Set up SmarterMail as an IIS Site in IIS 10

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, the only other option is to manually configure a site directly in IIS. To manually configure a SmarterMail site within IIS 10, 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 8.0 please refer to the KB article Set up SmarterMail as an IIS Site in IIS 8. 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 the IIS role and required features.
• Adding a new application pool for SmarterMail
• Adding SmarterMail to IIS
• Verifying IIS Settings

Adding the IIS role and required features.

Follow these sets to add the necessary IIS components.

1. Launch Server Manager
2. Select Manage -> Add Roles and Features
3. A wizard interface will pop up, select Next.
4. Select Role Based or Feature Based installation and hit next
5. Select the desired server from the server pool and hit next
6. Expand Web Server (IIS) -> Web Server -> Application Development and check ASP.NET 4.6 (This option may be labeled ASP.NET 4.5 or 4.7 depending on the install) you may be prompted to add other dependencies such as .NET Extensibility framework 4.6 and CGI, ensure this prompt is accepted.
7. Expand Web Server (IIS) -> Management Tools. Here ensure IIS management console and IIS management scripts and tools are selected.
8. Click Next
9. Nothing should be modified in features, click Next
10. Confirm the changes being made and then select Install to begin the IIS configuration. Once complete hit finish and you should be all set.

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
8. Edit the Advanced Settings of the newly created application pool and check to ensure the Identity is set to 'Network Service', and save any changes. 

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. Right click on the SmarterMail application pool and select Advanced Settings
5. Under the Process Model heading, ensure the the Identity is set to the NetworkService account
6. Under the Recycling section, adjust the idle time out to 0 to ensure the web interface does not get shut down due to idle activity.
7. Click OK to finalize the changes.
8. From the Start menu, open Administrative Tools and select Services, then verify that the World Wide Publishing Service is running
9. Ensure the 'NetworkService' account has full control over the SmarterMail MRS directory. This is located by default under C:\Program Files (x86)\SmarterTools\SmarterMail\MRS