Configure Web Disk Manually using IP

[rfc001]

Hi - I added my domain to Cloudflare, and now can no longer access Web Disk, since cloudflare can't proxy traffic over port 2078. I could add a DNS entry not proxied by Cloudflare, but then I would expose my origin IP. Ideally I would like to configure Web Disk using IP rather than domain. Is this possible? I tried just replacing domain.com with my IP address in the VBS script but this didn't work. I can't find any instructions for manually configuring Web Disk in the latest cPanel documentation. Thanks!

 

[cPanelLauren]

Hi @rfc001

If you go to https://yourIPAddress:2078/ in your browser do you not get web disk? This should work.

Thanks!

 

[rfc001]

Hi @rfc001

If you go to https://yourIPAddress:2078/ in your browser do you not get web disk? This should work.

Thanks!

I do, but I'm looking for how to configure WebDAV locally on my machine, not the web interface.

 

[cPanelLauren]

Hi @rfc001

Because the domain is proxied I am curious if you enter the hostname of the server if you encounter the same issue? If it won't allow IP addresses and you can't add an exception for webdisk through Cloudflare there wouldn't be a way to connect.

What operating system are you using? The documentation here might be helpful: Connect to Web Disk with Third-Party Software - cPanel Knowledge Base - cPanel Documentation

Thanks!

 

[rfc001]

Hi @rfc001

Because the domain is proxied I am curious if you enter the hostname of the server if you encounter the same issue? If it won't allow IP addresses and you can't add an exception for webdisk through Cloudflare there wouldn't be a way to connect.

I was able to successfully connect to WebDAV via IP using WinSCP client although I had to manually trust the certificate since it wasn't issued by a trusted authority, which I think is the issue with using IP address with the VBSscript. I'm assuming Windows must get hung up on the SSL cert when using IP, and I can't use the domain name since that proxies the traffic through Cloudflare which doesn't allow port 2078. I could create an A name DNS entry for something like webdisk.domain.com if I had a wildcard SSL cert, but doing so would reveal the origin IP of my server, which defeats using Cloudflare (for DDoS mitigation), which is why I was trying to figure out the manual steps to configure WebDAV using IP address. I could set up a completely different host/IP/cert just to use webdisk, but that seems unnecessary considering I can just use self-signed certs for FTP. Would be nice if you could do the same for WebDAV (natively in Windows) since I prefer the usability of Windows Explorer over a FTP/WebDAV client like WinSCP.

What operating system are you using? The documentation here might be helpful: Connect to Web Disk with Third-Party Software - cPanel Knowledge Base - cPanel Documentation

Thanks!

Windows 10. Unfortunately, those instructions do not provide manual configuration instructions despite the title being "Connect to Web Disk manually", thus my post here.

The "steps" listed there are:

1. Navigate to cPanel's Web Disk interface (cPanel >> Home >> Files >> Web Disk)
2. Click Configure Client Access for the desired account. The interface will display the configuration information for the account.
   
3. For Windows: Click the icon for the domain that corresponds to the Web Disk account's domain.

So, basically, run the VBS script then navigate to Windows Explorer and click on the resulting "domain". This is saying nothing more than saying run the VBS script. I was just looking for true manual configuration steps without the VBS voodoo magic.

Thanks

 

[cPanelLauren]

Hello @rfc001


These instructions provide exactly how to do this manually on Windows:

To connect to Microsoft Windows® operating systems (for example, Windows® 98 or Windows XP®), perform the following steps:

1. In your preferred browser, navigate to https://example.com:2078, where example.com represents your server's hostname.
2. In the Start menu, select My Network Places.
   
   
3. Perform the appropriate actions for your system:
   • Windows XP — Click Add a network place, click Next, select Choose another network location, and then follow the prompts to finish the configuration process.
   • Other Windows operating systems — Click the icon for the domain that corresponds to the Web Disk account's domain.

You're mapping a network drive - the instructions should be similar to How to Map a Network Drive in Windows 10 (amongst others) there are a ton of guides that explain how to do this manually for Windows Operating systems. While we provide the access as well as an automated script for default configurations - manual connections and configurations are not something we can provide support/instruction for all the time as things change frequently.

What would be a better and more efficient idea is to use CloudFlare's Page Rules to add an exception for connections from a specific location/IP over a specific port. CloudFlare provides instructions on how to use their software for this here:
Page Rules Tutorial and Page Rules | Cloudflare

 

[rfc001]

Hello @rfc001

These instructions provide exactly how to do this manually on Windows:

Read those instructions. They absolutely do not provide the instructions for how to do this manually in Windows.

Step 1: Navigate to https://example.com:2078 does absolutely nothing since it just opens up the web browser view of Web Disk, which is not what I want. Furthermore, this step has nothing to do with the subsequent steps. OK, I open up my browser. Now what?
Step 2: Open up My Network Places. There is no such thing in Windows 10
Step 3: Click the icon for the domain???

Completely erroneous and incomplete instructions as currently written - thus why I am posting here.

Please update the instructions to work in the happy path case (not my case).

You're mapping a network drive - the instructions should be similar to How to Map a Network Drive in Windows 10 (amongst others) there are a ton of guides that explain how to do this manually for Windows Operating systems.

I understand it should be similar, but what I'm missing is what URL should I provide when mapping a drive. I'd expect this basic information to be provided.

While we provide the access as well as an automated script for default configurations - manual connections and configurations are not something we can provide support/instruction for all the time as things change frequently.

A VBS shouldn't be necessary. If it's a standard thing just provide the manual steps. Windows 10 is the current and last version of Windows that will ever be released. Please update the instructions for Windows 10.

What would be a better and more efficient idea is to use CloudFlare's Page Rules to add an exception for connections from a specific location/IP over a specific port. CloudFlare provides instructions on how to use their software for this here:
Page Rules Tutorial and Page Rules | Cloudflare

Thanks for this suggestion. This looks promising.