After writing my lengthy installation post on how to get Subtext up and running on IIS7 using a Virtual Directory, I want to follow up now with some quick instructions on how to configure a new web site in IIS7 for use with Subtext.
It seems like Microsoft heard the pleas of all web application developers who were asking for the same thing: To not cripple IIS for the desktop versions of the operating system. While in previous versions the ability to configure more than one website on IIS was limited to the server versions of the respective operating systems (Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003), in Windows Vista it is finally possible to configure more than one website on IIS7 without requiring Windows Longhorn Server. That makes it really easy to switch from a Virtual Directory to a website following these steps:
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Open IIS Manager from Administrative Tools
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Right-click Web Sites, pick Add Web Site...
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Pick a web site name, make sure to select Classic .NET AppPool
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Point the physical path to your Subtext web root directory (same as previously used in the Virtual Directory)
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Enter the Host Header value that matches your chosen sub-domain name, such as blog.yourdomain.com
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Done!
Yes, it really is that easy. Don't forget to go into your Subtext Host Admin configuration and change the Host Domain value of your blog to the sub-domain you picked, otherwise certain links throughout the blog won't point to the right locations (such as the RSS and ATOM links).
Note that the bigger part of configuring your blog as its own web site might be the configuration of your sub-domain. Depending on how and where you are hosting your domain different steps might be required to make sure the sub-domain name is forwarded to the server correctly. However, since this is a very common task it should be described in your host provider's online help and manuals.
posted @ Thursday, December 07, 2006 5:15 PM