Preserving the Integrity of XML in the IIS Metabase

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

With the introduction of the XML-based IIS configuration store, administrators now have the ability to directly edit XML in a text editor. This feature is called edit-while-running. Because XML has very strict rules about syntax, the XML store needs to be well-formed at all times. Manually editing the XML store with a text editor can introduce syntax errors in the MetaBase.xml file. Therefore, when manually editing the MetaBase.xml file with a text editor, observe the following guidelines:

  • If a syntax error in the XML file creates a problem, use the metabase backup/restore feature to restore the metabase from the backup files.

  • Open the MetaBase.xml file in Internet Explorer, which has a built-in XML parser. If a syntax error occurs, Internet Explorer displays it and notes its location.

For information about the metabase edit-while-running feature of IIS, see Enabling Edit-While-Running in IIS 6.0. For information about the metabase backup/restore feature, see Restoring the Metabase from Backup Files.