Do Elmah.config updates restart IIS? - iis

This seems like a relatively simple question, but I didn't see it clearly indicated in the documentation I examined. Assuming a typical Elmah usage on a Windows Server 2012/IIS 7 webserver installation, if the Elmah web.config settings are pointed to an Elmah.config file, will altering that file trigger under the running application cause IIS to restart?

While the answer provided by Josh would normally be true, it is not in the case of ELMAH. ELMAH instantiates a new error log implementation every time it is needed, reading the configuration from either web.config or the configSource provided.
You can do a simple test to prove this. If you configure ELMAH to use an external config file for the errorLog element like this:
<elmah>
<errorLog configSource="elmah.config"/>
</elmah>
and your elmah.config looks like this:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<errorLog type="Elmah.XmlFileErrorLog, Elmah" logPath="~/App_Data" />
When you start the project and force an error, a new XML file is written to the App_Data folder. Change the logPath like this (without restarting the application):
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<errorLog type="Elmah.XmlFileErrorLog, Elmah" logPath="~/App_Data2" />
(I changed to App_Data2).
Force a new error and you will now see ELMAH create the App_Data2 folder on the file system.

No: Straight from MSDN:
Saving a Web.config file restarts the application. You can alternatively use the configSource attribute of individual section elements to point to a secondary configuration file that does not cause an application restart when it is changed. For more information, see configSource in General Attributes Inherited by Section Elements.
MSDN

Related

web.config causes HTTP 500 issue with virtual directory in IIS

I'm fairly new to IIS so apologies if this is a basic question.
I have an IIS config serving an internal company website (php instead of asp.net). The prod version of the website is at the 'Default Web Site' level and I've got demo and test versions of the website mapped as virtual directories. The demo and test version are essentially copies of the prod directory. I've noticed the with the web.config copied to these VDs, I get an error 500 on the root url for the VD only. I.E. main website is https://mainwebsite.com and works fine but https://mainwebsite.com/demo/ doesn't work while https://mainwebsite.com/demo/index.php works fine.
The web.config file is pretty basic:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<configuration>
<system.webServer>
<handlers>
</handlers>
<defaultDocument>
<files>
<add value="index.php" />
</files>
</defaultDocument>
<staticContent>
<clientCache cacheControlMode="UseMaxAge" cacheControlMaxAge="00:03:00" />
</staticContent>
</system.webServer>
</configuration>
Moving the web.config file out of the way in the VD resolves the issue. Even though the files are identical, I wouldn't think that the file should cause a conflict as my understanding is that IIS supports multiple web config files.
Although I have a workaround in place by renaming or deleting the file, I am wondering if there's a way to keep the file in place without it causing this error.
Thanks to Panama Jack in the comments, I was able to resolve my issue.
I got this response with detailed errors:
Error Summary
HTTP Error 500.19 - Internal Server Error
The requested page cannot be accessed because the related configuration data for the page is invalid.
And further down:
Config Error
Cannot add duplicate collection entry of type 'add' with unique key attribute 'value' set to 'index.php'
To resolve, I simply commented out this line in the web.config XML:
<add value="index.php" />
I'm sure there's a better way to approach this but for now, this gets me my answer and also how to get more info from IIS when the logs are not useful.
if you create a virtual directory to another web root
web.config will cause this (personally I think the location of this file is totally insane.. mixed with htm and images etc. )
Replicate the directory somewhere else without the web.config file/excluding it..then point the virtual directory there.. & have a task set up to copy newer files over..

Microsoft.Owin.StaticFiles works in console host but I get a 404 in IIS on file requests

I have Microsoft.Owin.FileServer (v2.1.0) set up in my Owin pipeline, and setting up FileServerOptions with EnableDirectoryBrowsing = true works great for showing the directory contents in both my console host and iisexpress.
It's when I try to view a particular file (so, the StaticFiles part) I have problems in iisexpress. Still works great in the console host, but in iisexpress I get a 404:
HTTP Error 404.0 - Not Found
The resource you are looking for has been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.
Most likely causes:
- The directory or file specified does not exist on the Web server.
- The URL contains a typographical error.
- A custom filter or module, such as URLScan, restricts access to the file.
I do have the latest Microsoft.Owin.Host.SystemWeb referenced in the web host.
Adding <modules runAllManagedModulesForAllRequests="true"> didn't work for me (VS2013, IIS Express).
Forcing all requests to use the Owin pipeline did:
(in web.config)
<configuration>
<system.webServer>
<handlers>
<add name="Owin" verb="" path="*" type="Microsoft.Owin.Host.SystemWeb.OwinHttpHandler, Microsoft.Owin.Host.SystemWeb"/>
</handlers>
</system.webServer>
</configuration>
I had to add the following setting:
<modules runAllManagedModulesForAllRequests="true">
to get the module that Microsoft.Owin.Host.SystemWeb automatically registers to run for routes like *.txt, *.js that IIS was assuming were static files to run through the Owin pipeline.
This setting does have performance implications for actual static files, but this works for me.
I've just struggled with this for the last couple of hours, adding the handler below did work however I don't believe this was the correct approach, it caused public void Configuration(IAppBuilder appBuilder) to be invoked twice.
<add name="Owin" verb="" path="*" type="Microsoft.Owin.Host.SystemWeb.OwinHttpHandler, Microsoft.Owin.Host.SystemWeb"/>
I did some reading and found https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/aspnet/overview/owin-and-katana/owin-middleware-in-the-iis-integrated-pipeline
which then lead me to use UseStageMarked().
So now my call to UseStaticFiles() is followed by a called to UseStageMarker() like so:
appBuilder.UseStaticFiles();
//allows owin middlwares to be executed earlier on in the pipeline.
appBuilder.UseStageMarker(PipelineStage.Authenticate);
There is a very good read on it here:
You can find UseStageMarker inside the Microsoft.Owin package here: https://www.nuget.org/packages/Microsoft.Owin/
I hope this helps someone else.
Thanks
Steve

Enabling IIS Rewrite Module Logging

I am using IIS 7.5 on Windows 2008 Server R2 and have installed the IIS Rewrite Module v2.0. I am trying to enable logging to see exactly what rewrite rule is being used. Based on research I have learned that I need to modify (update) C:\Windows\System32\inetsrv\config\applicationHost.config. In order to do so I have created a NEW XML schema file called "RewriteLogging.xml" and have placed it in C:\Windows\System32\inetsrv\config\schema directory. The file contains the following code:
<!--
IIS Rewrite Logging
-->
<configSchema>
<sectionSchema name="system.applicationHost/RewriteLogging">
<attribute name="RewriteLog" type="string" defaultValue="C:\inetpub\logs\LogFiles\rewrite.txt" />
<attribute name="RewriteLogLevel" type="int" defaultValue="9" />
</sectionSchema>
</configSchema>
After restarting the web server I notice that the applicationHost.config file's date and time stamp get updated but my new directives are not getting added.
So here are my questions:
Am I approaching this the correct way?
Am I correct in creating a separate XML file and placing it in the schema directory?
Should I be creating a NEW section Schema name or should I be using an existing one? If so which one?
Am I using the correct syntax in the XML file? When I open it up in a browser I am not seeing any errors which is encouraging.
Am I missing something altogether or forgetting an important step?
Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

Asp.net application error running with Sitecore 6.4.1

I have Sitecore as site root (which is running ok) and under it I need to have a bunch of asp.net applications running.
So far, created a virtual directory for the child application, turned it into an app. But as soon as I browse the child app it comes with this error message.
Compilation Error
Description: An error occurred during the compilation of a resource required to service this request. Please review the following specific error details and modify your source code appropriately.
Compiler Error Message: CS0246: The type or namespace name 'Sitecore' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)
Source Error:
Line 3264: </providers>
Line 3265: </roleManager>
Line 3266: <profile defaultProvider="sql" enabled="true" inherits="Sitecore.Security.UserProfile, Sitecore.Kernel">
Line 3267: <providers>
Line 3268: <clear/>
It seems that the child asp.net app is inheriting Sitecore settings which are coming from Sitecore web.config.
Any ideas?
This should be possible. You'll have to author a web.config for that non-Sitecore application in virtual directory, and overwrite the sections under <system.web> and <system.webserver> which reference Sitecore classes. This includes:
httpModules / httpHandlers (for these you should "remove all" and add those of that web app)
security section (put the default ASP.NET provider classes back)
in Sitecore main web.config add the path of this web app to IgnoreUrlPrefixes setting to let Sitecore know it should not handle requests to those
It might be something else, but you should get the general idea.
This answer is similar to Yan, but is different enough for a separate answer. Hope it helps.
Go into IIS and select the Child Application. Select Modules. Remove all the Sitecore related modules that are present. Don't worry, the parent Sitecore app will still retain these modules.
When you do this, you are actually changing the child app web.config, so you will see the elements removed in the web.config file like so.
<remove name="SitecoreConfigWatcher" />
<remove name="SitecoreHttpModule" />
You also may have to clear out some other inherited settings.
<profile enabled="false"><providers><clear/></providers></profile>
<roleManager enabled="false"><providers><clear /></providers></roleManager>

Log4Net and GAC - How to reference Configuration Files?

I am using log4net during my development, as as part of a project constraint, I now need to add it to the Global Assembly Cache.
The logging definitions are in a file Log4Net.xml. That file is referenced in my assemblyinfo as: [assembly: log4net.Config.XmlConfigurator(ConfigFile = "Log4Net.xml", Watch = true)]. So long as the xml file was in the same directory as the log4net.dll, everything has been working fine.
However now that I've added log4net to the GAC, it is no longer picking up the xml file.
Does anyone know what I need to change in order to have it pick up the XML file again? Is hardcoding the patch in the assembly reference the only way?
Many thanks
log4net expects the config file to be in the path returned by:
System.AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory
Let your application print this information to some file and then you know where you need to place the config file.
Of course there are other solutions, but then you cannot use the attribute anymore. Calling the ConfigureAndWatch() method directly allows you to figure out yourself where the config file is; you can even decide on a location (does not have to be a hard-coded path).
You might ensure that your log4net.xml file is set to "Copy Always" (Right Click on log4net.xml -> Properties -> Copy to Output Directory = Copy always). To ensure that your config file is being copied, you should check your bin\debug or bin\release directory and verify that the log4net.xml file exists in the same directory that your application executes.
If that doesn't workthen you can try enabling internal debugging in log4net. To enable internal debugging, add the following key to your app.config file. This will send internal log4net debug messages to your Visual Studio Output window (View -> Output).
<configuration>
<appSettings>
<add key="log4net.Internal.Debug" value="true"/>
</appSettings>
</configuration>
For more information on log4net's internal debugging, you might check Phil Haack's blog post here.
If all else fails, you can turn on internal debugging and explicitly load the configuration by calling log4net's XmlConfigurator.ConfigureAndWatch method.
var fi = new FileInfo(Path.GetDirectoryName(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location) + "\\log4net.xml");
XmlConfigurator.ConfigureAndWatch(fi);

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