Iisweb.vbs: IIS Web site management script

Article
10/08/2009

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Iisweb.vbs: IIS Web site management script

Creates, deletes, and lists Web sites on servers running Windows Server 2003 with Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0. Also starts, stops, and pauses the Web sites.

To view the command syntax, click a command:

iisweb /create
iisweb /delete, /start, /stop, /pause
iisweb /query

iisweb /create

Creates Web sites on servers running Windows Server 2003 with Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0.

Syntax

iisweb[.vbs] /create PathSiteName [/b Port] [/I IPAddress] [/d HostHeader] [/dontstart] [/s Computer [/u [Domain**\]User [/p** Password]]]

Parameters

Path
Required. Specifies the location of content files for the Web site. The path must be local, such as C:\Projects\HTML. If the specified path does not exist, Iisweb.vbs creates the path.

The *Path* parameter must immediately precede the *SiteName* parameter in the command. Otherwise, Iisweb.vbs does not interpret the site information correctly.

SiteName
Required. Specifies a name for the Web site.

/b Port
Specifies a TCP port number for the Web site. The default is 80.

/i IPAddress
Specifies an IP address for the Web site. If this parameter is not specified, the default is All Unassigned, which assigns to the site all of the IP addresses on the computer that are not assigned to other sites. Only one site on each IIS server can be set to All Unassigned.

/d HostHeader
Specifies the host header name for the Web site, such as www.microsoft.com. By default, the site does not have a host header name and must be identified by its IP address or port number.

/dontstart
Indicates that the Web site does not start automatically as soon as it is created. By default, IIS starts the Web site when the /create command completes successfully.

/s Computer
Runs the script on the specified remote computer. Type the computer name or IP address without backslashes. By default, the script runs on the local computer.

/u [Domain\]User
Runs the script with the permissions of the specified user account. This account must be a member of the Administrators group on the remote computer. By default, the script runs with the permissions of the current user of the local computer.

/p Password
Specifies the password of the user account specified in the /u parameter. If you omit this parameter, the script prompts you for the password and obscures the text you type.

/?
Displays help at the command prompt.

Remarks

To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure.
The Path parameter must immediately precede the SiteName parameter in the command. Otherwise, Iisweb.vbs does not interpret the site information correctly.
DNS must be configured to associate the host header name with the Internet server. Otherwise, the site will not start.
Iisweb.vbs does not verify the port number, IP address, or host header of a Web site, and it does not verify that these bindings are unique within the server. If you create a site with invalid or conflicting bindings, the site will not start.
When you use Iisweb.vbs to create a new Web site, you specify only the basic properties needed to create the site and identify its contents. Iisweb.vbs uses the same default properties that IIS uses when establishing new Web sites, and adheres to the same rules for inheriting properties. To configure the more advanced properties of the site, use IIS Manager.

Examples

The following examples show how to use iisweb /create in specific situations.

To create a Web site on the local computer

The following command creates the My Vacation Web site from files stored in C:\Rome. It uses the /d parameter to specify a host header for the Web site. It also uses the /dontstart parameter so that the Web site does not start automatically. This provides time to add the host header name to DNS before starting the site.

iisweb /create C:\Rome "My Vacations" /d www.reskit.com /dontstart

In response, Iisweb.vbs displays the basic properties of the new Web site. The status is Stopped because the command specified that the site should not start automatically.

Note that the metabase path that IIS generates for the new Web site is composed of W3SVC and a randomly generated identifier.

Connecting to server ...Done.
Server        = IIS-TEST
Site Name     = My Vacations
Metabase Path = W3SVC/1211348328
IP            = ALL UNASSIGNED
Host          = www.reskit.com
Port          = 80
Root          = C:\Rome
Status        = STOPPED

To create a Web site on a remote computer

The following command creates the Marketing Web site on the Srv01 remote server. It associates the site with files stored in the D:\New Initiatives\Marketing\HTMFiles directory on Srv01. The command uses the /i parameter to specify an IP address for the site. It uses the /s parameter to specify the remote computer, and the /u and /p parameters to run the script with the permissions of the user's Administrator account.

iisweb /create "D:\New Initiatives\Marketing\HTMFiles" Marketing /i 172.30.163.244 /s Srv01 /u Admin6 /p A76QVJ32#

In response, Iisweb.vbs displays the basic properties of the new Web site:

Server        = SRV01
Site Name     = Marketing
Metabase Path = W3SVC/1907510956
IP            = 172.30.163.244
Host          = NOT SPECIFIED
Port          = 80
Root          = D:\New Initiatives\Marketing\HTMFiles
Status        = STARTED

iisweb /delete, /start, /stop, /pause

Deletes Web sites from servers running Windows Server 2003 with Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0. Also starts, stops, and pauses the Web sites.

Syntax

iisweb[.vbs] {/delete | /start | /stop | /pause} WebSite [WebSite...] [/s Computer [/u [Domain**\]User [/p** Password]]]

Parameters

WebSite
Required. Specifies the site name or metabase path of the Web site.

Web sites must be uniquely identified. If more than one Web site has the same descriptive name, you must use the metabase path to identify the Web site.

/s Computer
Runs the script on the specified remote computer. Type the computer name or IP address without backslashes. By default, the script runs on the local computer.

/u [Domain\]User
Runs the script with the permissions of the specified user account. This account must be a member of the Administrators group on the remote computer. By default, the script runs with the permissions of the current user of the local computer.

/p Password
Specifies the password of the user account specified in the /u parameter. If you omit this parameter, the script prompts you for the password and obscures the text you type.

/?
Displays help at the command prompt.

Remarks

To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure.

Examples

The following examples show how to use iisweb /delete, /start, /stop, and /pause in specific situations.

To delete a Web site

The following command deletes the My First Novel Web site from the local computer:

iisweb /delete "My First Novel"

In response, Iisweb.vbs displays a success message in which it identifies the Web site by its metabase path, W3SVC/409413479:

Server W3SVC/409413479 has been DELETED.

To delete multiple Web sites on a remote computer

The following command deletes the Finance, Work Group, and Logo Web sites from Svr01, a remote server. The command identifies the Logo Web site by its metabase path, W3SVC/79116006.

iisweb /delete Finance "Work Group" W3SVC/79116006 /s Svr01

In response, Iisweb.vbs displays a success message in which it identifies each Web site by its metabase path:

Connecting to server ...Done.
Server W3SVC/1977437537 has been DELETED.
Server W3SVC/1509060625 has been DELETED.
Server W3SVC/79116006 has been DELETED.

To restart a Web site on a remote computer

The following commands stop and then start the Products Web site on the Srv01 remote computer. The commands identify the site by its metabase path, W3SVC/1509060225. The commands use the /s parameter to specify the remote computer. In this example, the /u and /p parameters are omitted because the current user of the local computer is also an administrator of the remote computer.

iisweb /stop w3svc/1509060225 /s Srv01

iisweb /start w3svc/1509060225 /s Srv01

To pause and restart a Web site on a remote computer

The following commands pause and then restart the Marketing and Finance Web sites on the Srv16 remote computer. The commands use the /s parameter to specify the remote computer and the /u and /p parameters to run the commands with the permissions of the user's Administrator account.

iisweb /pause Marketing Finance /s Srv16 /u Alice /p p@##word

iisweb /start Marketing Finance /s Srv16 /u Alice /p p@##word

iisweb /query

Displays the Web sites on servers running Windows Server 2003 with Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0.

Syntax

iisweb[.vbs] /query [WebSite [WebSite...]][/s Computer [/u [Domain**\]User [/p** Password]]]

Parameters

WebSite
Limits the query to the specified Web site. Type the name or metabase path of the Web site. The default is to display all Web sites on the IIS server.

Web sites must be uniquely identified. If more than one Web site has the same descriptive name, you must use the metabase path to identify the Web site.

/s Computer
Runs the script on the specified remote computer. Type the computer name or IP address without backslashes. By default, the script runs on the local computer.

/u [Domain\]User
Runs the script with the permissions of the specified user account. This account must be a member of the Administrators group on the remote computer. By default, the script runs with the permissions of the current user of the local computer.

/p Password
Specifies the password of the user account specified in the /u parameter. If you omit this parameter, the script prompts you for the password and obscures the text you type.

/?
Displays help at the command prompt.

Remarks

To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure.

Examples

The following examples show how to use iisweb /query in specific situations.

To query the Web sites on the local computer

The following command displays the Web sites on the local computer:

iisweb /query

In response, Iisweb.vbs displays all of the IIS Web sites on the local computer:

Site Name (Metabase Path)           Status  IP              Port  Host
=============================================================================
Default Web Site (W3SVC/1)          STARTED ALL             90    N/A
Products (W3SVC/1948497947)         STARTED 172.30.163.244  80    N/A
Finance (W3SVC/1211348328)          STARTED 172.30.152.249  80    N/A
Marketing (W3SVC/1907510956)        STARTED ALL             95    www.reskit.com

To query a specific Web site on a remote computer

The following command searches for the Marketing Web site on the Srv01 remote computer. It uses the /s parameter to specify the remote computer and the /u and /p parameters to run the script with the permissions of the user's Administrator account.

iisweb /query Marketing /s Srv01 /u Admin6 /p A76QVJ32#

In response, Iisweb.vbs displays the Marketing Web site on Srv01:

Site Name (Metabase Path)           Status  IP              Port  Host
=============================================================================
Marketing (W3SVC/1907510956)        STOPPED ALL             80   www.reskit.com

To query multiple Web sites

The following command displays the status of the Marketing and Finance Web sites on the local computer. It uses site names to identify the Web sites, although metabase paths are also valid.

iisweb /query Marketing Finance

In response, Iisweb.vbs displays the Marketing and Finance Web sites:

Site Name (Metabase Path)           Status  IP              Port  Host
==============================================================================
Marketing (W3SVC/1907510956)        STARTED ALL             80    www.reskit.com
Finance (W3SVC/1509060625)          STARTED 192.168.125.225 80    www.reskit2.com

Remarks

Iisweb.vbs performs the same operations that are available from IIS Manager. You can use either tool to administer IIS Web sites.
The computer issuing the command must be running Windows XP or a Windows Server 2003 operating system. The user must be a member of the Administrators group on any computer that the command affects.
The computer that the command affects must be a server running Windows Server 2003 with Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0.
Iisweb.vbs displays a "Connecting to server" message while it connects to the IIS service on the specified computer. This message appears whenever you use Iisweb.vbs, whether on a local or a remote computer.

Formatting legend

Format	Meaning
Italic	Information that the user must supply
Bold	Elements that the user must type exactly as shown
Ellipsis (...)	Parameter that can be repeated several times in a command line
Between brackets ([])	Optional items
Between braces ({}); choices separated by pipe (\|). Example: {even\|odd}	Set of choices from which the user must choose only one
`Courier font`	Code or program output

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Iisweb.vbs: IIS Web site management script