Set up SmarterTrack as an IIS Site in IIS 8

Beginning with SmarterTrack 13.x, we added an IIS Configuration Wizard to the installation process. This takes care of creating an App Pool for SmarterTrack, setting up the site in IIS, etc. In addition, the default web server was removed in SmarterTrack 13.x. Therefore, following the setup wizard that runs for installations will take care of IIS configuration automatically. That said, the information below may be helpful if you run into issues. 

Applies to SmarterTrack 12.x and lower

By default, SmarterTrack installs a basic web server that allows administrators to start using the application immediately after installation. However, SmarterTools recommends moving to a more robust and secure Web server, such as Microsoft IIS.

NOTE: This topic assumes that you have IIS installed and are familiar with how it works. if you are unfamiliar with or uncomfortable using Microsoft IIS you can use the Web server included with SmarterTrack . It is also recommended to be up to date with all software patches. 

This article covers the following:

  • Disabling the SmarterTrack Web server
  • Adding IIS ISAPI components
  • Adding a new application pool for SmarterTrack
  • Adding SmarterTrack to IIS
  • Verifying IIS Settings

Disabling the SmarterTrack Web Server
These steps will stop and disable the default web server that is included with SmarterTrack. This will also have the side-effect of disabling any shortcut for SmarterTrack that may be placed on your desktop until you update it with the new URL for the SmarterTrack site created in IIS.

  1. Click on Start -> Programs -> SmarterTools -> SmarterTrack -> Configure SmarterTrack Web Server
  2. Click on the Stop button
  3. Change the Startup Mode to Disabled
  4. Click on the Apply button
  5. Click the Close button

NOTE: You can also stop and disable the SmarterTrack Web server from within the Services administrative tool if you are more comfortable using the Windows Server admin tool set.

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 SmarterTrack:

  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 SmarterTrack, or something similarly easy to identify
  4. Set the .Net Framework Version to v4.5.x (4.0 for 10.x and earlier)
  5. Set the Application Pools Managed Pipeline to 'Integrated'
  6. Make sure "Start application pool immediately" is checked
  7. Click OK

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

  1. Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager
  2. Click on your ServerName, 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) (.NET 4.0 for 10.x and earlier).
  4. On the left side of the page, right click on Sites in the tree view and choose Add Website
  5. Name the site SmarterTrack
  6. If you created an Application Pool name other than SmarterTrack, click Select and choose the correct Application Pool
  7. For the physical path, browse to the SmarterTrack -> MRS folder. The default location is C:\Program Files (x86)\SmarterTools\ SmarterTrack\MRS. NOTE: When using the manual installer, you'd need to point the IIS site to the root folder of wherever the SmarterTrack zip file was extracted.
  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 (.NET 4.0 for 10.x and earlier)
  4. In the tree view, click Sites
  5. Expand (or double click) the SmarterTrack 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 SmarterTrack application pool and select Advanced Settings
  13. Under the Process Model heading, ensure the 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

For more information, refer to the SmarterTrack Online Help.

 

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Feedback

The folder path C:\Program Files (x86)\SmarterTools\ SmarterTrack\MRS is not correct when you deploy SmarterTrack using the manual installer. The manual installer contains the full root web in the sub folder "SmarterTrack".
Hannelore Stensitzki (1/4/2014 at 10:33 AM)
Thanks. Made a note of that in the KB article for those using the manual installer.
Derek Curtis (1/7/2014 at 2:03 PM)
This needs updating for SmarterTrack 14.x
Glen Harvy (7/15/2018 at 4:59 PM)