DNN Too many redirects error is a common problem that DNN users face.

DotNetNuke aka DNN is a popular CMS for website hosting in the Windows server. It makes building custom applications easy. However, DNN errors can be tricky.

At Bobcares, we often receive requests to fix DNN errors as a part of our Server Management Services.

Today, let’s analyze the problems that cause DNN connection to the database failed. Also, let’s see how our Support Engineers fix it for our customers.

First look of DNN Too many redirects error

Let’s begin by checking how the redirect error appears in DNN.

A sample error on the DNN website will look like:

Form the error message, we can easily understand that the error is because of a redirect. The main reason for the error is because of Incorrect Redirect code or Incorrect URL mapping.

Let us discuss how our Support Engineers resolve the error by correcting the redirect rule and URL mapping.

How we fix DNN Too many redirects

Recently we had a customer who was facing “Too many redirects” problems with his website. On analyzing the error, URL mapping was improperly set. Let us discuss how our Support Engineers resolve such errors.

1. Incorrect URL mapping

The error can commonly occur because of improper Portal Alias settings. In general, we can change the Alias Mapping from the DNN Dashboard as well as from the DNN Database.

Let us discuss how our Support Engineers change URL mapping.

a) From DNN dashboard

We login to the DNN dashboard using the Host/Superuser account. This is because only the Host has the administrator privileges.

1. Click on Settings > Site Settings.
2. Now we click on Site Behavior tab and click on Site Aliases subtab.
3. Change the Site Alias Mapping Mode to none.
4. Also, we make sure to disable the “Auto Add Site Alias” option.

b) From database

DNN also allows changing the mapping from the DNN database. To do this, our Dedicated Engineers use database management tools.

1. Login to SQL Management studio, Expand the databases.
2. Now expand the domain’s database. Then we expand tables. Now select dbo.Portalsettings.
3. In the PortalAliasMapping change it to none.
4. Also, we verify the default URL enter in dbo.portalsettings. We make the required changes.

After making the changes we verify the working of the site.

2. Incorrect Redirect code

Furthermore, incorrect redirect code can also be a reason for DNN Too many redirects error.

By default, the redirection of the domain is mentioned on the web.config file. If the redirect code is incorrect, it will result in “too many redirects”. The rule will start and end as:

<rewrite>
<rules>
......
</rules>
</rewrite>

We analyze the code between the lines and determine the reason causing the error. We make the required changes in the code to make the website to load.

3. Too many redirect after upgrade

From our experience in handling DNN websites, we often see that the error occurs after the DNN upgrade. Mostly, the upgrade fails because of the modules.

To resolve the error, we revert back the website to its old state from the backup. Since it is difficult to find the module that caused the error after the upgrade, we suggest to revert back the recent changes.

After reverting back the website we can once again proceed with the upgrade. We will identify the module that causes problems during the upgrade. Isolating the problem module completes the upgrade and the DNN website starts working again.

[Still, have trouble in fixing the DNN website? Get help from our DNN experts!]

Conclusion

In short, DNN Too many redirects error happens mainly due to Incorrect Redirect code or Incorrect URL mapping. Today, we discussed the different causes and how our DNN experts resolve the error.