Setting Up Web Entry Points

Within IIS we usually have multiple virtual Web sites; these sites may be uniquely identified using IP addresses and port numbers as well as HTTP host headers.

When CMS is installed, only one IIS virtual site is configured as the CMS Web site. Since the IIS virtual site points to a CMS server, the IIS sites are referred to as CMS Web entry points. Since the CMS ISAPI filters are installed globally on the IIS site, any of the IIS virtual sites can be an entry point for CMS.

NOTE: CMS Web sites are entry points into Content Management Server; they are not multiple instances of Content Management Server running on the same machine.

The SCA Web tab (Figure 18-13) provides the ability to configure the IIS virtual sites as CMS entry points.

Figure 18-13. Web entry points

For each of the IIS virtual sites, we can add or remove the CMS entry point. There are three configuration options available in the SCA.

• Yes Read Write: The IIS virtual site is configured as a CMS entry point; the CMS site is accessible in both presentation mode and authoring mode.

• Yes Read Only: The IIS virtual site is configured as a CMS entry point; the CMS site is only available in presentation mode (which is read-only); it is not accessible in authoring mode. The Switch to Edit Site link is not displayed, because the Web Author client is disabled. The Site Manager session will not be allowed to run either, even for viewing containers.

• No: The IIS virtual site is not configured as a CMS entry point.

Combining read-only sites with one read/write entry point is very useful for deployment on a Web farm. We will look into it in Chapter 20.

To configure a CMS Web entry point for an IIS virtual site, in the SCA Web tab, click Configure; in the Web Server Configuration window (Figure 18-14), select the appropriate option for the IIS virtual site from the drop-down list in the MCMS? column. For each IIS virtual site running on a machine where the SCA is installed, the Web Server Configuration window lists the site name, IP address, TCP port number, HTTP host header (under the Host Name column), and the CMS entry point setting (under the MCMS? column).

Figure 18-14. Web Server Configuration window

Once the CMS entry point is added in the SCA, two things are configured.

• The following registry key is created: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\NCompass\Resolution Content Server\Configuration\0\EntryPoints\<N>, where N is the IIS virtual site ID.

• The /NR and /MCMS virtual directories are added to the IIS site.

For the configuration changes to take effect, the IIS site has to be stopped and restarted. When you change the entry point setting, you will receive a warning to this effect, shown in Figure 18-15. The actual configuration takes place when you click OK in the Web Server Configuration window.

Figure 18-15. Web entry point warning

NOTE: You cannot change the entry point setting for the IIS virtual Web site that hosts the SCA.

To remove an entry point from an IIS site, select No from the drop-down list in the MCMS? column for this site. Both the /NR and /MCMS virtual directories will be removed from the site.

NOTE: If only one IIS virtual site is configured as a CMS entry point, this entry point cannot be removed.