IIS can store connection strings used by managed code applications to connect to local and remote data sources, which can include SQL Server databases and other types of databases. To view currently configured connection strings, in IIS Manager, navigate to the level of the configuration hierarchy you want to manage, and then access the Connection Strings page by double-clicking the Connection Strings feature. In the main pane, you'll see a list of the currently defined connection strings. Local entries are configured at the level you are working with. Inherited entries are configured at a higher level of the configuration hierarchy.


You can create a connection string for SQL Server by completing the following steps:

1. In IIS Manager, navigate to the level of the configuration hierarchy you want to manage, and then access the Connection Strings page by double-clicking the Connection Strings feature.

2. On the Connection Strings page, in the Actions pane, click Add. This displays the Add Connection String dialog box.

3. In the Name text box, type the name of the connection string, such as SqlServerCustDb. This name must be the same name that you reference in your application code to retrieve...

Web applications that use ASP.NET include Web pages to provide the user interface and controls to provide drop-in functionality. As with ASP, you can optimize the way ASP.NET is used through a variety of configuration settings. You can also make additional functionality available by registering custom controls that applications can use.


Registering Custom Controls
Managed code applications can use any custom controls that are registered for use with IIS. As an administrator, you probably won't need to install controls, but you may need to validate control configurations. To view currently registered controls, in IIS Manager, navigate to the level of the configuration hierarchy you want to manage, double-click the Pages And Controls feature, and then in the Actions pane, click Register Controls. In the main pane, you should then see a list of the currently registered controls. Controls are listed by tag prefix, associated source or assembly, and entry type. Local entries are configured at the level you are working with. Inherited entries are configured at a higher level of the configuration hierarchy.

You can add a custom control by following these steps:
1. In IIS Manager, navigate to the level of the configuration hierarchy you want...

When you are working with managed code applications, you may need to store information used by an application as key/value pairs in the application's Web.config file. Storing application settings in this way ensures that the stored values can be accessed from anywhere within the application. If you store application settings at the server or site level, multiple applications could access and use the same settings. With this in mind, you can view and work with key/value pairs for applications by completing the following steps:

1. In IIS Manager, navigate to the level of the configuration hierarchy you want to manage.

2. Access the Application Settings page by double-clicking the Application Settings feature.

3. In the main pane, you'll see a list of the currently defined key/value pairs. Be sure to note whether the entry type is listed as local or inherited. Local entries are configured at the level you are working with. Inherited entries are configured at a higher level of the configuration hierarchy.

4. Use the following techniques to work with application settings:

dd a setting Click Add. In the Add Application Setting dialog box, type the name and value for the application...

E-mail services are an important part of most Internet, intranet, and extranet server operations. Often, you'll find that applications installed on a server generate e-mail messages that need to be delivered. For this purpose, IIS includes the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) feature so that IIS can deliver e-mail messages for Web applications that use the System.Net.Mail API. The configuration restricts the sending of messages that are generated by remote users, which include the Internet Guest account and any other named user on the Web server. The configuration also restricts relaying of e-mail through SMTP.

SMTP is just one of several components that make up a typical e-mail system. Windows Server 2008 includes the optional SMTP Server feature to provide a more robust solution. However, if you want to receive e-mail and store it on the server so that users and applications can retrieve it, you need to install a full-featured messaging server in the enterprise, such as Microsoft Exchange Server 2007.

You can use the SMTP E-mail feature in two key ways. You can use this feature to deliver e-mail messages generated by applications to a specific SMTP server running on the local system or a remote...

In the default configuration, IIS manages session state for ASP.NET in much the same way as it manages session state for ASP. Beyond the basic settings, however, you have many more options. For ASP.NET pages, you use the Enable Session State setting of the Pages And Controls feature as the master control to turn on or off session state management or to configure IIS to use a read-only session state. You use the Session State feature to fine tune how session state management is used.

By default, IIS maintains session state in process as does ASP. Each ASP.NET application configured on your server can have its own session state settings. When you've activated the ASP.NET State Service and configured it to start automatically, you can use out-of-process session state management for ASP.NET. Out-of-process state management ensures that session state information is preserved when an application's worker process is recycled. You can configure out-of-process state management to use a State Server or a Microsoft SQL Server database. Before you configure a SQL Server for session state, you must run the InstallSqlState.sql script on the server. By default, this script is stored in %SystemRoot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\FrameworkVersion, where FrameworkVersion is the version of the...

IIS 7.0 has been re-engineered at its core to deliver a modular and extensible Web server platform, forming the foundation for lean, low-footprint Web servers that power customized workloads and Web applications. The new extensible architecture enables the Web server to be completely customized; you can select only the required IIS features and add or replace them with new Web server features that leverage the new rich extensibility application programming interfaces (APIs). In addition, the Web server enables the use of a new distributed configuration system and management tools that simplify Web server deployment and management. The core feature set of IIS 7.0 continues to leverage the reliability and security-focused architecture established by its predecessor, IIS 6.0, and it adds additional improvements to enhance the reliability and security of the Web server platform. IIS 7.0 also includes extended support for application frameworks, including better integration with ASP.NET and built-in support for FastCGI-compliant application frameworks.

Among its many improvements, IIS 7.0 delivers the following:

Modular Web server architecture. Unlike its monolithic predecessors, IIS 7.0 is a completely modular Web server, containing more than 40 components that the administrator can individually install to create low-footprint, reduced surface-area Web server deployments...