Can I Configure Active Directory on Only Some Portals?
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ISSUE DESCRIPTION:
Occasionally, when configuring portal access, Knowledgebase administrators may want to set up external user authentication for specific portals (Multiply portal) using Active Directory while leaving other portals accessible via anonymous access.
ROOT CAUSE:
This is not possible with versions of Knowledgebase prior to 9.0 or for fresh installations of version 9.0. This is because in both cases there is a single portal site available in IIS (either Customer Portal or KBPortal). Since Active Directory integration is handled at the site level in IIS, and each of the portals runs under the same site, and disabling anonymous access is required for AD integration: the presence of AD integration for one portal precludes the use of unrestricted (public) portals. The configuration settings are mutually exclusive so you can have one or the other, but not both.
It is possible in one situation only: if you've upgraded from version 8.3.2 to version 9.x as both the Customer Portal and KBPortal sites are available in IIS. Even in this scenario, all portals running on the same site must use the same authentication type (AD vs. Anonymous access).
SOLUTION OR WORK AROUND:
Since AD integration is handled at the site level in IIS, it is possible to disable anonymous access and enable Active Directory integration for one of the sites, while leaving the other accessible anonymously.