How to connect to Sharepoint 2010 with Sharepoint Designer when server has multiple SP sites with host headers?

Question

Hi all and sorry for the long title. I've had the management of a SharePoint 2010 farm environment tossed to me and while most things are working one thing is not. None of our users are able to connect to any of the sites in this farm with SharePoint Designer. They all get the dreaded "server could not complete the request" message followed by the eternally helpful MS error message "Object moved. Object moved to here."

I've dug around everywhere I can think to look and the closest explanation I see is that it may have something to do with our SP server hosting 5 SP applications, all with their own host headers. The things I find seem to suggest that Designer won't play with SP servers featuring multiple host headers...but I have to think that can't be the case. SharePoint encourages you to make use of host headers when setting up your applications.

I've tried installing Designer directly onto the server itself: no dice.

I've tried setting up the sites without a host header: sites don't work (and it wouldn't be a permanent fix because the user base this farm serves are barely computer literate so asking them to use IP addresses will be like Armageddon)

I've checked the farm settings to ensure that use of Designer is allowed: it is.

For this intranet instance, we do apparently have 5 separate IP addresses tracking to this box that will eventually host 5 SP applications (if that helps).

I'm a developer and not a server or network admin so any guidance or advice from anyone who's run into this and found a fix would be most welcome.

Answer 1

First of all update Sharepoint Designer and Sharepoint to the latest service pack and do an iisreset and use Sharepoint Designer 2010 for access Sharepoint 2010 Farm.

Enable anonymous authentication for the SharePoint web application in IIS. See this KB2758431 for more details, this is for Sharepoint 2013 but I think is still valid for 2010.

Set the registry DisableLoopBackCheck entry

Check the ULS Log and Event Viewer for error messages.

Here a little explanation about IIS name resolutions of Sharepoint.

You have to check the DNS, the IIS host header (foreach web site) and settings from the client.

If there are an entry into DNS corresponding to an hostheader of web application you must use this name for accessing the sharepoint web site, try with the FQDN (i.e. if the entry in DNS is Server01 and you are on mydomain.lan you must use for connecting: http://server01.mydomain.lan), check also from your client a ping to the address to see if you reach the server.

If there are no entry into the DNS, add to your hosts file the hostheader of the corresponding sharepoint site and try (same thing as for the DNS, see above).