How to re-save web.config using command prompt

Question

I'm using a simple cmd batch file to deploy my Asp.net MVC web application to server network share.

The problem I'm having is that my DLLs can't be simply replaced by new files since existing ones are in use by the IIS. I'm not an admin on the server so I don't have rights to run iisreset remotely.

What I can do is I can open root web.config file and save it, hence forcing IIS to stop my web application and as a result to this I can replace my assemblies.

Question

Since I deploy my app using an automated batch file I'd like to include this web.config file re-save inside it before I start deploying DLLs. Anybody knows how can this be done in cmd? Maybe a change of the file's last modified timestamp would suffice.

Possibile solution

I suppose I could as well write a console application that would change last modified timestamp to DateTime.Now but I don't want to write the code myself. Anyone knows of such existing code on the net, since I can't find it. Or even a command prompt tool (console app without user interaction)?

Answer 1

I would advise against doing this. It is at the very best a hack that will sometimes work.

First off, I'm not sure when the server restart is actually triggered. It is one of:

• IIS monitors the web.config file, and if it's changed, kills the app domain. The next time someone visits the site, it starts the app domain again.
• When someone visits the site, if IIS sees web.config has been modified, it restarts the app domain.

I'd bet it is probably the second way, which means that even if you modify the web.config, IIS will start back up and so you'll have the same problem.

Even if it's the first way, it's very likely that someone will visit the site before you start deploying, or even worse, part-way through.

• This will mean some or all of your files won't deploy, and possibly your website will stop functioning if you have mixed DLLs.
• Even worse, new code or HTML templates get deployed but new CSS or images don't, and so your site is partially broken (and not even in a way that's easy to programmatically detect).

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The better ways to do this will all require some level of access to remotely execute applications on the server.

• VS2010 has web deployment projects that work well.
• You can use a 3rd party installer product (such as Advanced Installer, which has some specific IIS deployment features).
  • I actually use this product, and have my build server execute psexec to run the installer in silent mode. It's a one-click deployment to all of my internal testing systems, but could just as easily go to production and can also be automated to happen nightly or on every code checkin.