Overview

The Central Management Server won't open or displays an error Failed to start "GFI LanGuard Central Management Server." LanGuard Troubleshooter tool at the same time shows all checks as passed.

Solution

The most common causes for this error are IIS hosting issues. The Central Management Server is hosted in IIS that is prone to common hosting errors (for example, Application Pool or the website not starting). These errors can prevent the launcher from opening the website and lead to an error similar to the following:

Check the CMS log files located by default in C:\ProgramData\GFI\LanGuard 12 Server\DebugLogs folder. The relevant messages may look like one of the following:

• "Launcher.HandleError - an error occurred in the launcher" System.TimeoutException: timeout while waiting for state.
• System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException (0x80070842): The Server service is not started.
• MvcApplication.Application_EndRequest - Served 'https://xxxxxxx:1077/api/centralmanagement/GetAcknowledge' withstatus code 401.
• System.Net.WebException: The remote server returned an error: (500) Internal Server Error.

Follow these steps to address IIS issues:

1. Go to Start > Run. and run the file inetmgr.exe.
2. Expand the localhost (shown as 'Hostname' of the device).
3. Select Application Pools.
4. Verify that "LanGuardServer" has started. If it has not started - right-click on it and select Start.
   
5. Expand Sites.
6. Locate the GFI LanGuard Central Management Server Website and verify that it has started. If it has not started - right-click on it, go to Manage Website, and select Start.
   
7. Resolve any other IIS errors preventing the system from starting by following the steps given above.
   

   Note: GFI utilizes IIS web services but does not troubleshoot errors caused by a misconfiguration within IIS. Check your bindings, make sure that there are no conflicts, and once the website and app pool are started, continue with the following step.

8. Once both the Application Pool and the website have started running, relaunch the Central Management Server.

Testing

Verify that the Central Management Server starts normally. If the issue persists, contact GFI LanGuard Support and submit the CMS troubleshooting logs.