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# Serving via IIS + CGI |
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## This Is Not the Method You Are Looking For |
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Setting up CGI service under IIS is surprisingly complicated compared to |
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running Fossil as a CGI under most other operating systems. We recommend |
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that you use the simpler [reverse proxying method](./iis.md) instead |
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unless there is some compelling reason why that method cannot work for |
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you, such as its dependence on non-stock IIS extensions. (Keep in mind |
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that both extensions it requires are by Microsoft, not third parties!) |
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Once you’ve got this scheme working, it gives the same benefits as those |
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listed at the top of the linked-to document. |
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There is a small benefit you get from using CGI over reverse proxying on |
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other OSes, which is that the Fossil program only runs briefly in order |
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to serve each HTTP hit. Once the request is done, that Fossil instance |
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shuts back down, releasing all of its resources. You don’t need to keep |
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a background Fossil HTTP server running full-time to provide CGI-based |
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Fossil service. |
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You lose a lot of that benefit on Windows: |
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1. It only matters to start with on servers that are highly RAM |
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constrained. (Roughly ≤ 128 MiB.) Our configuration steps below |
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assume you’re using the Windows and IIS GUIs, which have RAM |
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requirements well in excess of this, making Fossil’s resource |
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requirements a drop in the bucket next to them. On the [Azure |
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B1s][b1s] virtual machine I used to prepare these instructions, the |
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Windows Server Manager GUI kept filling the VM’s 1 GiB of RAM |
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during feature installation and crashing. I had to upgrade the VM’s |
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RAM to 2 GiB just to get useful work done! |
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2. Process creation on Windows is [much more expensive][cp] than on the |
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other OSes Fossil runs on, so the benefits of firing up a Fossil |
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executable to process each HTTP request are partially swamped by the |
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overhead of doing so. |
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Therefore, unless you’re willing to replace all of the GUI configuration |
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steps below with command line equivalents, or shut the GUI down entirely |
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after configuring IIS, CGI is a much less compelling option on Windows. |
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**WARNING:** The following tutorial appears to fail with the current |
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(2019-08-17) version of Fossil, [apparently][fbug] due to an inability |
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of Fossil to detect that it’s being run in CGI mode. |
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[b1s]: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-b-series-our-new-burstable-vm-size/ |
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[cp]: https://stackoverflow.com/a/48244/142454 |
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[fbug]: https://fossil-scm.org/forum/forumpost/de18dc32c0 |
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## Install IIS with CGI Support |
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The steps for this are identical to those for the [reverse proxying IIS |
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setup](./iis.md#install) except that you need to enable CGI in the last |
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step, since it isn’t installed by default. For Windows Server, the path |
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is: |
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The path is similar on the consumer-focused versions of Windows, once |
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you get to that last step. |
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## Setup |
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1. Install the Fossil executable to `c:\inetpub\wwwroot\bin` on the web |
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server. We can’t use an executable you might already have because IIS |
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runs under a separate user account, so we need to give that |
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executable special permissions, and that’s easiest to do under the |
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IIS tree: |
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2. In IIS Manager (a.k.a. `INETMGR`) drill down into the Sites folder |
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in the left-side pane and right-click your web site’s |
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configuration. (e.g. “Default Web Site”) |
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3. On that menu say “Add Virtual Directory.” Give it the alias “`cgi`” |
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and point it at a suitable directory, such as |
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“`c:\inetpub\wwwroot\cgi`”. |
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4. Double-click the “Handler Mappings” icon, then in the right-side |
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pane, click “Add Script Map...” Apply the following settings: |
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The Executable path must point to the path we set up in step 1, not |
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to some other `fossil.exe` you may have elsewhere on your system. |
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You will need to change the default “`*.dll`” filter in the Open |
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dialog to “`*.exe`” in order to see it when browsing via the “`...`” |
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button. |
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5. Create a file called `repo.fslcgi` within the CGI directory you |
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chose in step 3, with a single line like this: |
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repository: c:\Users\SOMEONE\museum\repo.fossil |
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Give the actual path to the repository, of course. |
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6. Up at the top level of IIS Manager, double-click the “ISAPI and CGI |
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Restrictions” icon, then click “Add...” in the right-side pane. |
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Give the script you just created permission to execute: |
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7. In the right-side pane, click “Restart” to apply this configuration, |
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then test it by visiting the newly-available URL in a browser: |
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http://localhost/cgi/repo.fslcgi |
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For more complicated setups such as “directory” mode, see [the generic |
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CGI instructions](../any/cgi.md). |
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*[Return to the top-level Fossil server article.](../)* |
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