Windows Server 2008 R2 : Administering IIS 7.5 Web Sites

IIS Web sites

IIS Web sites serve up files used by the Web application or site. IIS Web sites manage all of the security and configuration settings for each site including authentication methods allows, which types of files can be served via the sites, error handling, and the directory where the Web site files are located.

Application pools

Application pools help isolate Web sites so that issues that may occur on one site do not bring down other sites running on the same server. Application pools can also be used to restart a Web site if it begins to consume too many resources on the server, again preventing a single site from interfering with the performance of other sites on the same server. Additionally, application pools allow administrators to set specific sites to run as a defined identity or user account. This gives the application a security context in which it can connect to and access other resources on the network if necessary.

Each IIS Web site runs in an application pool. An application pool can contain one or more IIS Web sites. If an application pool stops or restarts, the IIS Web site is also offline during the time the application pool is stopped.

During the installation of the Web Server role, DefaultAppPool, and Classic.Net AppPools are created along with a Default Web site.

Creating Web sites

To create a new Web site within IIS, perform the following tasks:

1.	Open Server Manager and select the node Roles | Web Server (IIS) | Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
2.	In the middle pane, expand the Web server name and right-click the Sites node and choose the option Add Website as seen in Figure 1. Figure 1. Adding a Web site.
3.	Enter the required site information (see Figure 2) including: Site name—This is the name of the site. This should be a name that easily describes the site, for example, “BillingApplication”. Application pool—Choose the application pool for this site to run under. By default, a new application pool will be created for the new site. Physical path—Enter the path on the server where the Web site files are located. Binding information—Choose the binding settings such as IP address and protocols used. You can also enter a host header in this section. IIS Web sites can use host headers allowing you to bind more than one Web site to a single IP address. Without the use of host headers, each Web site would require a dedicated IP address. Figure 2. New IIS Web site configuration information.
4.	After entering the Web site configuration information, click OK.
5.	You should now see the new site listed under the sites node in IIS Manager.

Any settings for the Web site can now be managed using the IIS Manager in Server Manager. Some of the more common settings that may need to be configured are:

• Authentication—You may need to set the authentication method used by the Web site. IIS can use Anonymous Authentication, Basic Authentication, Digest Authentication, Forms Authentication, and Windows Authentication. IIS can use any one or all of these authentication methods. The IIS Authentication methods are defined in Table 1.

  Table 1. IIS Authentication Methods

  Authentication Method	Description
  Anonymous authentication	Anonymous authentication allows anyone to access the Web site without entering a username or password. This authentication method is commonly used for public Web sites where everyone should have access.
  Basic authentication	Basic authentication presents the user with a logon dialog box asking for a username and password. If the user enters a valid username and password combination, he is given access to the Web site. It is highly recommended that SSL be used with Basic Authentication as Basic Authentication sends the username and password across the network in clear text.
  Digest authentication	Digest authentication provides a much greater level of security than Basic Authentication. Digest authentication can also be used to authenticate users when accessing an application through firewalls.
  Forms authentication	Forms authentication provides a very user-friendly authentication method providing the end user with a Web page-based form to enter his credentials. Applications such as Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and 2010 provide forms-based authentication to the Outlook Web Access feature.
  Windows authentication	Windows authentication is used on internal Windows domain environments. Windows authentication uses the Windows domain to authenticate users. This authentication type is heavily used on only intranet Web sites.

  
  

• Default document—Web sites have a default document or page that is accessed when accessing the site. To prevent users from having to know the name of this page, the Web site will automatically direct users to the defined default document when they access the Web site URL.

• HTTP redirect—The HTTP Redirect option can be used to direct users hitting the Web site to another URL. This is helpful when a Web site has been moved and you want to redirect the users to the new location.