Overview
This article provides the steps to enable the WFC Activation Component necessary for the Archive Assistant to communicate appropriately with the server.
Information
When loading the GFI Archiver Archive Assistant, it is not able to connect to the WFC Service, and the following error is displayed:
An error occurred while communicating with the GFI Archiver server.
An empty page is displayed when opening the WCF API page (i.e., http://localhost/Archiver_Services/ManualArchiving.svc).
Environment
- GFI MailArchiver 2012 SR1 or later
- Microsoft Windows Server 2012
- Microsoft IIS 8
Root Cause
This issue occurs because the WCF HTTP Activation Component in Microsoft Windows Server 2012 is disabled by default and must be enabled for the Archive Assistant to communicate properly.
Process
To enable the WCF HTTP Activation Component, use one of the following methods:
Option 1
Follow the procedure detailed by Microsoft to install and configure WFC Activation Components.
Note: Although the Microsoft article refers to .NET Framework 3.0, it should be .NET Framework 4.5.
Option 2
- From Microsoft Windows Server 2012, open the command prompt.
- Enter the following command:
dism / online /enable-feature / featurename:WCF-HTTP-Activation45 /all
Option 3
Use the Server Manager to add the missing IIS Feature:
- Open Server Manager.
- From Manage, select Add Roles and Features.
- From the Select features menu, click Features.
- Expand .NET Framework 4.5 Features, then click to expand WCF Services.
- Select the HTTP Activation checkbox and click Install.
Confirmation
The Archive Assistant is able to connect to the server as expected, with no error messages.