Microsoft® Windows® 2000 and IIS 5.0 Administrator's Pocket Consultant

Author William R. Stanek Pages 396 Disk N/A Level All Levels Published 04/04/2001 ISBN 9780735610248 ISBN-10 0-7356-1024-X Price(USD) $29.99 To see this book's discounted price, select a reseller below.	More Information About the Book Table of Contents Sample Chapter Index Related Series Related Books About the Author Support: Book & CD Rate this book

Chapter 3: Configuring Web Sites and Servers continued

Creating Web Sites

The default Web site is designed for beginning administrators and has many subdirectories containing documentation and helpful applications. The key directories are:

• IISHelp Contains online help documentation and is located in %SystemRoot%\Help\IisHelp by default. This directory is set up as a pooled Internet Server Application Programming Interface (ISAPI) application called IIS Help Application.
• IISAdmin  Contains operator administration pages for the Web site. This directory must be configured for any Web site that you want operators to be able to control remotely. By default, the directory is located in %SystemRoot%\System32\Inetsrv\Iisadmin and is configured as a pooled ISAPI application called Administration Application.
• IISSamples  Contains sample documents that can be helpful for administrators and developers. By default, the directory is located in the \Iissamples directory within the IIS installation and is configured as a pooled ISAPI application called Sample Application.

While the default Web site is helpful for novices, it can be the source of many problems for administrators:

• The preconfigured ISAPI applications use system resources that are better used elsewhere.
• The application files are easy targets for mischievous users who want to exploit the server.
• The \IISAdmin directory makes remote operator administration possible (when this may not be what is wanted).

For these and other reasons not stated, I recommend that you delete the default Web site and create a new Web site in its place. You can then configure any specific default directories that are needed on an individual basis. For example, if you want to make it possible to remotely administer the site, create a virtual directory called \IISAdmin that points to %SystemRoot%\System32\Inetsrv\Iisadmin as described in the "Linking IISAdmin, IISHelp, and other System Directories" section of this chapter.

You can create additional Web sites by completing the following steps:

1. If you are installing the Web site on a new server, ensure that the World Wide Web Publishing Service has been installed on the server.
2. If you want the Web site to use a new IP address, you must configure the IP address before installing the site. For details, refer to the "Assigning a Static IP Address" section of Chapter 15, "Managing TCP/IP Networking," of Microsoft Windows 2000 Administrator’s Pocket Consultant.
3. In the Internet Information Services snap-in, right-click the icon for the computer you want to work with, point to New, and then select Web Site. If the computer isn’t shown, connect to it as discussed in the "Connecting To Other Servers" section of Chapter 2, "Core IIS Administration," and then perform this task.
4. The Web Site Creation Wizard is started. Click Next. In the Name field, type a descriptive name for the Web site, such as Corporate WWW Server. Click Next.
5. As shown in Figure 3-5, use the IP address selection list to select an available IP address. Choose (All Unassigned) to allow HTTP to respond on all unassigned IP addresses that are configured on the server. Multiple Web sites can use the same IP address provided that the sites are configured to use different port numbers or host header names.


Click to view graphic

Figure 3-5.  Set the IP address and port values for the new site in the Web Site Creation Wizard.

6. The TCP port for the Web site is assigned automatically as port 80. If necessary, type a new port number in the TCP Port field. Multiple sites can use the same port, provided that the sites are configured to use different IP addresses or host header names.
7. If you plan to use host headers for the site, type the host header name in the field provided. On a private network, the host header can be a computer name, such as EngIntranet. On a public network, the host header must be a DNS name, such as services.microsoft.com. The host header name must be unique.
8. By default, Web servers use port 443 for SSL. If you’ve installed an SSL certificate on the server, as discussed in Chapter 6, "Managing Microsoft Certificate Services and SSL," SSL is enabled for use and you can change the SSL port by typing a new value in the SSL Port field. Multiple sites can use the same SSL port, provided the sites are configured to use different IP addresses.
9. The next dialog box lets you set the home directory for the Web site. Click Browse to search for a folder. This folder must be created before you can select it. If necessary, use Microsoft Windows Explorer to create the directory before you browse for a folder.

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REAL WORLD:
I recommend that you create a top-level directory for storing the home directories and then create subdirectories for each site. The default top-level directory is C:\Inetpub. If you use this directory, you could create subdirectories called CorpWWW, CorpServices, and CorpProducts to store the files for www.microsoft.com, services.microsoft.com, and products.microsoft.com, respectively.

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10. If you want to create a secure or private Web site, clear Allow Anonymous Access To This Web Site. By default, new Web sites are configured for anonymous access. This means users can access the Web site without needing to authenticate themselves.
11. Next, as shown in Figure 3-6, you can set access permissions for the Web site. Normally, you will want to set Read and Run Script permissions only. The standard permissions are:
• Read  Allows users to read documents, such as HTML files.
• Run Scripts  Allows users to run scripts, such as Activer Server Page (ASP) files or Perl scripts.
• Execute  Allows users to execute programs, such as ISAPI applications or executable files.
• Write  Allows users to upload files to the site, such as with Microsoft FrontPage.


Click to view graphic

Figure 3-6.  Set access permissions for the Web site.

• Browse  Allows users to view a list of files if they enter the name of a valid directory that does not have a default file.
12. Click Next and then click Finish. The Web site is created but is not started. You should finish setting the site’s properties before you start the site and make it accessible to users.

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Last Updated: Friday, July 6, 2001