Set up SmarterMail as an IIS Site in IIS 8

In order for users to access SmarterMail outside of the server where it is installed, SmarterMail must first be configured as a site in a web server, such as Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS). During SmarterMail's installation process, an IIS Config Tool will be available to automatically configure this site.

If Administrators wish to skip the IIS configuration during SmarterMail's installation, there are two options for completing that configuration later: 1.) Running the IIS Config Tool at a later time or 2.) manually configuring a site directly in IIS. To run the IIS Config Tool outside of SmarterMail's installation, navigate to its location in the server files, which defaults to C:\Program Files (x86)\SmarterTools\SmarterMail\IISTool\IisConfigurationTool.exe. To manually configure a SmarterMail site within IIS 8, follow the steps below. 

Note that the instructions for setting up SmarterMail as an IIS site differ slightly depending on which version of IIS is available. If you are using IIS 7.0, please refer to the KB article Set up SmarterMail as an IIS Site in IIS 7.0. If you are using IIS 6.0, please refer to the KB article Set Up SmarterMail as an IIS Site in IIS 6.0.

NOTE: This topic assumes that you are familiar with IIS and how it works. For specific information on IIS, please refer to Microsoft's documentation and support: https://www.iis.net/overview. It is also recommended to be up-to-date with all software patches.

This article covers the following:

• Adding IIS ISAPI components
• Adding a new application pool for SmarterMail
• Adding SmarterMail to IIS
• Verifying IIS Settings
• Updating DNS
• Testing the site

Add IIS ISAPI Components

Follow these sets to add the necessary IIS components.

1. Open up IIS
2. When prompted Launch Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager
3. Click on Products tab
4. Click on Servers
5. Install required components of: IIS: ASP.NET, .NET Extensibility, ASP, CGI, ISAPI Extensions, ISAPI Filters
6. Install any other options components
7. Click Install

Add an Application Pool

Follow these steps to add an application pool specifically for SmarterMail:

1. Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager
2. Right click on Application Pools from the tree view and choose Add Application Pool
3. Name the new application pool SmarterMail, or something similarly easy to identify
4. Set the .Net Framework Version to v4.5.x (SmarterMail versions 13.x and older allow the .NET 4.0 framework.)
5. Set the Application Pools Managed Pipeline to 'Integrated'
6. Make sure "Start application pool immediately" is checked
7. Click OK

Add SmarterMail to IIS
Follow these steps to add SmarterMail to IIS:

1. Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager
2. Click on your Server Name, and on the right side, under IIS, double-click ISAPI and CGI Restrictions
3. Verify that ASP.NET v4.5 is allowed. If not, right click on ASP.NET v4.5.x and select Allowed. (SmarterMail versions 13.x and older allow the .NET 4.0 framework.)
4. On the left side of the page, right click on Sites in the tree view and choose Add Website
5. Name the site SmarterMail
6. If you created an Application Pool name other than SmarterMail, click Select and choose the correct Application Pool
7. For the physical path, browse to the SmarterMail -> MRS folder. The default location is C:\Program Files (x86)\SmarterTools\SmarterMail\MRS
8. For Binding, choose an IP address to use for Webmail. If this IP address is shared with another Web site, you will need to use a different port or Host Headers. For more information about using Host headers, refer to the IIS documentation
9. Make sure "Start Web site immediately" is checked
10. Click OK

Verify IIS Settings
Follow these steps to verify the IIS settings. Please read each item carefully.

1. In IIS Manager, click on your ServerName
2. Under IIS, double click ISAPI and CGI Restrictions
3. Verify that ASP .NET v4.5 is allowed. If it is not, right-click on ASP .NET v4.5 and select Allowed. (SmarterMail versions 13.x and older allow the .NET 4.0 framework.)
4. In the tree view, click Sites
5. Expand (or double click) the SmarterMail site
6. Click on the App_Themes folder
7. Under IIS, double click HTTP Response Headers
8. Under the Action menus, click Set Common Headers
9. Enable the Expire Web content setting
   • Click After
   • Add 7 for the number of days
10. Click OK
11. Click on Application Pools in the tree view
12. Right click on the SmarterMail application pool and select Advanced Settings
13. Under the Process Model heading, ensure the Identity is set to the NetworkService account
14. From the Start menu, open Administrative Tools and select Services, then verify that the World Wide Publishing Service is running