Directly editing IIS 7 applicationHost.config configuration file

Question

I know that IIS 7+ now uses XML config files instead of the metabase. I also know that if I edit a web.config file for a given site, IIS automagically detects the changes and implements any corresponding config changes.

However, does this also apply to the server-level applicationHost.config settings file? (Its usually located in C:\windows\system32\inetsrv\config.) Specifically, is it safe to carefully edit this file instead of using IIS Manager or the appcmd command line utility? I couldn't find anything in the documentation that said it was okay or not okay to do this.

I'm curious because I have to change the bindings for numerous sites from one IP to another. It would be much faster to simply do a global search and replace for the IP address in the config file instead of manually editing a few dozen sites in the GUI.

Answer 1

Yes, you can edit the applicationhost.config file directly if you're an administrator; that's all that the tools do, anyway.

If you get into trouble, configuration backups are stored in \inetpub\history .

Answer 2

You will find a nice introduction to the applicationHost.config file right over at IIS.NET. There's also a thorough Reference for all elements in the IIS config schema.

It's pretty well-documented actually :-)