IIS Knowledge Base Guide

Why Install IIS on F: Drive Instead of C:

Performance Benefits

• Separates web content from system drive to reduce I/O contention
• F: drive is typically larger storage dedicated to data
• C: drive reserved for operating system files

Management Advantages

• Easier backup strategies - web content isolated from system files
• Better security through application separation
• Corporate policies often mandate separating applications from OS
• Storage management - prevents web logs from filling system drive

IIS Manager vs Log Files

IIS Manager

What it is: Graphical management console for configuring IIS

• Configure websites, application pools, virtual directories
• Set authentication, SSL certificates, URL rewriting rules
• Monitor real-time performance and active connections
• Location: %windir%\system32\inetsrv\InetMgr.exe

IIS Log Files

What they are: Automatically generated records of all web requests

• Default location: C:\inetpub\logs\LogFiles\W3SVC1\
• Contains request details, response codes, timestamps, IP addresses
• Used for traffic analysis, troubleshooting, security monitoring, compliance

W3C Log Format - Why Use It?

Industry Standard

• W3C Extended Log Format is universally recognized
• Compatible with most log analysis tools (LogParser, AWStats, Webalizer)

Customizable and Efficient

• Choose which fields to log (date, IP, status codes, user agents, etc.)
• Only logs necessary data, reducing file size and storage costs
• Well-structured format enables automated parsing and analysis

Tool Integration

• Works seamlessly with Microsoft LogParser
• Supports third-party analytics and monitoring solutions
• Easy to import into databases and reporting tools

IIS Server Configuration Options

.NET Authorization

Purpose: Controls access to .NET applications and resources

What it manages:

• Authentication methods (Windows Authentication, Forms Authentication, Anonymous)
• Authorization rules for specific users and roles
• Access control for pages, directories, or application methods
• Integration with ASP.NET membership providers and Active Directory

.NET Compilation

Purpose: Defines how ASP.NET code is compiled and executed

Key settings:

• Debug vs Release mode: Debug includes debugging symbols, Release is optimized for performance
• Target Framework: Specifies .NET version (.NET Framework 4.8, .NET Core, etc.)
• Compilation options: Batch compilation settings for better performance
• Temporary files: Manages compiled assemblies in temporary ASP.NET files directory

.NET Error Pages

Purpose: Controls how application errors are displayed to users

Configuration options:

• Custom error pages: Display user-friendly pages instead of technical stack traces
• Error modes:

- On - Always show custom errors

- Off - Always show detailed errors (development only)

- RemoteOnly - Show custom errors to remote users, detailed to local users

• Default redirects: Specify custom pages for 404 (not found) and 500 (server error) responses
• Security benefit: Prevents sensitive application information from being exposed to end users

MIME Types

Purpose: Tells web browsers how to handle different file types

How it works:

• File associations: Maps file extensions to content types

- .pdf → application/pdf

- .jpg → image/jpeg

- .json → application/json

• Browser behavior: Determines whether file is displayed in browser or downloaded
• Content handling: Controls streaming, caching, and compression settings
• Security: Prevents execution of unknown or potentially dangerous file types

Common MIME types:

• text/html - HTML web pages
• text/css - Cascading Style Sheets
• application/javascript - JavaScript files
• image/png - PNG image files
• application/json - JSON data responses
• application/octet-stream - Generic binary files (forces download)

Quick Reference

Default Log Location: C:\inetpub\logs\LogFiles\W3SVC1\

IIS Manager Path: %windir%\system32\inetsrv\InetMgr.exe

Log File Naming: ex[YYMMDD].log (example: ex241201.log for December 1, 2024)

Key Log Fields:

• date time - When request occurred
• c-ip - Client IP address
• cs-method - HTTP method (GET, POST, etc.)
• cs-uri-stem - Requested URL path
• sc-status - HTTP response code
• time-taken - Processing time in milliseconds