RSSBus Apps by default runs hosted in the RSSBus AppServer. In some versions of Windows, this requires a user to be logged in to run an instance of RSSBus AppServer. If this poses a problem to you, you may alternatively host RSSBus Apps in Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS).

This guide will show you how to host RSSBus Apps using IIS. It gives instructions for several versions of IIS and Windows. If your version is not covered in this tutorial or you have other questions, please contact our support team for further assistance.

Table of Contents

Hosting RSSBus Apps in IIS

1. Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 (IIS 7.5)
2. Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 (IIS 7)
3. Windows Server 2003 (IIS 6)
4. Windows XP (IIS 5)

Troubleshooting

1. Visiting http://localhost/apps results in a "Page Cannot Be Displayed" error (HTTP 404 error).
2. Apps stop responding if I stay logged out after a while.

Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 (IIS 7.5)

Create a Web Application

1. Open IIS Manager.
2. In the "Connections" panel, expand the node for your local machine. Right-click Default Web Site (or your custom website) and choose Add Application...
3. You will be prompted for several bits of info.
   • Alias: Pick an alias for the application. For our purposes, we'll go ahead and name it apps.
   • Application pool: You can assign a new application pool if you'd like. For the tutorial we'll stick with the DefaultAppPool. Whichever pool you decide, note its name for the next step in this tutorial.
   • Physical path: You'll need to point the physical path to the www directory of the RSSBus Apps installation. Assuming you've installed it to the default installation directory, you should specify the physical path to be C:\Program Files (x86)\RSSBus\RSSBus Apps\www.

Configure Permissions

We'll now need to allow the application pool identity to access the RSSBus Apps application directory. First we'll need to determine the identity.

1. In the left-hand Connections panel of IIS, click on the Application Pools node. Right-click on the application pool we assigned RSSBus Apps in the previous step, and select Advanced Settings...
2. In the dialog, under the Process Model section, note the name in the Identity field. This value is typically NetworkService, which is what we'll use here.

Now, we need to assign access permissions to the application pool identity.

Using ApplicationPoolIdentity

If you are using ApplicationPoolIdentity or another managed service account identity as your application pool identity, you will need to follow the alternate configuration instructions below.

• C:\Program Files (x86)\RSSBus\RSSBus Apps\www
• C:\Program Files (x86)\RSSBus\RSSBus Apps\data

1. In Windows Explorer, navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\RSSBus\RSSBus Apps\. Right-click on the www directory and select Properties.
2. Select the Security tab and click the Edit button. Then click on Add...
3. In the Select Users or Groups dialog that pops up, enter the application pool identity that you noted in the previous sequence of instructions. Click OK.
4. Then, in the Permissions for www dialog, ensure the application pool identity has the following permissions:
   • Modify
   • Read & Execute
   • List Folder Contents
   • Read
   • Write
5. Go ahead and confirm the settings.

Alternate: Configure Permissions For A Managed Service Account Identity

1. Open a Command Prompt as an administrator (Right click the Command Prompt link from Start → Accessories and choose Run as Administrator.
2. Use the icacls command to grant permissions to the www directory:

   icacls "C:\Program Files (x86)\RSSBus\RSSBus Apps\www" /grant "IIS APPPOOL\DefaultAppPool":(OI)(M)
         

Prevent Application Processes from Unloading

1. Note the Application Pool that you associated with your virtual directory: right-click on your virtual directory, and select Properties. Under the Virtual Directory tab, note the Application Pool. Close the dialog.
2. Open the configuration file located at C:\Windows\System32\inetsrv\config\applicationHost.config.
3. In the appropriate applicationPools entry, add startMode="AlwaysRunning" so it appears as such:

   <applicationPools>
     <add name="DefaultAppPool" managedRuntimeVersion="v4.0" startMode="AlwaysRunning" />
   </applicationPools>

At this point we should be good to go. Head on over to http://localhost/apps.

Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 (IIS 7)

Create a Web Application

1. Open IIS Manager.
2. In the Connections panel, expand the node for your local machine. Right-click Default Web Site (or your custom website) and choose Add Application...
3. You will be prompted for several bits of info.
   • Alias: Pick an alias for the application. For our purposes, we'll go ahead and name it apps.
   • Application pool: You can assign a new application pool if you'd like. For the tutorial we'll stick with the DefaultAppPool. Whichever pool you decide, note its name for the next step in this tutorial.
   • Physical path: You'll need to point the physical path to the www directory of the RSSBus Apps installation. Assuming you've installed it to the default installation directory, you should specify the physical path as C:\Program Files (x86)\RSSBus\RSSBus Apps\www.

Configure Permissions

We'll now need to allow the application pool identity to access the RSSBus Apps application directory. First we'll need to determine the identity.

1. In the Connections panel of IIS, click on the Application Pools node. Right-click on the application pool we've assigned RSSBus Apps, and select Advanced Settings...
2. In the dialog, under the Process Model section, note the name in the Identity field. This value is typically NetworkService, which is what we'll use here.

Now, we need to assign access permissions to the application pool identity. There are two directories that we will need to give the identity access:

• C:\Program Files (x86)\RSSBus\RSSBus Apps\www
• C:\Program Files (x86)\RSSBus\RSSBus Apps\data

1. In Windows Explorer, navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\RSSBus\RSSBus Apps\. Right-click on the www directory and select Properties.
2. Select the Security tab and click the Edit button. Then click on Add...
3. In the Select Users or Groups dialog that pops up, enter the application pool identity that you noted in the previous sequence of instructions. Click OK.
4. Then, in the Permissions for www dialog, ensure the application pool identity has the following permissions:
   • Modify
   • Read & Execute
   • List Folder Contents
   • Read
   • Write
5. Go ahead and confirm the settings.

At this point we should be good to go. Head on over to http://localhost/apps.

If you've run into any trouble during this guide, please see the Troubleshooting section.

Windows Server 2003 (IIS 6)

Create A Virtual Directory

1. Open IIS Manager.
2. In IIS Manager, in the left-hand panel, navigate to the Default Web Site node at Console Root → Local Computer → Default Web Site.
3. Right-click on Default Web Site and select New → Virtual Directory.
4. IIS Manager will now take you through the Virtual Directory Creation Wizard. Here are the values you should provide for each prompt.
   1. Alias: Whichever name you prefer. For this article, we'll specify apps.
   2. Directory: C:\Program Files\RSSBus\RSSBus Apps\www.
   3. Access Permissions:
      • Read
      • Run
      • Execute

Map Application File Types

1. Right-click on the virtual directory you just created and select Properties.
2. In the Properties popup, under the Virtual Directory tab, click the Configure button.
3. You will need to add two application extension mappings: .rst and .rsb. You will also need to specify a path to the executable that handles these files. This path is dependent on the version of ASP.NET you are using. Assuming you are using v2.0, the full path will look like C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0\aspnet_isapi.dll. You can adjust the path according to the correct version. Additionally, note that if your system runs on a 64-bit CPU, "Framework" instead should appear as "Framework64".

   How To Determine Your Version of ASP.NET

   Go to the Properties popup for the RSSBus Apps virtual directory you created. Select the ASP.NET tab. Note the ASP.NET version. Be aware that RSSBus Apps requires a minimum ASP.NET version of 2.0.

Configure Permissions

We'll now need to allow the application pool identity to access the RSSBus Apps application directory. First we'll need to determine the identity.

1. Right-click on the virtual directory representing our AppServer and select Properties.
2. In the Virtual Directory tab, note the value in the Application pool field. This value is typically DefaultAppPool.
3. Now cancel out of this dialog, and expand the Application Pools node in the left-hand navigation panel. Right-click on the application pool you identified in the previous step and select Properties.
4. Note the Application pool identity.

Now, we need to assign access permissions to the application pool identity. There are two directories that we will need to give the identity access:

• C:\Program Files (x86)\RSSBus\RSSBus Apps\www
• C:\Program Files (x86)\RSSBus\RSSBus Apps\data

1. In Windows Explorer, navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\RSSBus\RSSBus Apps\. Right-click on the www directory and select Properties.
2. Select the Security tab and click the Edit button. Then click on Add...
3. In the "Select Users or Groups" dialog that pops up, enter the application pool identity that you noted in the previous sequence of instructions. Click OK.
4. Then, in the Permissions for www dialog, ensure the application pool identity has the following permissions:
   • Modify
   • Read & Execute
   • List Folder Contents
   • Read
   • Write
5. Go ahead and confirm the settings.

You're Done!

Head on over to http://localhost/apps and check out your handiwork.

If you've run into any trouble during this guide, please see the Troubleshooting section.

Windows XP (IIS 5)

Create A Virtual Directory

1. Open IIS Manager.
2. In IIS Manager, in the left-hand panel, navigate to the Default Web Site node at Console Root → Local Computer → Default Web Site.
3. Right-click on Default Web Site and select New → Virtual Directory.
4. IIS Manager will now take you through the Virtual Directory Creation Wizard. Here are the values you should provide for each prompt.
   1. Alias: Whichever name you prefer. For this article, we'll specify apps.
   2. Directory: C:\Program Files\RSSBus\RSSBus Apps\www.
   3. Access Permissions:
      • Read
      • Run
      • Execute

Map Application File Types

1. Right-click on the virtual directory you just created and select Properties.
2. In the Properties popup, under the Virtual Directory tab, click the Configure button.
3. You will need to add two application extension mappings: .rst and .rsb. You will also need to specify a path to the executable that handles these files. This path is dependent on the version of ASP.NET you are using. Assuming you are using v2.0, the full path will look like C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0\aspnet_isapi.dll. You can adjust the path according to the correct version. Additionally, note that if your system runs on a 64-bit CPU, "Framework" instead should appear as "Framework64".

   How To Determine Your Version of ASP.NET

   Go to the Properties popup for the RSSBus Apps virtual directory you created. Select the ASP.NET tab. Note the ASP.NET version. Be aware that RSSBus Apps requires a minimum ASP.NET version of 2.0.

You're Done!

Head on over to http://localhost/apps and check out your handiwork.

If you've run into any trouble during this guide, please see the Troubleshooting section.

Troubleshooting

Visiting http://localhost/apps results in a Page Cannot Be Displayed error (HTTP 404 error).

This can happen if ASP.NET is not enabled correctly. To confirm this, visit http://localhost/apps/favicon.ico. If this page loads successfully, then ASP.NET is not properly enabled.

If you are using Windows Server 2003 open the Internet Information Services manager via the steps mentioned in the setup and check the Web Service Extensions listed under the local computer. Make sure ASP.NET v2.0 is enabled. You may also need to take the step below.

For other environments, running IIS6 or lower, open the windows command prompt and navigate to the .NET Framework version installation C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727 and run the command aspnet_regiis -i. You may have to change Framework to Framework64 if you are using a 64-bit processor. You should see something like this:

C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727>aspnet_regiis -i
Start installing ASP.NET (2.0.50727).
.......
Finished installing ASP.NET (2.0.50727).

C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727>iisreset

Attempting stop...
Internet services successfully stopped
Attempting start...
Internet services successfully restarted

For environments, running IIS7 or higher, follow the steps below to enable ASP.NET:

1. Open Control Panel
2. Go to Programs (or Programs and Features)
3. Choose Turn Windows features on or off
4. Expand Internet Information Services
5. Expand World Wide Web Services
6. Expand Application Development Features
7. Check the box next to ASP.NET
8. Click OK, wait for Windows to install the necessary features

Apps stop responding some time after I log out.

IIS is possibly unloading your application after it times out from inactivity. To prevent this you will need to run IIS 7.5 or higher and make a configuration change. Follow these instructions here.