Pre-Configuring Microsoft IIS on Windows Systems

If you are installing Watson™ Explorer Engine in administrator mode, to install and use that module with Microsoft Internet Information System (IIS) 7 or higher web servers, specific configuration options must be enabled in those web servers.

Before you begin

If the following conditions are true, ensure that Microsoft Internet Information System (IIS) is installed:
  • You will install Watson Explorer Engine in admin mode.
  • You will not use the embedded web server that is included with Watson Explorer Engine.
Important: Regardless of the version of IIS that you use, you might need to manually configure some aspects of that virtual directory, as explained in Creating and Configuring an Internet Information Services (IIS) Directory.

If you will install Watson Explorer Engine in non-admin mode on a Windows system, you do not need to configure IIS to enable integration of Watson Explorer Engine with IIS. Versions of Watson Explorer Engine that were installed in non-admin mode can be accessed only through the embedded web server that is included with Watson Explorer Engine.

Installing and configuring IIS is not required on systems on which you will install only the Results Module or Application Builder, because these Watson Explorer modules include their own WebSphere web servers.

About this task

When installing Watson Explorer Engine, the installer provides integrated support for creating virtual directories in IIS on systems that are running IIS 7 or higher. For IIS 7 or higher, the installer requires that certain IIS components are installed and activated in your IIS configuration. The following components are required:
  • CGI
  • ISAPI Extensions
  • ISAPI Filters
  • IIS Management Scripts and Tools

To verify that the required components are installed and active, do the following on the system where IIS 7 or higher is installed and on which you will install Watson Explorer Engine:

Procedure

  1. Open Server Manager:
    • Microsoft Windows Server 2008: Click Start > Administrative Tools > Server Manager. The Server Manager window displays.
    • Microsoft Windows Server 2012: From the desktop, hover your cursor in the upper- or lower- right corner of the screen to show the charms, click the Start charm, and then the Server Manager tile.
  2. Select the web server:
    • Microsoft Windows Server 2008: In the left pane of the Server Manager window, expand Roles and select Web Server (IIS).
    • Microsoft Windows Server 2012: In the left pane of the Server Manager window, select IIS.
  3. Verify that the following role services are installed: CGI, IIS Management Scripts and Tools, ISAPI Extensions, and ISAPI Filters.
    • Microsoft Windows Server 2008: In the Web Server (IIS) pane, scroll all the way to the end of that pane to find the Role Services section. Role services are listed in alphabetical order by role, role group, and then role services:
      • CGI, ISAPI Extensions, and ISAPI filters are located in Web Server (IIS) > Web Server > Application Development.
      • IIS Management Scripts is located in Web Server (IIS) > Web Server > Management Tools.
    • Microsoft Windows Server 2012: In the right pane of the Server Manager window, scroll all the way to the end of that pane to find the ROLES AND FEATURES section.
  4. If some or all of the required role services are not installed:
    • Microsoft Windows Server 2008: From the Role Services section, click Add Role Services, select the required information in the initial pages of the wizard, and advance to the Select Role Services page.
    • Microsoft Windows Server 2012: From the TASKS menu of the ROLES AND FEATURES section, select Add Roles and Features, select the required information in the initial pages of the wizard, and advance to the Server Roles page.
  5. If any of the required role services are not installed, select them from the Roles list. The following table lists the required role services and their locations:
    Role service Location in the Roles list
    CGI Web Server (IIS) > Web Server > Application Development
    ISAPI Extensions Web Server (IIS) > Web Server > Application Development
    ISAPI Filters Web Server (IIS) > Web Server > Application Development
    IIS Management Scripts and Tools Web Server (IIS) > Web Server > Management Tools >
  6. Advance to the confirmation page and click Install.

What to do next

If you had to install the CGI role service, restart IIS:
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008: In Server Manager, expand Web Server (IIS), select Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, and from the Connections pane, select the name of your web server. From the Actions pane, click Restart.
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2012: From the desktop, hover your cursor in the upper- or lower- right corner of the screen to show the charms, click the Start charm, and then the Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager tile. From the Connections pane, select the name of your web server. From the Actions pane, click Restart.

At this point, you can proceed with the Watson Explorer Engine installation process.