I’ve installed web applications on various IIS versions on different Windows platforms and I always find some task to be annoying. Here are some common issues and how to get it resolved. This post is specific to IIS 6 and Windows 8. I will keep this post up to date as possible as I encounter or think about them.
Problem 1
- By default, if you’re using an App Pool that is set to
ApplicationPoolIdentity
as the process model identity, you will get an error if your connection string is set toIntegratedSecurity=true
. This means that the authentication is tied to the local credentials.Solutions
a.) Set it to
false
and configure/grant an actual user to connect to your local SQL Database instance. This can be configured in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).b.) Set the
process model identity
in the Application Pool, instead of built-in account to acustom account
using your Windows credentials.
Problem 2
- If you’re getting a 401 (unauthorized access) to static resources (CSS, JS, etc.), this means that the default account for IIS doesn’t have the permission to read these files.
Solutions
a.) You can go to IIS manager and select the website and go to the
Authentication > Anonymous Authentication
and make sure that it’s enabled (at a minimum, it needs to be enabled) AND set to a user that has permission. By default, it usesIUSR
for permitting anonymous access.b.) You can also go to the website project itself in your local directory and add
IUSR
to the list of accounts that are permitted to read the website directory. Right click on the project andProperties > Security > Edit
. By going with this approach, you can keep the anonymous authentication to theApplication pool identity
since the permission is given or set to the built-in user account.
Side notes
- In Windows 8, the command
aspnet_regiis -i
doesn’t work anymore so if you don’t have ASP.NET 4.x installed, adding it can be accomplished by going to thePrograms and Features > Turn Windows features on or off
then look for ASP.NET 4.x. Feel free to refer to this article for more information about this.
Feel free to comment or offer some insight if you find this post valuable or have encountered issues outside of what I highlighted in this post.