Resolving SIMATIC Information Server Black Page in Internet

Resolving SIMATIC Information Server Black Page in Internet Explorer

The SIMATIC Information Server (IS) is the Siemens reporting and web visualization layer that sits on top of Process Historian (PH) and WinCC RT Professional. A frequently reported field symptom on Information Server 2014 SP3 installations is that the web portal returns to a blank (black) canvas after the user authenticates, with no navigation chrome, no setup links, and no error message. The browser address bar still resolves to the correct http://<server>/InformationServer URL, but the rendered DOM contains no usable controls. This article documents the root cause of that failure mode, the IIS/.NET Framework dependencies that drive it, and the verification steps required before reopening the Information Server configuration page.

1. Problem Description

After installing Information Server 2014 SP3 (with the matching Process Historian) and launching Internet Explorer 11 from the server console, the operator reaches the Information Server login page, enters valid Windows credentials, and the browser reloads the page to a fully black/blank canvas. The browser status bar reaches "Done", the URL has changed to the post-login landing page, but no ribbon, no tree view, no setup menu, and no error are rendered. No JavaScript console output appears in the F12 developer tools because the framework scripts never finish loading.

Field reports show three observable variants:

• Variant A — Solid black canvas: Page renders, status bar shows "Done", no controls.
• Variant B — Black with partial top ribbon: Header bar appears but the central workspace is black; menu items do not respond.
• Variant C — Brief flash then black: Page appears for < 1 second, then collapses to black.

All three variants share the same root cause chain: the Information Server web application cannot load because IIS has not been provisioned with the required ASP.NET 4.5.1 handler mappings, or .NET Framework 4.5.1 was installed before IIS was registered with it.

2. Root Cause

Information Server 2014 SP3 is an ASP.NET application hosted inside Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS). Its Web.config and the bundled handler mappings require the .NET Framework 4.5.1 CLR to be registered against the IIS worker process. The official Siemens Information Server 2014 SP3 configuration manual states:

"Internet Explorer does not show the Information Server. If Internet Explorer does not show the Information Server web application, check the Internet Information Services (IIS), Information Services, and .NET Framework 4.5.1 installation. You must confirm .NET Framework 4.5.1 configuration after IIS registration."

The dependency order is therefore:

1. IIS role installed first with the Web Server (IIS) role services, including ASP.NET 4.5 and ISAPI Extensions/ISAPI Filters.
2. .NET Framework 4.5.1 installed after IIS (or repaired after IIS via aspnet_regiis -i).
3. Information Server 2014 SP3 installed last so that its site and application pool bind to a registered ASP.NET 4.5.1 worker process.

If the install order is reversed, the ISAPI mapping for *.aspx is missing, IIS returns HTTP 404.7 (File extension not recognized) or HTTP 500.19 (configuration data invalid) for the Information Server application path, and the browser renders an empty page instead of the Silverlight / HTML5 controls.

3. Preconditions Required to Reproduce the Symptom

The black page appears when all of the following are true:

4. Solution

The corrective procedure restores the IIS / .NET Framework 4.5.1 dependency chain, then re-registers Information Server with IIS.

4.1 Confirm IIS Role Installation

1. Open Server Manager → Manage → Add Roles and Features.
2. Select Web Server (IIS). Under Role Services, ensure the following are checked:
   • Common HTTP Features → Static Content, Default Document, HTTP Errors, HTTP Redirection
   • Application Development → ASP.NET 4.5, ISAPI Extensions, ISAPI Filters
   • Management Tools → IIS Management Console, IIS Management Scripts and Tools
3. Complete the wizard and reboot if prompted.

4.2 Re-register .NET Framework 4.5.1 with IIS

Open an elevated command prompt and execute the ASP.NET IIS registration tool against the v4.0 CLR:

cd %WINDIR%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319
aspnet_regiis.exe -i -enable

Expected output includes "Finished installing ASP.NET (4.0.30319.0)". This command writes the System.Web handler mappings into the IIS applicationHost.config and registers aspnet_isapi.dll as the ISAPI filter for *.aspx, *.asmx, *.ashx, and *.axd requests.

4.3 Repair the Information Server Application Pool

1. Open IIS Manager (inetmgr.exe).
2. Expand the server node → Application Pools.
3. Locate the pool created by the Information Server installer (default: InformationServerAppPool).
4. Right-click → Basic Settings. Set .NET CLR Version to v4.0 and Managed Pipeline Mode to Integrated.
5. Right-click → Advanced Settings. Confirm Enable 32-Bit Applications = False and Start Mode = AlwaysRunning.
6. Recycle the pool: right-click → Recycle.

4.4 Re-register the Information Server Web Application

If the Information Server site or virtual directory is missing after a partial uninstall, re-run the configuration step provided in the Information Server 2014 SP3 setup. The installer exposes a "Configure IIS" task that re-creates the InformationServer site, the InformationServer/Report application, and the handler mapping for ReportingService. If the installer GUI is unavailable, you can also invoke the configuration tool from the Information Server installation directory:

4.5 Configure Internet Explorer 11

Even after IIS is healthy, IE11 on a Windows Server with ESC enabled will block ActiveX controls and unsigned scripts that the legacy Information Server portal needs.

1. Open Internet Explorer 11 → Tools → Internet Options (press Alt if the menu bar is hidden).
2. Tab Security → select Trusted Sites → click Sites → add http://<informationserver> and https://<informationserver>. Uncheck "Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone" if you are testing on plain HTTP.
3. Tab Security → Custom level. Under ActiveX controls and plug-ins, enable "Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe for scripting" (recommended for Trusted Sites only).
4. Tab Advanced → enable "Use TLS 1.0", "Use TLS 1.1", and "Use TLS 1.2"; disable "Enable Enhanced Protected Mode" for the Trusted zone if login forms fail to submit.
5. Tab Compatibility View settings → add the Information Server host name so legacy CSS layouts render correctly.
6. Click OK, close IE, and reopen it.

Alternatively, turn off ESC entirely for the local Administrators (Server Manager → Local Server → IE Enhanced Security Configuration → Off for Administrators). This is acceptable on a hardened jump-host but should be reverted on production servers.

4.6 Use a Modern Browser as a Workaround

If the IE-specific issue persists — for example, because the site ships Silverlight 5 modules — Siemens Information Server 2014 SP3 also exposes an HTML5 report viewer that is fully functional in Microsoft Edge (Chromium) and Google Chrome. Field teams have confirmed that the same login completes successfully in Edge without further configuration. Add the Information Server URL to the Edge Intranet zone if Windows Integrated Authentication is in use:

or simply run Edge in InPrivate mode to bypass cached ActiveX policies.

5. Verification

After each corrective step, validate that the Information Server page renders. Run the following checklist:

Server-side, validate the ASP.NET registration with:

You must see an entry pointing to System.Web.UI.PageHandlerFactory in %WINDIR%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\aspnet_isapi.dll. If it is absent, IIS will serve *.aspx as a static file and the Information Server portal will return a 0-byte response — the exact cause of the black canvas.

6. Troubleshooting Matrix

7. Information Server Version Compatibility

The fix above targets Information Server 2014 SP3. Newer Siemens releases change the browser dependency profile:

For Information Server V20 with Process Historian and Information Server RT Professional, the runtime architecture is delivered as a Docker-capable container; the IIS configuration described above does not apply, and the reporting layer is invoked through the configured reverse proxy. Verify the browser compatibility matrix in the Siemens release notes for your installed version before upgrading.

8. Prevention

• Install in the documented order: Windows Server → IIS (with ASP.NET 4.5) → .NET Framework 4.5.1 → SQL Server → WinCC/Process Historian → Information Server. Never install .NET Framework 4.5.1 before IIS on a fresh server.
• Snapshot the configuration. After a successful Information Server install, export the IIS configuration with %WINDIR%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe add backup "IS_Golden".
• Disable IE ESC for Administrators on jump-hosts that operators use to reach the Information Server.
• Use Chrome / Edge on operator stations and reserve IE11 for emergency fallback only.
• Document the KB in the project commissioning manual so that future operators do not waste time debugging what is essentially an IIS binding issue.

9. Frequently Asked Questions