Backing Up and Restoring the IIS Metabase
Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1
IIS administrators can create backup files using IIS Manager or a programmatic administration script. The backup files are copies of the metabase configuration file (MetaBase.xml) and the matching metabase schema file (MBSchema.xml). Using the metabase configuration backup and restore feature, the metabase can be restored from the backup files.
Important
You must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer to perform the following procedure or procedures. As a security best practice, log on to your computer by using an account that is not in the Administrators group, and then use the runas command to run IIS Manager as an administrator. At a command prompt, type runas /User:Administrative_AccountName "mmc %systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\iis.msc".
Procedures
To create a portable backup (password required)
In IIS Manager, right-click the local computer, point to All Tasks, and click Backup/Restore Configuration.
Click Create Backup.
In the Configuration backup name box, type a name for the backup file.
Select the Encrypt backup using password check box, type a password into the Password box, and then type the same password in the Confirm password box.
Click OK, and then click Close.
To create a non-portable backup (password not required)
In IIS Manager, right-click the local computer, point to All Tasks, and click Backup/Restore Configuration.
Click Create Backup.
In the Configuration backup name box, type a name for the backup file.
Click OK, and click Close.
To restore the metabase backup
In IIS Manager, right-click the local computer, point to All Tasks, and click Backup/Restore Configuration.
In the Backups list box, click the version of the Automatic Backup file that you want to restore, and click Restore. If prompted for a password, type the password you chose to secure the backup.
Related Information
For information about metabase reliability, see Backing Up and Restoring the Metabase in IIS 6.0
For more information about command-line administration scripts, see Using Command-Line Administration Scripts.