Site2), each mapped to their own directory (C:\Inetpub\Site1 and C:\Inetpub\Site2).
Unpackage the Retail solution site to Site1, and select only the Retail application.
When prompted for the IIS Web site and Virtual directory, enter the following:
IIS Web site: Site1
IIS virtual directory: /
Finish unpackaging the site.
In the Commerce Server Manager, expand Commerce Server Manager, expand Commerce Sites, expand Retail, and then expand Applications.
Right-click Applications, and then click New -> Add Application.
Select Retail.pup.
Clear the RetailBizDesk check box (so that only Retail is selected).
When prompted for the IIS Web site and Virtual directory, enter the following:
IIS Web site: Site2
IIS virtual directory: /
After you click Next, click Continue on the two error messages to continue unpackaging. The Site Packager terminates after a short period. In the final Site Packger dialog box you see this message:
"Errors occurred during unpacking".

If you search pup.log (%SystemDrive%:\pup.log), you see the error noted previously.