Server.MapPath and running a command line utility from an ASP.NET application

Question

I need to run an executable from an ASP.NET app using Process. The .exe file is located inside the ASP.NET project - 'ProjectRoot/Utilities/utility.exe'

Why does this code fail to run it:

string path = Server.MapPath("/Utilities/");
string args = " etc etc";
Process p = Process.Start(new ProcessStartInfo(path + "utility.exe", args));
p.WaitForExit(3000);

I've tried "\\utility.exe" too.

Does it run from the command line? – IrishChieftain Oct 13 '12 at 20:09 — IrishChieftain, Oct 13 '12 at 20:09

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 13 '12 at 19:50

0

The answer depends on the type of the occuring exception. By the way, if the identity of application pool (which is the equal position to the process in a windows app) is set to a limited user (as it is by default) you can not execute a process on the server because of security issues.

If you know about the consequences and the server is your own, you can change the identity of the application pool to an authorized user, then your application can do such a thing without any hesitation.

Cheers

answered Oct 13 '12 at 19:50

Rikki

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Doesn't throw an exception :| – notAnonymousAnymore Oct 13 '12 at 19:56
As you said "This code fails to run.". So what does it mean? What happens when you run the process? – Rikki Oct 13 '12 at 19:58

nick_w · Answer 2 · 2012-10-14T01:41:22.683

There's a few things to check here.

The first thing is to ensure that string path = Server.MapPath("/Utilities/"); is a valid path and that utility.exe is in the correct location.

You said that it does not throw an exception, so the invocation of utility.exe should at least be valid. However, utility.exe may swallow any exceptions it in turn encounters (depends on how it was coded), which may be why it does not appear to be working.

On top of that, your args variable may be specifying a file or some other resource that utility.exe accesses. If it does swallow exceptions, it could be masking a permissions error if the application pool identity does not have access to the resouce.

Server.MapPath and running a command line utility from an ASP.NET application

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