Windows Server® 2008 Security Resource Kit

Configuring IIS 7

IIS 7 uses an entirely different configuration architecture from that used by IIS 6. In IIS 6, all configuration data was stored in a proprietary format database known as the metabase. IIS 7 uses an XML format for its configuration data store. In addition, where IIS 6 stored all data in one metabase file, IIS 7 distributes data storage among the layers where configuration may apply—whether global to the Web server, local to a Web site, or specific to a virtual directory or application.

We refer you to the Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0 Resource Kit for a discussion of the location of these XML format configuration data files, how they are edited, and the relationship between these configuration files and the IIS Manager ...