Troubleshooting IIS 6.0 with Tracing

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

The Windows operating system includes the Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) infrastructure to help individuals troubleshoot problems in the operating system, including problems in HTTP components. IIS HTTP components include Active Server Pages (ASP), Internet Server Application Programming Interface (ISAPI) extensions, and the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Filter service, to name a few. If an HTTP request in IIS fails or becomes unresponsive while ETW is enabled, you can view ETW trace data, called events, to determine which component caused the failure.

In Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 or later, IIS includes the following tracing features. These features leverage the ETW infrastructure.

  • IIS Currently-executing Requests Tracing: This tracing feature provides general statistics and details about all requests executing on the server at the moment tracing was started. If the CPU on your server is spiking or if requests become unresponsive, currently-executing requests tracing can help you understand which URLs are being requested, which application pool the requests reside in, and other similar details. This feature does not include the option to specify which components or URLs to trace. For more information, see Currently Executing Requests Tracing.

  • IIS Request-Based Tracing: This tracing feature tracks HTTP requests as they move through IIS components. Request-based tracing can help you target the IIS component processing a request when the request failed or became unresponsive. Request-based tracing allows you to define and trace a specific URL or a group of URLs. For more information, see IIS Request-Based Tracing.

Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 or later also includes a provider for tracing the IIS Admin service during startup and shutdown. The IIS Admin service provides access to the in-memory configuration store and other dependent services. If you experience problems while IIS is starting up or shutting down, the IIS: IIS Admin Service provider can help you understand the nature of the problem. For more information about this provider, see IIS providers.