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Default Settings for All Sites <siteDefaults>

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Overview

The <siteDefaults> element specifies default settings for all sites on the server. These settings are useful when you want to specify options for all Web sites that differ from the schema defaults for IIS 7 and later.

Note

If the same attribute or child element is configured in both the <siteDefaults> section and in the <sites> section for a specific site, the configuration in the <sites> section is used for that site.

Compatibility

Version Notes
IIS 10.0 The <siteDefaults> element was not modified in IIS 10.0.
IIS 8.5 The <siteDefaults> element was not modified in IIS 8.5.
IIS 8.0 The <siteDefaults> element was not modified in IIS 8.0.
IIS 7.5 The <siteDefaults> element was not modified in IIS 7.5.
IIS 7.0 The <siteDefaults> element of the <sites> element was introduced in IIS 7.0.
IIS 6.0 The <siteDefaults> element is analogous to the default Web site options at the W3SVC level in the IIS 6.0 metabase.

Setup

The <siteDefaults> element of the <sites> element is included in the default installation of IIS 7 and later.

How To

How to configure the site defaults for a server

  1. Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager:

    • If you are using Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2:

      • On the taskbar, click Server Manager, click Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

    • If you are using Windows 8 or Windows 8.1:

      • Hold down the Windows key, press the letter X, and then click Control Panel.
      • Click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

    • If you are using Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2:

      • On the taskbar, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

    • If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7:

      • On the taskbar, click Start, and then click Control Panel.
      • Double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

  2. In the Connections pane, expand the server name, then click the Sites node.

  3. In the server's Sites pane, click Set Web Site Defaults... in the Actions pane.
    Screenshot that shows the Sites pane, with Default Web Site listed.

  4. In the Web Site Defaults dialog box, specify your default options for all Web sites, and then click OK.

    Screenshot that shows the Web Site Defaults dialog box, with the General node expanded.

Configuration

Attributes

Attribute Description
id Optional uint attribute.

Specifies the random numeric identifier that is assigned by IIS when the site is created.

The default Web site is numbered 1. Other Web sites server-assigned numbers that may be composed of multiple digits.
name Optional string attribute.

Specifies a friendly name that uniquely identifies a Web site, for example, "Contoso HR Forms."
serverAutoStart Optional Boolean attribute.

Specifies whether the site should start automatically when the Management Service is started.

The default value is true.

Child Elements

Element Description
bindings Optional element.

Specifies default bindings for access to sites.
ftpServer Optional element.

Specifies default settings for FTP sites.

Note: This requires installing FTP 7.0 or FTP 7.5.
limits Optional element.

Configures default settings to limit the amount of bandwidth, the number of connections, or the amount of time for connections to sites.
logFile Optional element.

Configures default settings for handling and storage of log files for sites.
traceFailedRequestsLogging Optional element.

Specifies default settings for logging failed-request traces for sites.

Configuration Sample

The following configuration sample specifies the default limits, logFile, traceFailedRequestsLogging, bindings, and ftpServer options for IIS 7.

<system.applicationHost>
   <sites>
      <siteDefaults>
         <logFile logFormat="W3C"
            directory="%SystemDrive%\inetpub\logs\LogFiles"
            enabled="true" />
         <traceFailedRequestsLogging enabled="true"
            directory="%SystemDrive%\inetpub\logs\FailedReqLogFiles"
            maxLogFiles="20" />
         <limits connectionTimeout="00:01:00" />
         <ftpServer serverAutoStart="true" />
         <bindings>
            <binding protocol="http" bindingInformation="127.0.0.1:8080:" />
         </bindings>
      </siteDefaults>
   </sites>
</system.applicationHost>

Sample Code

The following code samples configure the default limits, logFile, traceFailedRequestsLogging, bindings, and ftpServer options for IIS 7.

AppCmd.exe

appcmd.exe set config -section:system.applicationHost/sites /siteDefaults.limits.connectionTimeout:"00:02:00" /commit:apphost

appcmd.exe set config -section:system.applicationHost/sites /siteDefaults.logFile.enabled:"True" /commit:apphost
appcmd.exe set config -section:system.applicationHost/sites /siteDefaults.logFile.logFormat:"W3C" /commit:apphost
appcmd.exe set config -section:system.applicationHost/sites /siteDefaults.logFile.directory:"%SystemDrive%\inetpub\logs\LogFiles" /commit:apphost

appcmd.exe set config -section:system.applicationHost/sites /siteDefaults.traceFailedRequestsLogging.enabled:"True" /commit:apphost
appcmd.exe set config -section:system.applicationHost/sites /siteDefaults.traceFailedRequestsLogging.directory:"%SystemDrive%\inetpub\logs\FailedReqLogFiles" /commit:apphost
appcmd.exe set config -section:system.applicationHost/sites /siteDefaults.traceFailedRequestsLogging.maxLogFiles:"20" /commit:apphost

appcmd.exe set config -section:system.applicationHost/sites /siteDefaults.bindings.[protocol='http',bindingInformation='*:8080:contoso.com'].bindingInformation:"127.0.0.1:8080:" /commit:apphost

appcmd.exe set config -section:system.applicationHost/sites /siteDefaults.ftpServer.serverAutoStart:"True" /commit:apphost

Note

You must be sure to set the commit parameter to apphost when you use AppCmd.exe to configure these settings. This commits the configuration settings to the appropriate location section in the ApplicationHost.config file.

C#

using System;
using System.Text;
using Microsoft.Web.Administration;

internal static class Sample
{
   private static void Main()
   {
      using (ServerManager serverManager = new ServerManager())
      {
         Configuration config = serverManager.GetApplicationHostConfiguration();
         ConfigurationSection sitesSection = config.GetSection("system.applicationHost/sites");
         ConfigurationElement siteDefaultsElement = sitesSection.GetChildElement("siteDefaults");

         ConfigurationElement limitsElement = siteDefaultsElement.GetChildElement("limits");
         limitsElement["connectionTimeout"] = TimeSpan.Parse("00:02:00");

         ConfigurationElement logFileElement = siteDefaultsElement.GetChildElement("logFile");
         logFileElement["logFormat"] = @"W3C";
         logFileElement["directory"] = @"%SystemDrive%\inetpub\logs\LogFiles";
         logFileElement["enabled"] = true;

         ConfigurationElement traceFailedRequestsLoggingElement = siteDefaultsElement.GetChildElement("traceFailedRequestsLogging");
         traceFailedRequestsLoggingElement["enabled"] = true;
         traceFailedRequestsLoggingElement["directory"] = @"%SystemDrive%\inetpub\logs\FailedReqLogFiles";
         traceFailedRequestsLoggingElement["maxLogFiles"] = 20;

         ConfigurationElementCollection bindingsCollection = siteDefaultsElement.GetCollection("bindings");
         ConfigurationElement bindingElement = bindingsCollection.CreateElement("binding");
         bindingElement["protocol"] = @"http";
         bindingElement["bindingInformation"] = @"127.0.0.1:8080:";
         bindingsCollection.Add(bindingElement);

         ConfigurationElement ftpServerElement = siteDefaultsElement.GetChildElement("ftpServer");
         ftpServerElement["serverAutoStart"] = true;

         serverManager.CommitChanges();
      }
   }
}

VB.NET

Imports System
Imports System.Text
Imports Microsoft.Web.Administration

Module Sample

   Sub Main()
      Dim serverManager As ServerManager = New ServerManager
      Dim config As Configuration = serverManager.GetApplicationHostConfiguration
      Dim sitesSection As ConfigurationSection = config.GetSection("system.applicationHost/sites")
      Dim siteDefaultsElement As ConfigurationElement = sitesSection.GetChildElement("siteDefaults")

      Dim limitsElement As ConfigurationElement = siteDefaultsElement.GetChildElement("limits")
      limitsElement("connectionTimeout") = TimeSpan.Parse("00:02:00")

      Dim logFileElement As ConfigurationElement = siteDefaultsElement.GetChildElement("logFile")
      logFileElement("logFormat") = "W3C"
      logFileElement("directory") = "%SystemDrive%\inetpub\logs\LogFiles"
      logFileElement("enabled") = True

      Dim traceFailedRequestsLoggingElement As ConfigurationElement = siteDefaultsElement.GetChildElement("traceFailedRequestsLogging")
      traceFailedRequestsLoggingElement("enabled") = True
      traceFailedRequestsLoggingElement("directory") = "%SystemDrive%\inetpub\logs\FailedReqLogFiles"
      traceFailedRequestsLoggingElement("maxLogFiles") = 20

      Dim bindingsCollection As ConfigurationElementCollection = siteDefaultsElement.GetCollection("bindings")
      Dim bindingElement As ConfigurationElement = bindingsCollection.CreateElement("binding")
      bindingElement("protocol") = "http"
      bindingElement("bindingInformation") = "127.0.0.1:8080:"
      bindingsCollection.Add(bindingElement)

      Dim ftpServerElement As ConfigurationElement = siteDefaultsElement.GetChildElement("ftpServer")
      ftpServerElement("serverAutoStart") = true

      serverManager.CommitChanges()
   End Sub

End Module

JavaScript

var adminManager = new ActiveXObject('Microsoft.ApplicationHost.WritableAdminManager');
adminManager.CommitPath = "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST";
var sitesSection = adminManager.GetAdminSection("system.applicationHost/sites", "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST");
var siteDefaultsElement = sitesSection.ChildElements.Item("siteDefaults");

var limitsElement = siteDefaultsElement.ChildElements.Item("limits");
limitsElement.Properties.Item("connectionTimeout").Value = "00:02:00";

var logFileElement = siteDefaultsElement.ChildElements.Item("logFile");
logFileElement.Properties.Item("logFormat").Value = "W3C";
logFileElement.Properties.Item("directory").Value = "%SystemDrive%\\inetpub\\logs\\LogFiles";
logFileElement.Properties.Item("enabled").Value = true;

var traceFailedRequestsLoggingElement = siteDefaultsElement.ChildElements.Item("traceFailedRequestsLogging");
traceFailedRequestsLoggingElement.Properties.Item("enabled").Value = true;
traceFailedRequestsLoggingElement.Properties.Item("directory").Value = "%SystemDrive%\\inetpub\\logs\\FailedReqLogFiles";
traceFailedRequestsLoggingElement.Properties.Item("maxLogFiles").Value = 20;

var bindingsCollection = siteDefaultsElement.ChildElements.Item("bindings").Collection;
var bindingElement = bindingsCollection.CreateNewElement("binding");
bindingElement.Properties.Item("protocol").Value = "http";
bindingElement.Properties.Item("bindingInformation").Value = "127.0.0.1:8080:";
bindingsCollection.AddElement(bindingElement);

var ftpServerElement = siteDefaultsElement.ChildElements.Item("ftpServer");
ftpServerElement.Properties.Item("serverAutoStart").Value = true;

adminManager.CommitChanges();

VBScript

Set adminManager = WScript.CreateObject("Microsoft.ApplicationHost.WritableAdminManager")
adminManager.CommitPath = "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST"
Set sitesSection = adminManager.GetAdminSection("system.applicationHost/sites", "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST")
Set siteDefaultsElement = sitesSection.ChildElements.Item("siteDefaults")

Set limitsElement = siteDefaultsElement.ChildElements.Item("limits")
limitsElement.Properties.Item("connectionTimeout").Value = "00:02:00"

Set logFileElement = siteDefaultsElement.ChildElements.Item("logFile")
logFileElement.Properties.Item("logFormat").Value = "W3C"
logFileElement.Properties.Item("directory").Value = "%SystemDrive%\inetpub\logs\LogFiles"
logFileElement.Properties.Item("enabled").Value = True

Set traceFailedRequestsLoggingElement = siteDefaultsElement.ChildElements.Item("traceFailedRequestsLogging")
traceFailedRequestsLoggingElement.Properties.Item("enabled").Value = True
traceFailedRequestsLoggingElement.Properties.Item("directory").Value = "%SystemDrive%\inetpub\logs\FailedReqLogFiles"
traceFailedRequestsLoggingElement.Properties.Item("maxLogFiles").Value = 20

Set bindingsCollection = siteDefaultsElement.ChildElements.Item("bindings").Collection
Set bindingElement = bindingsCollection.CreateNewElement("binding")
bindingElement.Properties.Item("protocol").Value = "http"
bindingElement.Properties.Item("bindingInformation").Value = "127.0.0.1:8080:"
bindingsCollection.AddElement(bindingElement)

Set ftpServerElement = siteDefaultsElement.ChildElements.Item("ftpServer")
ftpServerElement.Properties.Item("serverAutoStart").Value = True

adminManager.CommitChanges()