Running TapeTrack Utilities via Apache CGI

Configure Apache on Windows to allow execution of TapeTrack command-line utilities (such as TMSS10Inventory.exe) directly from a web browser using CGI.

This is useful for generating TapeTrack reports (CSV, text, etc.) through a simple URL call.

By default, Apache only executes CGI programs from a configured CGI directory (normally /cgi-bin).

To run TapeTrack executables without copying them into Apache’s CGI folder:

• Create an Apache ScriptAlias pointing to the TapeTrack executable directory
• Enable ExecCGI for that directory
• Allow Apache to treat .exe files as CGI scripts

• Apache 2.4 installed on Windows (example path: C:\Apache24)
• TapeTrack Server Utilities installed (example path:C:\Program Files\TapeTrack\TapeTrack Server Utilities\bin\tapetrack)
• Apache running as a Windows Service or console process

TapeTrack utilities are typically located in:

 C:\Program Files\TapeTrack\TapeTrack Server Utilities\bin\tapetrack 

Some installations may place the TapeTrack install on anther drive, such as D

Open the Apache configuration file: C:\Apache24\conf\httpd.conf

Add the following configuration near the existing ScriptAlias section.

Add this line:

 ScriptAlias /tapetrack/ "C:/Program Files/TapeTrack/TapeTrack Server Utilities/bin/tapetrack/" 

This creates a new URL path:

 http://localhost/tapetrack/ 

which maps directly to:

 C:\Program Files\TapeTrack\TapeTrack Server Utilities\bin\tapetrack\ 

Add this directory block:

 <Directory "C:/Program Files/TapeTrack/TapeTrack Server Utilities/bin/tapetrack"> \\
 AllowOverride None 
 Options +ExecCGI 
 Require all granted 
 AddHandler cgi-script .exe 
</Directory> 

This tells Apache allow CGI execution in this folder, treat .exe files as CGI programs.

For security reasons, it is strongly recommended to restrict execution of TapeTrack executables to the local machine only.

Replace:

 Require all granted 

with:

 Require local 

Final recommended configuration:

 ScriptAlias /tapetrack/ "C:/Program Files/TapeTrack/TapeTrack Server Utilities/bin/tapetrack/"
 
<Directory "C:/Program Files/TapeTrack/TapeTrack Server Utilities/bin/tapetrack">
AllowOverride None
Options +ExecCGI
Require local
AddHandler cgi-script .exe
</Directory>

After saving httpd.conf, restart Apache.

From an Administrator Command Prompt:

net stop Apache2.4 
net start Apache2.4 

Or restart Apache via Windows Services.

Open a browser and visit:

 http://localhost/tapetrack/TMSS10Inventory.exe?S=user:-pass@localhost 

Replace user and pass with actual username and password.

If CGI is configured correctly, Apache will execute the program instead of downloading it.

TapeTrack utilities accept command-line arguments. CGI allows passing arguments via the query string.

Example command normally run from command prompt:

 TMSS10Inventory.exe -S user:-passsword@localhost 

To run this through the browser, use:

 http://localhost/tapetrack/TMSS10Inventory.exe?S=user:-pass@localhost 

Notes:

? begins the argument list

spaces are replaced with +

To avoid using your password in plain text in the URL, create a file C:\tapetrack\pw\user where user is the username and the contents of the file is the users password. The -S arg only needs to specify -S user@locahost and the password will be looked up by the process.

Attributes are separated using the & symbol

TapeTrack utilities can output different formats depending on environment variables.

To force CSV output, the variable may be required, in a command prompt:

 TMSSREPORTFORMAT=CSV 

Other formats are text (default), PDF & Excel.

Using CGI, to set the report format locally, use the variable RPT

 http://localhost/tapetrack/TMSS10Inventory.exe?S=user:-pass@localhost &RPT=CSV

Or if the report format stays as CSV, you can set the value globally.

Add the following to Apache configuration (inside global scope):

 SetEnv TMSSREPORTFORMAT CSV 

Restart Apache after making changes.

This forces TapeTrack utilities run via Apache CGI to output in CSV format.

All report Variables can be used similar to the command line interface, with the exception of syntax.

A command line example of calling TMSS10Inventory, with access details, customer filter and CSV output.

 set TMSSREPORTFORMAT=CSV
TMSS10Inventory -S user:-pass@localhost -V UK01.*.* 

Apache/CGI

 http://localhost/tapetrack/TMSS10Inventory.exe?S=user:-pass@localhost&V=UK01.*.*&RPT=CSV

Once TMSSREPORTFORMAT is set, run:

 http://localhost/tapetrack/TMSS10Inventory.exe?user:-pass@localhost 

The browser should display the CSV output, or prompt to open it in Excel.

Executing .exe files over HTTP is powerful and potentially dangerous. Recommendations:

• Use Require local to limit access to the machine only
• Do not expose this server to the internet
• Consider firewall restrictions
• Only allow execution in a controlled folder