Virtual Directory vs IIS in making intranet sites and folde

x_Danny_x

If you want users in the domain to be able to view a folder by using 1 or more URL http:// addresses, you use Virtual Directory with more than one alias!!


Now if you create an intranet website and you want users in the domain to view it using 1 or more URL http:// address, you use host headers


Im I correct here????! If so I just made this discovery

clarky

virtual folders... you create these in IIS
Web Folders... you create these in windows explorer
Web Sites... you create these in IIS

To keep it simple;
you create a web site, many web sites, how are you meant to access them?? host headers i.e technet is the web site name, www.technet.net is the host headers name

Virtual folder is the folders under the actual web site, they dont have aliases, they only have one name. example of this go to IIS and take a look at the VF under the default web site.

Web folders, go to explorer, properties of a folder, choose web share and then enable it, and either use the default name or create many aliases for that specific folder. lets say your computer name is jack... you need to run this url to access your web folder or http://jack/webfolder

you access virtual folders the same way.

x_Danny_x

clarky wrote:

virtual folders... you create these in IIS
Web Folders... you create these in windows explorer
Web Sites... you create these in IIS

To keep it simple;
you create a web site, many web sites, how are you meant to access them?? host headers i.e technet is the web site name, www.technet.net is the host headers name

Virtual folder is the folders under the actual web site, they dont have aliases, they only have one name. example of this go to IIS and take a look at the VF under the default web site.

Web folders, go to explorer, properties of a folder, choose web share and then enable it, and either use the default name or create many aliases for that specific folder. lets say your computer name is jack... you need to run this url to access your web folder or http://jack/webfolder

you access virtual folders the same way.

so virtual directory is in IIS then. So when I am talking about a Virtual Folder I am talking about a Web site. To give more than one http://address you assign host headers to the website.

for Web folders, these are the ones that you give 1 or more than one alias too if you want to give them http:// addresses.

Im I correct now??

Plantwiz

You may wish to try the free video on 70-218 from CBT Nugget. See if that visual helps define it a little more.

Coincidently, I watch that one last night and it covers this some.
HTH

clarky

so virtual directory is in IIS then. So when I am talking about a Virtual Folder I am talking about a Web site. To give more than one http://address you assign host headers to the website.

for Web folders, these are the ones that you give 1 or more than one alias too if you want to give them http:// addresses.

Im I correct now??

A virtual folder is a folder under the actual web site.

You have 2 web sites, each containing 2 virtual folders that link to a local or remote folder in explorer. meaning, local on your server or remote on another server.

Web sites; your server has one IP address, 2 websites which will be using the same IP address, they need to have host headers configured so IIS can work out which web site is needed to call apone.

server name; jack.technet.com
web site name; technet
web site host header; www.technet.com
the ISS server only uses one IP so this website is bound to this address.
This website has a virtual folder by the name of... manuals.. so you need to access this folder by doing this... http://www.technet.com/manuals

IF that was a webfolder in explorer, or even a virtual folder you would acess the share... manuals, if created like this.
http://jack.technet.com/manuals - see the difference.

Remember before you go stuffing around with websites and totally confusing the issue make sure you either have a DNS zone with the same dns suffix or even make an entry in your host file with the ip address of the server and the name of the website...

I think I'm making things worse, am I explaining it ok?

Ten9t6

You are correct......good explination. Most people hose this up with the host headers and DNS.

x_Danny_x

clarky wrote:

so virtual directory is in IIS then. So when I am talking about a Virtual Folder I am talking about a Web site. To give more than one http://address you assign host headers to the website.

for Web folders, these are the ones that you give 1 or more than one alias too if you want to give them http:// addresses.

Im I correct now??

A virtual folder is a folder under the actual web site.

You have 2 web sites, each containing 2 virtual folders that link to a local or remote folder in explorer. meaning, local on your server or remote on another server.

Web sites; your server has one IP address, 2 websites which will be using the same IP address, they need to have host headers configured so IIS can work out which web site is needed to call apone.

server name; jack.technet.com
web site name; technet
web site host header; www.technet.com
the ISS server only uses one IP so this website is bound to this address.
This website has a virtual folder by the name of... manuals.. so you need to access this folder by doing this... http://www.technet.com/manuals

IF that was a webfolder in explorer, or even a virtual folder you would acess the share... manuals, if created like this.
http://jack.technet.com/manuals - see the difference.

Remember before you go stuffing around with websites and totally confusing the issue make sure you either have a DNS zone with the same dns suffix or even make an entry in your host file with the ip address of the server and the name of the website...

I think I'm making things worse, am I explaining it ok?

yeah Im a little confused lol!

This is an example from my New Horizons instructor. Notice in this example there wasnt no mention of IIS!!!

A server in your network is a Windows 2000 web Server named Horizons.
There is a folder on Horizons named C:\\Info\Public_Info and it is shared as a virtual directory named Public

You want users to be able to access the C:\\Info\Public_Info by using the URLs http://Horizons/PI and http://Horizons/Info

So we already can access the folder with http:/Horizons/Public and want to add the other two other virtual directory aliases PI and Info

He then went by the steps to map the aliases PI and Info too the folder

1. Open Windows Explorer and browse to the folder C:\\Info\Public_Info
2. Right click on the folder and choose properties
3. Select the Web sharing tab
4. Click the Add button
5. Enter the virtual directory names alias PI and then Info
6. Click OK and exit

So in the end we have 3 virtual directory alias pointing to the same folder

That is what I understand about folders and giving them virtual directory alias. I am assuming that these become web folders now.