Managing Global Web Site Properties

You use global Web site properties to set default property values for new Web sites created on a server. Anytime you change global properties, existing Web sites might inherit the changes as well. In some cases you’ll have the opportunity to specify which sites and directories within sites inherit changes. In other cases the changes are applied automatically to all existing Web sites and you aren’t prompted to either accept or decline.

To change global Web site properties for a server, follow these steps:

1. In the IIS snap-in, double-click the icon for the computer you want to work with. If the computer isn’t shown, connect to it as discussed in the section entitled “Connecting to Other Servers” in Chapter 2, “Core IIS Administration,” and then perform the remaining steps.

2. Right-click Web Sites and then select Properties. This opens the Web Sites Properties dialog box for the computer.

3. Use the tabs and fields of the Web Sites Properties dialog box to configure the default property values. When you’re finished making changes, click OK.

4. Before applying changes for permissions and authentications, made in the Security tab of the Web Sites Properties dialog box, IIS checks the existing settings in use for all child nodes of the selected resource (if any). If a Web site or directory within a Web site uses a different value, an Inheritance Overrides dialog box is displayed. Use this dialog box to select the site and directory nodes that should use the new setting, and then click OK.