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IIS03: Internet Information Server

IIS03W/IIS03S/IIS03E/IIS03DC: Internet Information Server appliances

At a Glance

Catalog

system_ms

Category

Web Servers

User volumes

yes

Min. memory

256 MB (x86), 768 MB (x64)

OS

Windows

Constraints

no

Functional Overview

IIS is a web server appliance based on the Microsoft Internet Information Server software (see http://www.iis.net).

IIS serves static web content and executes scripts from a user-configurable read-only content volume. The paths to the documents and scripts are configurable, so that the same volume can be shared between multiple web servers and/or other appliances serving different content.

IIS has three generic output terminals intended for accessing external services from scripts on the content volume. The db terminal is for accessing a database; the fs terminal is for accessing shared file storage (using CIFS); and the aux terminal is for sending e-mail messages to an SMTP server.

The log terminal can be used to connect IIS to a shared file system on which IIS can store its logs.

The configuration of the IIS server is provided through properties. The properties are designed to cover most uses in an easily configurable way. Typically, only a few need to be set to non-default values.

If the features provided by the IIS appliance do not meet your needs, contact our TechnicalSupport to discuss the possible options. We may be able to extend the catalog by providing appliances that cover your needs.

Important! IIS03y and IIS08y are not distributed with CA AppLogic. See the installation reference for instructions on creating these appliances from base windows server appliances.

Name

Latest Version

OS

IIS

VB

ASP.NET

Notes

IIS03W

1.1.1-1

Windows Server 2003 "Web" SP2 (x86)

6

6

3.5 SP1

 

IIS03S

1.1.1-1

Windows Server 2003 "Standard" R2 (x64)

6

6

3.5 SP1

 

IIS03E

1.1.1-1

Windows Server 2003 "Enterprise" R2 (x64)

6

6

3.5 SP1

 

IIS03DC

1.1.1-1

Windows Server 2003 "Datacenter" R2 (x64)

6

6

3.5 SP1

 

IIS08W

1.1.1-1

Windows Server 2008 "Web" R2 (x64)

7.5

6

4.0

 

IIS08S

1.1.1-1

Windows Server 2008 "Standard" R2 (x64)

7.5

6

4.0

 

IIS08E

1.1.1-1

Windows Server 2008 "Enterprise" R2 (x64)

7.5

6

4.0

 

IIS08DC

1.1.1-1

Windows Server 2008 "Datacenter" R2 (x64)

7.5

6

4.0

 

Resources

IIS03y

Resource

Minimum

IIS03W

IIS03S

IIS03E

IIS03DC

Default

CPU

0.10

2

4

8

32

0.25

MEM

256M

2G

4G

64G

64G

512M

BW

1M

2G

2G

2G

2G

250M

IIS08y

Resource

Minimum

Max for IIS08W

Max for IIS08S

Max for IIS08E

Max for IIS08DC

Default

CPU

0.25

4

4

8

32

1

MEM

768M

32G

32G

64G

64G

2G

BW

1M

2G

2G

2G

2G

1M

Terminals

Name

Direction

Protocol

Description

in

in

Any

Serves HTTP requests coming from web clients. Serves the HTTP/1.1 and 1.0 protocols.

db

out

Any

Access to a database server. Usage is defined by whatever scripts reside on the content volume (if any). This terminal may be left unconnected if it is not used.

fs

out

Any

Access to a network file system for shared file storage, providing anonymous logins and a read/write share named share. Usage is defined by whatever scripts reside on the content volume (if any). Software on the content volume 'sees' the remote file system as \\fs\share in the appliance's filesystem space. This terminal may be left unconnected if it is not used.

log

out

Any

Access to a CIFS-based network file system for storing IIS logs. This terminal may be left unconnected if it is not used. The connected server must allow anonymous logins and have a read/write share named share.

aux

out

Any

Access to an SMTP server for sending outgoing e-mail. Usage is defined by whatever scripts reside on the content volume (if any). Note that 'IIS SMTP' is not configured on the appliance; any application that needs to send mail should simply use SMTP directly, using 'aux' as the target hostname.
This terminal may be left unconnected if it is not used.

net

out

Any

Gateway output for subnet access.
This terminal may be left unconnected if it is not used.

mon

out

CCE

Sends performance and resource usage statistics.
This terminal may be left unconnected if it is not used.

The default interface is enabled. The default interface is used by the appliance to report to CA AppLogic that it has booted successfully. It can also be used to log in over secure shell to the appliance from the CA AppLogic controller, primarily for diagnostic and troubleshooting purposes.

User Volumes

Volume

Description

content

Read/write volume providing the web content (documents, media and scripts) to be served by IIS.

The volume may provide static and/or dynamic content.

Properties

Property name

Type

Description

content_on_fs

String

Specifies whether the content is relative to the file system at the fs terminal or is on the content volume. Allowed values are on and off. If set to on, all content is relative to the file system at the fs terminal. If set to off, the content is on the content volume.
Default: off

docs_dir

String

Root directory on the content or remote NAS volume where the documents to be served are located. For example, it may be /mydocs. This property is convenient to use when more than one IIS server shares the content volume and each server needs its own documents. If docs_dir is set to /, the root directory of the content volume is used.
Note: The directory must be pre-existing on the content volume.
Default: /

logs_enabled

String

Controls whether IIS logging is enabled. Allowed values are on and off. If set to on and the log terminal is connected, then logs will be stored on the remote NAS appliance, on the cifs share. If set to on and the log terminal is not connected, then logs will be stored on the Windows boot drive, in the default location (C:\WINDOWS\system32\LogFiles\W3SVC1\*). If this is set to off, logs are completely disabled. Default: off

logs_base_dir

String

Directory where IIS's logs are stored. This property has no effect if logs_enabled is set to 'off' or log terminal is not connected. Default: /

Important! All enumerated string properties are not case sensitive (lowercase). All other string properties are case sensitive.

Advanced Properties

These are additional properties that should typically not need to be configured. They can be used to tune up IIS in non-standard circumstances.

Property name

Type

Description

index_files

String

Ordered, space separated list of files to use as a directory index page in case the client requests a URL that refers to a directory name.
Default: default.htm default.asp default.aspx index.html

max_connections

Integer

Maximum number of concurrent active connections that IIS can handle (0 means unlimited). The actual number of concurrent connections may be limited to less than the value set for this property if there is not enough system memory. See the Memory Usage section.
Default: 0

idle_timeout_sec

Integer

Timeout, in seconds, for keeping a client connection open if there is no request or response going through. Keeping this timeout short helps drop forgotten connections quickly. Default: 15

data_timeout_sec

Integer

Timeout, in seconds, for receiving or sending more data if a data transfer has started but is not completed. This timeout allows IIS to drop connections that have been forgotten while still allowing delays during the transfer. Default: 300

Important! All enumerated string properties are not case sensitive (lowercase). All other string properties are case sensitive.

Custom Counters

The IIS appliance reports the following custom counters through the mon terminal.

The following counters belong to the W3SVC counter group:

Counter name

Description

Total hits

Total number of hits

Total bytes

Total number of bytes

Total NotFound requests

Total number of NotFound responses generated by IIS

Active requests

Number of active requests

Important! The counter's pace in the appliance is set to 10 seconds.

Error Messages

The following messages may appear in the appliance log file and the system log of the grid controller when the appliance fails to start:

Error message

Description

Error: content_on_fs is off but the local content volume is missing

The content_on_fs is set to off, specifying that the data volume must be mounted locally, but IIS cannot mount content volume. The probable cause is that the content volume is not formatted, or is not present in the IIS configuration.

Error: content_on_fs is on but the fs terminal is not connected

The content_on_fs is set to on, specifying that a remote file system must be used for web content, but IIS cannot access the content share. The probable cause is that another appliance which exposes such a share is not connected to the IIS fs terminal.

Error: Failed to access fs share

IIS cannot access cifs share. The probable cause is that fs is not connected or IIS was started before the appliance which is connected to the fs terminal (for example, a NAS appliance).

Error: docs directory docs_dir does not exist on content volume

docs_dir folder, defined in IIS configuration, couldn't be found on the content volume.

You can review the appliance log file at the following location:

/var/log/appliance/log

Access Control

Files on the content volume should have 'read' permission for Everyone, to be eligible for serving through HTTP.

To serve dynamic content from the remote file system share, IIS0Ny appliance in the application must be configured.

To configure IIS03y appliance in the application

  1. Verify that required web service extensions are enabled:
  2. Set Full Trust on the remote filesystem:
  3. Restart IIS:

    Important! Replace "file:////\\fs\share\*" with a correct path if required (repeat the command for multiple folders)

Web Service Extensions

IS0Ny appliances are configured with the following Web Service Extension settings, which can be modified in the IIS manager:

Extension

Setting

All Unknown CGI Extensions

Prohibited

All Unknown ISAPI Extensions

Prohibited

Active Server Pages

Allowed

ASP .NET v2.0.50727

Allowed

Internet Data Connector

Prohibited

 

RPC Proxy Server Extension

Allowed

 

Server Side Includes

Prohibited

 

WebDAV

Prohibited

 

Sending E-mail

The 'IIS SMTP' system is not configured on IIS. Do not use it for sending e-mail from this appliance. In all cases, your SMTP mailer should be set up to use aux as the hostname of the SMTP server. See the use cases for examples on how to use IIS0Ny with email.

Static web site

Static web site

Appliances in use:

usr

input gateway for user requests

iis

Web server with static and/or dynamic content (for example, ASP.NET scripts)

Client requests arrive on the usr gateway. The gateway forwards the requests to the iis web server.

Example property configuration:

Property name

Value

Notes

content_on_fs

off

Using local volume.

docs_dir

/

Website files are located in the root of the content volume.

logs_enabled

off

We do not need log files.

logs_base_dir

/

We do not need log files.

index_files

default.htm default.asp default.aspx index.html

Most popular index files.

max_connections

0

Do not use artificial limit.

idle_timeout_sec

15

Default timeout for idle connections.

data_timeout_sec

300

Default timeout.

2-tier application with database

2-tier application with database

Appliances in use:

Client requests arrive on the usr gateway. The gateway forwards the requests to the iis web server. The web server accesses the sql database.

Example property configuration:

Property name

Value

Notes

content_on_fs

off

Using local volume.

docs_dir

/

Website files are located in the root of the content volume.

logs_enabled

off

We do not need log files.

logs_base_dir

/

We do not need log files.

index_files

default.htm default.asp default.aspx index.html

Most popular index files.

max_connections

20

Use at most 20 simultaneous connections.

idle_timeout_sec

15

Default timeout for idle connections.

data_timeout_sec

300

Default timeout.

2-tier application with database and log

2-tier application with database and log

Appliances in use:

Client requests arrive on the usr gateway. The gateway forwards the requests to the iis web server. The web server accesses the db database. iis and db both write their logs to the logs appliance through their log terminals.

Example property configuration:

Property name

Value

Notes

content_on_fs

off

Using local volume.

docs_dir

/

Website files are located in the root of the content volume.

logs_enabled

on

Preserve log files.

logs_base_dir

/iis_logs

Put log files into /iis_logs subdirectory.

index_files

default.htm default.asp default.aspx index.html

Most popular index files.

max_connections

20

Use at most 20 simultaneous connections.

idle_timeout_sec

15

Default timeout for idle connections.

data_timeout_sec

300

Default timeout.

2-tier application with shared file system and e-mail gateway

2-tier application with shared file system and e-mail gateway

Appliances in use:

Client requests arrive on the usr gateway. The gateway forwards the requests to the iis web server. The web server's content is located on config and is being accessed from iis though the fs terminal. iis writes its logs to the config appliance through the log terminal.

The web application is able to send outbound e-mails through the aux terminal of iis via the mail gateway.

Example property configuration:

Property name

Value

Notes

content_on_fs

on

Content is located on mounted NAS volume.

docs_dir

/website

Website files are located in the /website directory of the content volume.

logs_enabled

on

Preserve log files.

logs_base_dir

/iis_logs

Keep log files in the /iis_logs directory.

index_files

default.htm default.asp default.aspx index.html

Most popular index files.

max_connections

0

Do not use artificial limit.

idle_timeout_sec

15

Default timeout for idle connections.

data_timeout_sec

300

Default timeout.

Scalable 2-tier application

Scalable 2-tier application

Appliances in use:

Client requests arrive on the usr gateway. The gateway forwards the requests to the webs load balancer, which directs the request to one of the web servers iis1 or iis2. The web servers access the db database. The web servers' content is located on the shared config appliance and is being accessed though the fs terminals. Both web servers write their logs to the logs appliance through their log terminals.

The web application is able to send outbound e-mails through the aux terminal of iisy via the mail gateway.

In addition, an administrator can log in through the admin gateway to the logs appliance and view log files.

Example property configuration:

Property name

Value

Notes

content_on_fs

on

Content is located on mounted NAS volume.

docs_dir

/website_files

Website files are located in the /website_files directory of the content volume.

logs_enabled

on

Preserve log files.

logs_base_dir

/website_logs

Keep log files in the /website_logs directory.

index_files

default.htm default.asp default.aspx index.html

Most popular index files.

max_connections

0

Do not use artificial limit.

idle_timeout_sec

15

Default timeout for idle connections.

data_timeout_sec

300

Default timeout.

Notes and Links

The appliance hostname (set to appliance instance name) cannot be longer than 15 characters. Setting the appliance instance name to more than 15 characters will result in a hostname truncated to the 15th character.

Open source and 3rd party software used inside of the appliance

IIS0Ny uses the following 3rd party open source packages in addition to the 3rd party open source packages used by its base class WIN0Ny.

Software

Version

Modified

License

Notes

F5XForwardedFor

1.0.0

No

iControl EULA

http://devcentral.f5.com/downloads/codeshare/F5XForwardedFor.zip

KB942589

N/A

No

eula_KB942589

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/942589; for x64 only.

dotnetfx

3.5

No

eula_dotnetfx

.NET Framework 3.5 full package

mysql-connector-odbc

5.1.5

No

GPLv2

download page on MySQL website

psqlodbc

08.03.0400

No

LGPLv2.0

download page on PgFoundry

perl-libwin32

0.27-1

No

GPLv2

download page