Virtual Directory

Each of the Internet services can publish from multiple directories. Each directory can be located on a local drive or across the network by specifying the directory with a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) name and a user name and password to use for access permission. A virtual server can have one home directory and any number of other publishing directories. These other publishing directories are referred to as virtual directories.

To simplify client URL addresses, the services present the whole set of publishing directories to clients as a single directory tree. The home directory is the root of this virtual directory tree, and each virtual directory is addressed as if it was a subdirectory of the home directory. Actual subdirectories of the virtual directories are available to clients also. The World Wide Web (WWW) service alone supports virtual servers; therefore, the FTP and gopher services can have only one home directory.

When a virtual directory is defined in Internet Service Manager, an alias is associated with the virtual directory. The alias is the name that will be used by clients to access information in the virtual directory. If alias names for virtual directories are not specified by the administrator, an alias name is generated automatically by Internet Service Manager.

Create Virtual Directories in IIS 5.1

• Click Start, point to Programs, click to select Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Services Manager.
• Expand the server name.
• In the left pane, right-click Default Web Site, point to New, and then click Virtual Directory.
•  In the first screen of the Virtual Directory Creation Wizard, type an alias, or name, for the virtual directory (such as MyWebData), and then click Next.
• In the second screen, click Browse. Locate the content folder that you created to hold the content. Click Next.
• In the third screen, select Read and Run scripts (such as ASP). Make sure that the other check boxes are cleared. Click Finish to complete the wizard.
• For ASP content, you may want to confirm that an application was created. To do this, right-click the new virtual directory, and then click Properties.
• On the Virtual Directory tab, make sure that the virtual directory name is listed in the Application Name box under Application Settings. If it is not, click Create. Note that the application name does not have to match the virtual directory alias.
• Close the Properties dialog box.