Overview of Deploying ASP.NET Applications

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1

When you are ready to deploy your ASP.NET Web application to a production server, you have many options. Your choice depends on the complexity of your application, whether it uses local-only or shared assemblies, and what tools you used to develop the application.

For ASP.NET applications that do not require modifications to IIS settings or registration of COM objects, you can simply copy the application's files to the directory structure on the production server, using one of the following tools:

• The XCOPY command-line tool can copy files from one computer to another on an intranet or internal network.

• Windows Explorer can copy files from one computer to another on an intranet or internal network.

• You can use the FTP tool of your choice to copy application files from one computer to another over the Internet.

• If your application has been developed using Visual Studio .NET, you can use the Copy Project command to copy files from one computer to another on an intranet or internal network. For more information, see Visual Studio .NET Help .

These choices have limitations, however. None performs any IIS configuration that your application might require, and if your application uses COM objects, they will not be registered on the target server. Also, if your application uses shared assemblies stored in the server's global assembly cache, you cannot use any of these methods. For more information, see Deploying Shared Components to the Global Assembly Cache and the "Global Assembly Cache" topic in .NET Framework Help.

If your application is complex -- for example, if it includes shared assemblies or relies on specific IIS settings -- deploying your application to production servers using Windows Installer 2.0 is recommended. For more information, see the "Deploying Applications and Components" topic in Visual Studio .NET Help.

In This Section

Creating an ASP.NET Application Root Directory with IIS

Describes how to use IIS to create a virtual directory or to mark a directory in the C:\Inetpub\Wwwroot directory as an application.

Creating a Directory Structure for an ASP.NET Application

Describes how to create a directory structure for your ASP.NET applications.

Deploying ASP.NET Application Files and Local Components

Describes how to distribute all files associated with your ASP.NET application to a production server.

Deploying Local Application Components

Describes how to compile and distribute component assemblies to your ASP.NET application's \Bin directory.

Deploying Shared Components to the Global Assembly Cache

Describes the global assembly cache and how to distribute shared component assemblies to it.

Deploying HTTP Handlers and HTTP Modules

Describes how to distribute compiled assemblies that contain classes that implement the IHttpHandler and IHttpModule interfaces. This includes required configuration settings for including new HTTP handlers and HTTP modules in your application.