Log Files for Troubleshooting

[JamesLPearson]

Is there a log file that I can check to troubleshoot a database connection issue? I am trying to create a fresh installation of Binner (v2.1.1) - it's up and running with the file version of database, but when I change appsettings.json to my SQL Express database (currently empty db named 'Binner') and restart the Binner service, the web page no longer loads:

An error occurred during a connection to localhost:8090.

Until I change it back to the file database.

[replaysMike]

Hi James - the default log file location is C:\Binner\Binner.log
You can also run the service manually in a console - C:\Program Files\Binner\Binner.Web.exe and view any output it has. Sounds to me like there's definitely a startup error of some kind.

Worth noting, the release I'm trying to get out today introduces a new command:

.\Binner.Web.exe --dbinfo

This will show more information about your DB configuration and test if something is wrong.

[replaysMike]

maybe share your appsettings.json with me, so I can see your connection string and maybe go from there. I would imagine we can get this figured out

[JamesLPearson]

Hi Mike, this is on my work PC, which is on a Domain (just in case that makes any difference). My main Binner usage is on my personal PC but I haven't updated that yet.

At the moment I'm playing around and testing your new releases on my work PC with a fresh installation to keep it separate from my actual database (although I back that up anyway). The SQL Express installation is local and has been created just recently for this testing. As I've mentioned, running Binner in the console works fine, but not as a service. The service will run and show as 'running' but the web ui won't load.

Attached is my appsettings.json (changed extension to .txt because Github wouldn't allow .json upload)
appsettings.json.txt

[JamesLPearson]

Ah ha, ok so I've now upgraded my personal machine (not on a network Domain) and connected it to my existing (local) SQL database (with 240 unique parts) and it's working just fine!

So something specifically strange with my work PC set up then. Let me know if there are some more steps I should take to troubleshoot. Although this should be a very low priority for you because it's not the system I'll be using. But I guess you'll want to get to the bottom of this one at some point.

[replaysMike]

nice, glad you got it working. My guess here is that by default, the service runs as Local System Account (like most services) and for some reason it cannot access your Sql Server when using Trusted_Connection=True as the authentication mechanism. It might work if you configure an SQL user instead with a user/password and then change your connection string to Server=localhost\\SQLEXPRESS;Database=Binner;User Id=myUsername;Password=myPassword instead. It could be that your domain is configured to deny Local System access accounts to SqlServer depending on how it's configured.

[JamesLPearson]

That definitely seems to be the issue. I spent some time trying to get it working with SQL user but without success. However, that's down to SQL security configuration rather than any Binner functionality. Plus I don't need this to work on this system and it's working fine on my personal PC. Thanks again.

[replaysMike]

Release 2.2.0 is now out, if you're still having trouble try the new --dbinfo switch to verify your storage provider configuration.

[JamesLPearson]

That's a nice feature, thanks. It confirms all is well with the SQL Server connection 2x 'OK'