Configuring Remote Connections in IIS Manager

In IIS 7, IIS Manager makes it easy to perform remote administration. In addition to managing IIS 7 on the local computer, IIS Manager can manage remote servers, sites, and applications. The server administrator uses remote administration features to add IIS Manager user accounts and to allow those users to connect to any sites or applications for which they have permission.

Configuring remote administration involves enabling remote connections in IIS Manager and configuring the type of credentials required to connect to the server. Optionally, you can change default connection and logging settings, and add connection restrictions based on IP addresses or domain names.

Install the Management Service

The default IIS 7 installation options do not include the Management Service (also referred to as the Web Management Service (WMSVC)), which is required for remote administration. If you have not installed the Management Service, follow the steps in this procedure to install it.

To install the Management Service:

1. Click Start, type Server Manager in the Search box, and press ENTER to open Server Manager.
2. In the tree, under Roles, select Web Server (IIS).
3. Click Add role services, and then select Management Service as shown in the image below.
4. Click Next and follow the instructions to complete the installation.

Enable Remote Connections and Configure Identity Credentials

Enable remote connections so that Windows users and IIS Manager users (configured later in this article) can connect to this computer by using IIS Manager on their computers. By default, the Management Service allows connections only from users that have Windows credentials, but you can configure it to also allow connections from users with IIS Manager credentials. For the purposes of this article, configure the Management Service to allow both credential types as shown in the image below.

Note: The next section in this article explains IIS Manager credentials.

To enable remote connections and allow connections from Windows users and IIS Manager users:

1. In IIS Manager, in the Connections pane, click the server node in the tree.
2. Double-click Management Service to open the Management Service feature page.

4 .Select the Enable remote connections check-box.

5. Under Identity Credentials, select Windows credentials or IIS Manager credentials.

6. In the Actions pane, click Apply to save the changes, and then click Start to start the Management Service.

Additional Information

You do not have to enable remote connections to start the Management Service. If remote connections are disabled and the Management Service is started, you can connect to the Management Service from the local computer but not from a remote computer. If you cannot connect from a remote computer, make sure that remote connections are enabled.

You should check your firewall settings to ensure that connections are allowed to the Management Service. When the Management Service is installed, the setup process adds a firewall rule that allows traffic to the Management Service on port 8172 (the default port) which is on by default. If you ever change the port that the Management Service uses, you must add a new firewall rule to allow traffic to the Management Service on that port.