Hack 61 IISFAQ

Hack 61 IISFAQ

Here's a brief overview of IISFAQ, Chris Crowe's valuable web site that every IIS administrator should know about .

I started the IISFAQ web site (http://www.IISFAQ.com) in early 2000 initially as a resource to help me maintain a set of answers to frequently asked questions on the Microsoft IIS newsgroups specifically , the microsoft.public.inetserver.iis newsgroup on msnews.microsoft.com . The web site has grown up quickly over the years and is now regarded as one of the major sources of information regarding Internet Information Server on the Web. The web site is not affiliated with Microsoft in any way, but I do have limited access to the Microsoft IIS team though my Microsoft MVP status, which gives me access to some of the best information out there.

On the site you will find more than 50 categories related to IIS, such as:

• Administration

• Configuration

• Installation

• Logging

• Security

• Troubleshooting

There is also a growing repository of articles and links to content around the Web that we think you will find helpful in your search for information on IIS. We try to break down complex problems into helpful, easy-to-read articles that get to the point. Most of the articles include plenty of screen snapshots to help you follow along easily.

The site is kept up-to-date with all the new information that is released regarding IIS on almost a daily basis. The site also specializes in scripts for the management of your web server. There are dozens of scripts written mainly in VBScript, but with the introduction of the .NET Framework we will see more written in C# in the future.

The web site is also the official home to a debugging tool called IISState, which you can use to help diagnose problemsfor example, when your web server hangs or causes 100% CPU usage.

There are also discussion forums on the site for those who wish to discuss their issues or to give feedback to others who are having problems.

My Favorites

Here are a few of my personal favorite articles on the site:

• Backup & Restore of the IIS Metabase: What tools can I use? (http://www.iisfaq.com/default.aspx?View=A329&P=73)

• How to Configure ODBC Logging toLlog to a Microsoft Access Database (http://www.iisfaq.com/default.aspx?View=A151&P=141)

• Troubleshooting ASP and Microsoft Access Databases (http://www.iisfaq.com/default.aspx?View=A396&P=160)

And here are some of my personal favorite scripts on the site:

• A VB script that will archive all the log files for all of the IIS services that are over a specified age, in days (http://www.iisfaq.com/default.aspx?View=A141&P=109). This script uses the Microsoft MAKECAB.EXE command to make a *.cab file. After the CAB file is created, the original log file is deleted if the creation of the CAB file was successful. The CAB file will have the same name as the original log file. You save around 90-95% of disk space.

• A VB script that uses WMI to allow you to create DNS entries on your DNS Server (http://www.iisfaq.com/default.aspx?View=A319&P=109).

• A script that enumerates all web sites using C# (http://www.iisfaq.com/default.aspx?View=A540&P=199).

I hope you find IISFAQ a useful resource as you work with IIS. Thanks!

Chris Crowe