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Info  >  Technical Interaction  >  Website Package Deployment Page last modified Jul 22 2020, 14:11

Website Package Deployment

IIS7 and above supports the Web Deploy feature, which simplifies website deployment.  Pleasant Solution packages will generally be Application Packages, which can be deployed within a website.  (We recommend Windows 2012 R2 Server with IIS 8, or Windows 2008 R2 Server with IIS 7.5)

Have Questions? Contact Us!

 

Initial Setup

 

  • Ideally, install the Microsoft Web Platform Installer, which allows you to download and install Microsoft packages like those in this list (and their dependencies) with ease.
  • Install Microsoft .NET 4.5.1 (formerly Microsoft .NET 4.0 (Full Profile))
  • Install Web Deploy (current version)
  • (Deprecated, and project dependent) Ask us about installing MVC3,  MVC4, MVC5 (depending on the project dependencies.  This can be installed later)
  • (Optional, project depending) The Application Initialization module may be required on versions of IIS earlier than 8.  This is available via the Web Platform Installer.
  • (Optional, project depending) The IIS Rewrite module may be required on certain projects, depending on website features.  This is available via the Web Platform Installer.  (There are typically a few versions listed - the latest version is recommended)
Creating a website
  • If you don't have an existing website, create one in IIS Manager.
  • With the latest versions of IIS, the associated Application Pool is likely already set to .NET v4.0 (or v4.5) with the integrated pipeline option.  If not, change the options on it.
Deploy the Application

Select the site to which this application will belong, and select Deploy -> Import Application

Browse to and select the .zip file containing the application and click Next, and Next again.

If this Application is the only content for this site, remove the path under "Application Path".  (This will generate a warning notice later, which you can accept)

If this Application links to a database, you will be prompted to enter the Data Source information here.

Fill out any remaining fields with the appropriate information for your deployment environment.

Database Configuration

If the site requires database configuration, it should prompt during setup for the database type and connection string.  Valid database types are usually "SQLite", "PostgreSQL", or "MSSQL", with connection strings such as "data source=C:\dbFiles\ABSite\AB.db", or "data source=dbsvr,1101;Initial Catalog=AB_Accounting;User ID=dbuser;Password=dbpass"

Final Configuration

If the Application uses a local database, you may have to adjust file permissions on the database file and on directories above it so that the application can access the file.  (Generally this involves adding the IIS_IUSRS group with write permissions on the database file.)

 

Notes

As with any upgrade, we recommend backing up the current files before proceeding.  (Especially the web.config, the settings from which you likely want to keep)

To simplify later upgrades, we recommend not putting local database files under the website Application directory itself.

If you have trouble generating an appropriate connection string, check https://www.connectionstrings.com/

 

If the project involves report generation, you may have to edit the Advanced settings of the Application Pool for the website to have "Load User Profile" set to True.

 

You may want to take advantage of the Application Initialization module.  This can be configured via this guide.