Managing IIS 5.0 and IIS 6.0

IIS Administration Tools and Methods

The administration methods and management tools which you can use to administer IIS are listed below:

Using IIS Manager for IIS Administration

The IIS Manager can be used to perform administration functions for the following versions of IIS:

When you perform a basic installation of IIS, the following IIS components are installed:

To change any default configuration settings of these components, you can use the IIS Manager. The IIS Manager is a MMC console which is automatically installed when you install IIS. It is the main tool used for performing IIS administration tasks. You can use the IIS Manager GUI tool to machine multiple IIS machines both locally and remotely. Because IIS functions through WAN connections, you can use the IIS Manager for remote management of the IIS machine over LAN and WAN connections. You can perform virtually any IIS administration functions from the IIS Manager tool, including:

The left pane of the IIS Manager window contains the console tree, which in turn holds the objects which you can perform management tasks for. When you select an object in the console tree, the right pane (details pane) lists the details of that particular object. You can right-click the nodes in the console tree, and select its Properties from the shortcut menu to configure settings. You can also access certain administrative functions by right-clicking the node and selecting the function from the shortcut menu that displays.

The three nodes in the IIS Manager's console tree are:

How to open the IIS Manager

You can use the methods listed below to open the IIS Manager

How to connect to an IIS computer using the IIS Manager

  1. Right-click the Internet Information Services node in the console tree and click Connect from the shortcut menu.
  2. The Connect To Computer dialog box opens.
  3. If you know the name of the computer, enter it in the Computer Name box. This has to be the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) or IP address of the computer. Click OK.
  4. If you want to browse for the computer name, click the Browse button on the Connect To Computer dialog box.
  5. When the Select Computer dialog box opens, search for the computer you want to connect to, and click OK.
  6. You can click the Advanced button on the Select Computer dialog box to search Active Directory and the network for the computer name. Click OK.
  7. Click OK

How to use the All Tasks shortcut menu option to manage IIS servers

You can display the All Tasks shortcut menu option by right-clicking the node of a connected IIS computer and selecting All Task from the shortcut menu. This brings up a submenu, from which you can choose to perform the following tasks:

To back up the IIS metabase using Backup/Restore Configuration option,

  1. Right-click the IIS server whose metabase you want to back up, select All Tasks from the shortcut menu, and then select Backup/Restore Configuration.
  2. The Configuration Backup/Restore dialog box opens.
  3. All existing backups are listed in the Backup list box of the dialog box.
  4. Click the Create Backup button to back up the metabase.
  5. When the Configuration Backup dialog box opens, enter a name for the backup and a password for securing the backup.
  6. Click OK.
  7. The newly created backup is now listed in the Backup list box of the Configuration Backup/Restore dialog box.
  8. All backup files are in the following folder:
    • Systemroot%\System32\ inetserv\MetaBack
      • An .md0 file extension indicates a metabase backup file
      • An .sc0 file extension indicates a metabase schema backup file

To restart IIS using the Restart IIS option,

  1. Right-click the IIS server, select All Tasks on the shortcut menu, and then click Restart IIS.
  2. You can choose between the following options:
    • Restart IIS
    • Restart Server
    • Stop IIS
    • Start IIS

Restarting IIS has the following consequences:

To immediately save configuration changes to the metabase using the Save Configuration To Disk option,

  1. Right-click the IIS server whose configuration setting changes you want to save to the metabase, select All Tasks on the shortcut menu, and then click Save Configuration To Disk.

Using Remote Desktop for IIS Administration

The Remote Desktop feature can be used to manage IIS computers using a Terminal Services client running Windows 98, Windows NT 4, Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003. Essentially, the Windows Server 2003 Remote Desktop feature is alike to the Terminal Services - Remote Administration mode in Windows 2000. However, with Windows Server 2003, the Remote Desktop feature is automatically installed. It does however need to be enabled.

To enable the Remote Desktop feature,

  1. Open the System utility in Control Panel
  2. Click the Remote tab
  3. Enable the Users To Connect Remotely To This Computer checkbox
  4. Click OK.

The following two Remote Desktop components are also automatically installed:

How to install IIS Components and create Web, FTP, NNTP, and SMTP sites

How to install IIS components

Before you can create and maintain any Web, FTP, NNTP, and SMTP sites, you first have to install the necessary components.

  1. Click Start, Control Panel, and click Add/Remove Programs.
  2. Click Add/Remove Windows Components in the Add Or Remove Programs dialog box.
  3. Click Application Server in the Windows Components dialog box, and then click the Details button.
  4. The Application Server dialog box appears next.
  5. Click IIS and then select the Details button.
  6. After selecting the IIS components you want to install, click OK.
  7. When the Insert Disk dialog box appears, insert the Windows Server 2003 CD in the CD-ROM drive, and click OK.

How to create a new Web site

The IIS Manager is the primary management tool used to create and manage websites. The Web Site Creation Wizard is used for the creation of new Web sites.

  1. Open the IIS Manager
  2. Right-click the Web Sites node in the console tree, select New from the shortcut menu, and then select Web Site.
  3. The Web Site Creation Wizard initiates.
  4. On the Welcome to the Web Site Creation Wizard screen click Next.
  5. On the Web Site Description page, enter a name for the website. The name you enter here would be used in the IIS Manager. Click Next.
  6. On the IP Address and Port Settings page,
    • Enter the IP address for the site in the Enter the IP address to use for this Web site text box.
    • Enter the port number for the site in the TCP Port this Web site should use text box.
    • Enter the host header name for the new site in the Host header for this Web site text box.
    Click Next
  7. On the Web Site Home Directory page, enter the path to the home directory for the site. It is recommended to host the directory on an NTFS partition because it is the location where the files of the Web site would be stored. You can click the Browse button to locate the folder.
  8. The Allow anonymous access to this web site checkbox is enabled by default. If the new Web site is to host confidential data, uncheck the Allow anonymous access to this web site checkbox. This would prevent users to authenticate via anonymous access to access the Web site. Click Next.
  9. On the Web Site Access Permissions page, the default access permissions for the Web site is that only the Read and the Run Scripts permissions is allowed. All other permissions are not enabled. The additional permissions which you can set to allow by enabling its associated checkboxes are:
    • Execute, to enable execute permission for Dynamic Link Libraries (DLLs).
    • Write, to allow users to upload data to the source directories of the site.
    • Browse, to allow directory browsing on the new Web site.
    Click Next.
  10. Click Finish to create the new Web site.

How to create a FTP site

Before you can create a FTP site or multiple FTP sites, you have to install the FTP Service. Following this, use the steps below to create a FTP site

  1. Open the IIS Manager
  2. Right-click the FTP Sites node in the console tree, select New from the shortcut menu, and then select FTP Site.
  3. The FTP Site Creation Wizard initiates.
  4. On the Welcome to the FTP Site Creation Wizard screen click Next.
  5. On the FTP Site Description page, enter a name for the new FTP site. Click Next.
  6. On the IP Address and Port Settings page,
    • Enter the IP address for the FTP site in the Enter the IP address to use for this FTP site text box.
    • Enter the port number for the FTP site in the Type the TCP Port this FTP site text box.
    Click Next 1
  7. On the FTP User Isolation page, you can select the security setting options listed below:
    • Do not isolate users: Enables all users to access all directories and files.
    • Isolate users: Isolates a user from accessing other users' FTP home directories.
    • Isolate the users using Active Directory: To specify that Active Directory is used to authenticate and assign a FTP home directory to the user.
    Click Next. 1
  8. On the FTP Site Home Directory page, enter the path to the home directory for the FTP site. You can click the Browse button to locate the folder. Click Next.
    9. 1
  9. On the FTP Site Access Permissions page, the default access permission enabled for the FTP site is the Read permission. You have to enable the Write permission if you want users to be able to upload any data to the source directories of the site.
    10. Click Next. 1
  10. Click Finish to create the new FTP site.

How to create a NNTP virtual server

While IIS by default does create a NNTP server, you can create additional NNTP servers.

  1. Open the IIS Manager
  2. Locate the computer, right-click Default NNTP Server, select New and then Virtual Server from the shortcut menu.
  3. The New NNTP Virtual Server Wizard initiates.
  4. Enter a name for the NNTP site. Click Next.
  5. On the Select IP Address page, select the IP address and port number settings for the NNTP site. It is recommended to use unique IP addresses for each NNTP site. Click Next
  6. Enter the path to the home directory for the NNTP server. Click Next.
  7. On the Select Storage Medium page, choose of the following options:
    • File System, allows users to store news messages on the local computer
    • Remote Share, allows users to store news messages remotely.
    Click Next
  8. Enter the physical directory where the news messages are to be located.
  9. Click Finish.

How to create a SMTP virtual server

  1. Open the IIS Manager
  2. Locate the computer, right-click Default SMTP Server, select New and then Virtual Server from the shortcut menu.
  3. The New SMTP Virtual Server Wizard initiates.
  4. Enter a name for the SMTP site. Click Next.
  5. On the Select IP Address page, enter the IP address settings for the SMTP site. Click Next
  6. Enter the path to the home directory for the SMTP server. Click Next.
  7. Provide the domain name for the SMTP server. Click Next
  8. Click Finish.

How to create a virtual directory for a Web site

A virtual directory is basically a pointer or reference to a Web site or FTP site that enables access to the subdirectories from the root Web directory or FTP directory.

  1. Open the IIS Manager
  2. Locate the IIS server, right-click the Web site, and select New and then Virtual Directory from the shortcut menu.
  3. The Virtual Directory Creation Wizard launches.
  4. Click Next on the initial screen of the wizard.
  5. On the Virtual Directory Alias page, enter a name for the new virtual directory. Click Next.
  6. Choose the physical directory to which this virtual directory should point. Click Next.
  7. Choose the access permissions for the virtual directory. The default settings that are enabled on the Virtual Directory Access Permissions page are Read, and Run Scripts. Click Next
  8. Click Finish.

How to host multiple Web sites

The primary method used to host multiple Web sites is to assign a unique IP address to each Web site. You can alternatively assign a different port number for the Web site while using the same IP address, or you can assign unique host headers on a single IP address.

To host multiple Web sites,

  1. Open the IIS Manager
  2. Locate the IIS server, right-click the Web site, and select Properties from the shortcut menu.
  3. Click the Web Site tab.
  4. If you want to assign a unique IP address for the Web site, enter or select the IP address in the IP address box. Click OK
  5. If you want to assign a different port number for the Web site, use the TCP port box. Click OK.
  6. If you want to assign unique host headers using the same IP address, click the Advanced button.
  7. Click Add
  8. Select the IP address and port number of the Web site.
  9. In the Host Header value text box, enter the host header details. Click OK.

How to configure master website properties

You can configure master properties for websites, based on the computer on which they are created. When you configure master website properties, all sites created on that particular computer inherit the master website properties.

To configure master website properties,

  1. Open the IIS Manager.
  2. Right-click the Web Sites node in the console tree, and then select Properties from the shortcut menu.
  3. When the Web Site Properties dialog box opens, use the tabs on the dialog box to configure the settings which should be used for all websites which are going to be created.
  4. The Inheritance Overrides dialog box will be displayed when there are existing websites, providing you with the option of overriding your existing settings for these websites.

The Different Administration Levels for Configuring IIS Settings

The administration of IIS configuration settings are categorized into different administration levels. The administration levels and the administration tasks typically performed at each administration level are listed below:

Configuring Web Site Properties

You can configure settings for websites hosted on the IIS server by using its associated Properties dialog box.

To access the Properties dialog box of a website,

  1. Open the IIS Manager
  2. Locate and right-click the website, and select Properties from the shortcut menu.
  3. The Properties dialog box contains the following tabs:
    • Web Site tab, Performance tab, ISAPI Filters tab, Home Directory tab, Documents tab, Directory Security tab, HTTP Headers tab, and Custom Errors tab. Each of these tabs is discussed in more detail next.

Web Site tab

The configuration settings which you can configure on the Web sites tab are listed below:

Performance tab

The performance specific configuration settings which you can configure on the Performance tab are listed below:

ISAPI Filters tab

You can use the Add, Remove, Edit, Disable, Move up and Move down buttons to manage your ISAPI filters.

Home Directory tab

The settings and options you can configure on the Home Directory tab are:

The Documents tab

The settings and options you can configure on the Documents tab are:

The Directory Security tab

The configuration areas in which the Directory Security tab is divided, as well as the settings which you can configure within each section is listed below:

The HTTP Headers tab

The settings you can configure on the HTTP Headers tab relate to the information that is displayed in the HTML headers of your web pages. The options which you can select are:

Custom Errors tab

The error messages which are displayed to clients when HTTP errors occur are listed on the Custom Errors tab. You can change the error messages that are shown to clients by clicking the Edit button.

Managing Web Applications and Application Pools

To run dynamic Web applications on IIS, you first have to use the Web Service Extensions node in IIS Manager to allow or prohibit the Web service extensions listed below:

To access the Web Service Extensions (WSE),

  1. Open the IIS Manager
  2. Locate the server, and select the Web Server Extensions node

You also have to decide on the application mode which you are going to use in IIS. The two available application modes in IIS 6 are:

To change the default application mode,

  1. Open the IIS Manager
  2. Right-click the Web Sites node, and click Properties from the shortcut menu.
  3. When the Web Site Properties dialog box opens, click the Services tab.
  4. If you want to use worker process isolation mode, clear the Run WWW service in IIS 5 isolation mode checkbox.
  5. If you want to run IIS 5 isolation mode, select the Run WWW service in IIS 5 isolation mode checkbox.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Restart IIS

The four main types of applications that can run on IIS 6 are ASP, ASP.NET, ISAPI, and CGI. The procedure for creating ASP applications and ASP.NET applications are the same. A few advantages of using ASP.NET rather than ASP are listed below:

To install and enable ASP.NET,

  1. Click Start, Control Panel, and click Add/Remove Programs.
  2. Click Add/Remove Windows Components, click Application Server in the Windows Components dialog box, and then click the Details button.
  3. Click ASP.NET
  4. Click OK.
  5. To refresh the IIS Manager, push F5
  6. ASP.NET should now be included in the Web Service Extensions node of the IIS Manager.
  7. If ASP.NET is listed with the Prohibited status in the Web Service Extensions node, right-click ASP.NET, and select Allow.

An application pool called DefaultAppPool is created under the Application Pools node in IIS Manager if IIS is running in the worker process isolation mode. When you right-click DefaultAppPool, you can open the properties sheet for the pool, stop or start the application pool, recycle the worker process of the application pool, or save the application pool configuration to a XML file.

To create additional application pools,

  1. Open the IIS Manager.
  2. Right-click the Application Pools node in the console tree, and select New and then Application Pool from the shortcut menu.
  3. When the Add New Application Pool dialog box opens, enter a name for the new application pool.
  4. You can specify whether the default settings should be used for the new pool, or you can specify that the settings of an existing pool be used for the new application pool.
  5. Click OK

To assign an application to an application pool,

  1. Open the IIS Manager
  2. Right-click the appropriate node in the console tree, and click Properties on the shortcut menu.
  3. Click the Home Directory tab.
  4. Select the application pool from the Application Pool list.
  5. Click OK


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