Section 2 of 6

IIS Hosting

🎯 What You'll Learn

ASP.NET Core Module
Installing .NET Hosting Bundle
Publishing for IIS
Creating IIS site
web.config

ASP.NET Core Module

The ASP.NET Core Module is an IIS module that allows IIS to host ASP.NET Core applications by forwarding requests to Kestrel.

Install .NET Hosting Bundle

Download and Install PowerShell

# Download from: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet
# Install .NET Hosting Bundle
# Restart IIS
net stop was /y
net start w3svc

Publish Application

Publish Bash

dotnet publish -c Release -o C:\inetpub\wwwroot\InvenTrack

Create IIS Site

Open IIS Manager
Right-click Sites → Add Website
Set Site name: InvenTrack
Set Physical path: C:\inetpub\wwwroot\InvenTrack
Set Binding: http, port 80
Click OK

Application Pool Configuration

Select Application Pools
Right-click your app pool → Basic Settings
Set .NET CLR version: No Managed Code
Click OK

Important

ASP.NET Core apps run in a separate process, so set .NET CLR version to No Managed Code.

web.config

The publish process creates a web.config file automatically.

web.config XML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
  <location path="." inheritInChildApplications="false">
    <system.webServer>
      <handlers>
        <add name="aspNetCore" path="*" verb="*" 
             modules="AspNetCoreModuleV2" 
             resourceType="Unspecified" />
      </handlers>
      <aspNetCore processPath="dotnet" 
                  arguments=".\InvenTrack.dll" 
                  stdoutLogEnabled="false" 
                  stdoutLogFile=".\logs\stdout" 
                  hostingModel="inprocess" />
    </system.webServer>
  </location>
</configuration>

Hosting Models

Model	Description	Performance
In-process	Runs inside IIS worker process	Faster
Out-of-process	IIS forwards to Kestrel	Slower

Enable Logging

web.config (Enable Logs) XML

<aspNetCore processPath="dotnet" 
            arguments=".\InvenTrack.dll" 
            stdoutLogEnabled="true" 
            stdoutLogFile=".\logs\stdout" 
            hostingModel="inprocess">
  <environmentVariables>
    <environmentVariable name="ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT" value="Production" />
  </environmentVariables>
</aspNetCore>

Troubleshooting

500.19 Error: Check web.config syntax
500.30 Error: Application failed to start, check logs
502.5 Error: Process failure, check .NET version
Enable logs: Set stdoutLogEnabled="true"
Check Event Viewer: Application logs

Key Takeaways

ASP.NET Core Module: IIS module for hosting
Hosting Bundle: Install on server
dotnet publish: Publish to IIS directory
No Managed Code: Set in Application Pool
web.config: Auto-generated configuration
In-process: Faster hosting model