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Adding a Default Binding <binding>

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Overview

The <binding> element of the <bindings> element allows you to configure the information required for requests to communicate with a Web site.

You can configure binding information when you create a Web site, or you can edit the binding information after you create the site. Binding information includes the protocol that clients use to communicate with the site, the site's IP address, the port number, and a host header.

The <binding> element contains two attributes to configure the binding information: bindingInformation and protocol. The bindingInformation attribute contains the IP address, the port number and, optionally, the host header for the site. The protocol attribute defines the protocol to use to communicate with the site.

Compatibility

Version Notes
IIS 10.0 The <binding> element was not modified in IIS 10.0.
IIS 8.5 The <binding> element was not modified in IIS 8.5.
IIS 8.0 The sslFlags attribute was added to specify the binding used for Secure Sockets Layer certificates.
IIS 7.5 The <binding> element was not modified in IIS 7.5.
IIS 7.0 The <binding> element of the <bindings> collection was introduced in IIS 7.0.
IIS 6.0 The <bindings> collection replaces sections of the ServerBindings property on the IIS 6.0 IIsWebServer metabase object.

Setup

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

How To

How to add default binding information to 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, select the server name.

  3. In the Home pane, double-click Configuration Editor.

  4. Move to system.applicationHost/sites in Section.

  5. In the Site Bindings dialog box, click Add....

  6. Expand siteDefaults.

  7. Select bindings and then click the ellipsis to the right to open the Collection Editor.

    Screenshot of Site Bindings dialog box displaying Site Defaults node expanded and Bindings selected.

  8. Click Add, and enter values for bindingInformation, protocol, and sslFlags.

  9. Close Collection Editor and in the Actions pane, click Apply.

Configuration

You can add default <binding> elements within the <bindings> element in the <siteDefaults> section of the ApplicationHost.config file.

Attribute Description
bindingInformation Required string attribute.

Specifies information to communicate with a site. For example, a Web site binding includes the IP address (or unspecified IP addresses), the port number, and an optional host header used to communicate with the site.
protocol Required string attribute.

Specifies the protocol for communicating with a site.
sslFlags Optional uint attribute.

Specifies the type of binding used for Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates.
  • A value of "0" specifies that the secure connection be made using an IP/Port combination. Only one certificate can be bound to a combination of IP address and the port.
  • A value of "1" specifies that the secure connection be made using the port number and the host name obtained by using Server Name Indication (SNI).
  • A value of "2" specifies that the secure connection be made using the centralized SSL certificate store without requiring Server Name Indicator (SNI)
  • A value of "3" specifies that the secure connection be made using the centralized SSL certificate store while requiring Server Name Indicator (SNI)
Centralized SSL certificate support enables you to create a centralized certificate store that can contain multiple certificate files. You can name the certificate files to correspond to the host names that they contain. This enables you to create a binding that only requires a port, rather than an IP/port or a host name/port combination. When a request comes in, IIS matches the port, determines the host name from the request, and searches the centralized certificate store for a certificate file with a matching name. It uses that certificate.

With a Server Name Indicator (SNI), the host name is exchanged as part of the SSL handshake. SNI is enabled in the Add Site Binding dialog box when you add a binding with a type of HTTPS. This is especially useful for SSL connections that host multiple servers on a single network address.

The default value is 0.

Child Elements

None.

Configuration Sample

The following configuration sample specifies the default bindings options for IIS 7.

<system.applicationHost>
   <sites>
      <siteDefaults>
         <bindings>
            <binding protocol="http" bindingInformation="127.0.0.1:8080:" />
         </bindings>
      </siteDefaults>
   </sites>
</system.applicationHost>

Sample Code

The following code samples configure the default bindings options for IIS 7.

AppCmd.exe

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

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

         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 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)

      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 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);

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 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)

adminManager.CommitChanges()