Configuring Microsoft Internet Information Server version 4.0

This page describes the configuration needed to run Caucus with the Microsoft IIS version 4 Web server.  Some details may be different for other versions of IIS.

To use Caucus with  Microsoft IIS Web server, you must make a few changes to the IIS configuration.  This should not affect any other use of your IIS web server.

(As usual, anywhere you see c:\caucus, replace it with the actual path of the Caucus home directory.)

  1. As Administrator, run the Internet Service Manger (Microsoft Management Console).

    Microsoft Management Console

  2. Right click the entry for the Default Web Site.
  3. Click "New", then click "Virtual Directory".  This brings up a the "New Virtual Directory Wizard".
  4. Virtual Directory Wizard

  5. In the Alias field enter "~caucus", click NEXT.
  6. In the Directory field type "c:\caucus\public_html", click NEXT.
  7. Make sure "Allow Read Access" is selected, and click FINISH.
  8. Repeat for the sweb directory. In the Alias field enter "sweb", click NEXT.  In the Directory field type "c:\caucus\SWEB", click NEXT.
  9. Make sure "Allow Read Access", "Allow Script Access", and "Allow Execute Access" are all selected, and click FINISH.
  10. Right click on the entry for "sweb" and select properties.
  11. Properties

  12. On the "Directory Security" tab Click EDIT under "Anonymous Access and Authentication Control".
  13. Permissions

  14. Make sure "Basic (Clear Text)" IS checked and that "Anonymous Access" is NOT selected, click OK, click OK.
  15. Exit the Internet Service Manager (Microsoft Management Console).
     

  16. Lastly, deny access to the c:\caucus\sweb directory to the IIS userid.  For example, if your NT machine name is "XYZ", you must deny access to the userid (account) IUSR_XYZ.  Login to the caucus userid (or as Administrator), and open a command ("MSDOS") window, and type the command shown below:
  17.         cacls
     c:\caucus\sweb\*.* /d IUSR_XYZ /e
A note about using Microsoft IIS.  Due to the nature of IIS, each Caucus user must have their own, unique userid (account) on your NT host.

If you would like to support "web-only" userids (that work with Caucus but do not otherwise allow access to your NT host), you must use another web server, such as O'Reilly's WebSite Professional or the (free!) Website 1.1.  You can run both IIS and WebSite on the same NT host, simply by assigning them different "port numbers".