Insufficient Permissions on UNC Path for Physical Path in IIS7

Question

I've got a multi-server setup where Server A is hosting the html files and Server B is running IIS 7.5. I've specified a UNC path for the Physical Path of the website on Server B. When I try to hit localhost I'm receiving the following error:

Cannot read configuration file due to insufficient permissions

I am able to browse and modify files in the UNC path on Server B. I'm guessing it has something to do with IIS_IUSRS of Server B not having permissions, but I'm unsure how to add them to the shared directory of Server A.

Answer 1

Two things affect this: {Authentication and impersonation} and app Pool accounts.

Last-first: Server B will connect at SERVERB$ (i.e. the computer account) by default, when the app pool starts up, unless you've used a custom App Pool account.

If that much works, I think the rest should work too, but it's possible that your authentication settings attempt to authenticate an un-delegable user, which would lead to a NULL SID.

You can work out the connecting identity on the target box with ProcMon, and then grant permissions to that; but it might need a bit more setup work and planning than you're expecting.