Windows Hosting – Tracking Services and IIS 7
Servers are complex machines, orders of magnitude more complex than the PCs that run in our homes. In addition to hardware, much of the complexity of a server arises from software interactions. So when you see even companies like Google display error messages, you know something is wrong with the way your software is set up.
Due to the high load experienced by the servers, events that have a minuscule probability of occurring at a given point happen frequently. We have to get used to it. What can be done, however, is to learn how to quickly handle errors so that your IIS server doesn’t crash.
To this end, IIS 7 ships with sophisticated bug tracking tools that allow you to get to the heart of the problem, allowing you to fix it. So what are the common causes of these errors? Here are a few.
application changes
A new update or bug fix to an existing application can have unexpected effects on the operation of even unrelated software. That’s why server admins get paid so much. They know exactly what they are doing and understand the ins and outs of a server.
Server configuration changes
IIS 7 has many options and settings. Sometimes you might be forced to make a change that has unexpected ramifications, causing requests to fail.
Why error pages are not enough
When a web request fails, very detailed error pages can be returned which sometimes lead to problems being resolved quickly. However, when the error is caused by interacting modules, error pages are simply not enough or misleading. What can happen is that an error occurs and goes unnoticed for a while and when it is revealed, the real reason is hidden. Debugging is an art, but with the right tools, it can be done much faster. And this is where IIS 7 tracking comes into play.
IIS 7 trace
IIS 7 has sophisticated monitoring tools that allow administrators to view worker processes and their requests in real time. The new feature is called Failed Request Trace and is one of the hallmarks of IIS 7. It is fully configurable and can be used to trace requests based on certain parameters set by the administrator.
For example, an administrator can set an alert and tell IIS 7 that if a request takes more than x seconds to complete, a trace should be started which will allow administrators to fix the problem. This command can also be used to tune the server to find out where it is running slowly.
If you are using IIS 7 as a server in any environment, including a VPS, you can use the trace features in conjunction with IIS 7 remote administration to manage your server effectively.