Restoring the Metabase from Backup Files

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

You can restore a metabase backup to the same computer on which the backup was made or, if the backup was created with a password, onto a different computer. Because a metabase backup does not include content files, if you restore a metabase backup to a different server you must copy your content files as well. The content files must exist in the same location and on the same drive used on the original server. Restoring a backup from an earlier version of IIS is not supported.

For more information about restoring the IIS metabase from backup files, see Restoring the Metabase with Backup Files.

SSL Certificates

If you use a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate on your Web server and you restore the metabase backup to a different installation of the operating system, an error occurs if the certificate is not available or installed. If a site's SSL certificate is missing, connections are dropped, and the browser displays a page unavailable message. The solution is to reinstall the certificate into the same certificate store as on the original computer, and restart IIS.