Modules

 

Applies To: Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012

Use the Modules feature page to manage a list of native and managed code modules that perform specific tasks in the request-processing pipeline, such as authentication or compression.

Sort the list by clicking one of the feature page column headings or select a value from the Group by drop-down list to group similar items.

Related scenarios

In this document

UI Elements for Modules

The following tables describe the UI elements that are available on the feature page and in the Actions pane.

Feature Page Elements

Element Name

Description

Name

Displays the name of the module.

Code

Displays the physical path of the native code file (.dll) or of the type in the managed library.

Module Type

Displays whether the module is implemented with native code or managed code. The value is either Native or Managed.

Entry Type

Displays whether the item is local or inherited. Local items are read from the current configuration file, and inherited items are read from a parent configuration file.

Actions Pane Elements

Element Name

Description

Add Managed Module

Opens the Add Managed Module dialog box from which you can add a managed module.

Configure Native Module

Opens the Configure Native Module dialog box from which you can enable native modules by adding them to the list of modules. At the server level, you can also register, edit registration, and remove registration for native modules.

Edit

Opens the Edit Managed Module or Edit Native Module Registration dialog box from which you can edit the selected module.

Note

The ability to edit the registration of a native module is available only at the server level.

Lock

Locks the module so it cannot be overridden at lower levels in configuration.

Note

This action is available only at the server level.

Unlock

Unlocks the module so it can be overridden at lower levels in configuration.

Note

This action is available only at the server level.

Remove

Removes the item that is selected from the list on the feature page. When a managed module is selected, the module is removed from the Web server. When a native module is selected, the module is removed from the list of modules, which disables the module. However, it is still registered on the Web server. To remove the registration of a native module, click Configure Native Modules, select a module, and then click Remove.

Note

The ability to remove the registration of a native module is available only at the server level.

You can remove more than one module at a time by pressing the CTRL key when selecting each module that you want to remove.

Revert to Inherited

Reverts the feature to inherit settings from the parent configuration. This action deletes local configuration settings, including items from the list, for this feature. This action is not available at the server level.

View Ordered List

Displays the list in order of configuration. When you select the ordered list format, you can only move items up and down in the list. Other actions in the Actions pane do not appear until you select the unordered list format.

Move Up

Moves up a selected item in the list. This action is available only when viewing items in the ordered list format.

Note

When items in the list are reordered at a child level, the child no longer inherits settings from the parent level. This loss of inheritance includes any items that are added to or removed from the list at the parent level. If you want to inherit settings from a parent level, revert all of the changes at the child level by using the Revert to Inherited action in the Actions pane.

Move Down

Moves a selected item down in the list. This action is available only when viewing items in the ordered list format.

Note

When items in the list are reordered at a child level, the child no longer inherits settings from the parent level. This loss of inheritance includes any items that are added to or removed from the list at the parent level. If you want to inherit settings from a parent level, revert all of the changes at the child level by using the Revert to Inherited action in the Actions pane.

View Unordered List

Displays the list in an unordered format. When you select the unordered list format, you can sort and group items in the list, and perform actions in the Actions pane.

Add or Edit Managed Module Dialog Box

Use the Add Managed Module and Edit Managed Module dialog boxes to add or edit managed modules that process requests made to the Web server. IIS includes several managed modules to process parts of requests, such as the FormsAuthentication module that authenticates users in applications that use Forms authentication.

Element Name

Description

Name

Type a friendly name for the managed module.

Type

Select or type the managed type for the module, such as System.Web.Security.FormsAuthentication.

When you add a managed module, make sure that the assembly to which the class belongs is registered in the system.web/compilation section of your Web.config file. Otherwise type the assembly qualified class name of the managed module. If the class is defined in the App_Code or bin directory you can specify just the class name.

Invoke only for requests to ASP.NET applications or managed handlers

Select this check box if you want the managed module to process only requests made to ASP.NET applications or managed handlers. When you select this option, the module does not invoke for requests to other types of content, such as HTML files.

Configure Native Modules Dialog Box

Use the Configure Native Modules dialog box to enable registered modules by adding them to the Modules list, add or edit registration for native modules, or remove native modules from the Web server. After you register a module, also add it to the Modules list in order for the native module to start processing requests.

Element Name

Description

Select one or more registered modules to enable

Select the registered module or modules that you want to add to the Modules list on the Web server. Adding a module to the Modules list will enable the module to process requests that are made to the server.

Register

Opens the Register Native Module dialog box from which you can register a new native module.

Note

This button is available only at the server level.

Edit

Opens the Edit Native Module Registration dialog box from which you can edit a registered native module. This button is available only when a registered module is selected from the Select one or more registered modules to enable list.

Note

This button is available only at the server level.

Remove

Removes the selected module's registration from the Web server. This button is available only at the server level, and only when a registered module is selected from the Select one or more registered modules to enable list.

Note

When you remove a module from the list on the Modules feature page, the module is disabled but it is still registered on the Web server.

Register Native Module or Edit Native Module Registration Dialog Box

Use the Register Native Module and Edit Native Module Registration dialog boxes to add or edit native modules that process requests made to the Web server. IIS includes many native modules to process parts of requests, such as the BasicAuthenticationModule module authenticates users in applications that use Basic authentication.

Note

After you register a native module from this dialog box, add it to the Modules list on the web server before the module can process requests. You can perform this task from the Add Native Module dialog box as soon as either the Add Native Module or the Edit Native Module Registration dialog box is closed.

Element Name

Description

Name

Type a friendly name for the native module.

Path

Type the path of the native module file on the physical file system, such as C:\Modules\MyModule.dll, or click the browse button () to browse for the file.