Microsoft Internet Information Server Microsoft Internet Information Server 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which command-line tool is the primary interface for managing IIS configuration from the command prompt in Windows Server?
- iisreset
- netsh
- appcmd (Correct answer)
- sc.exe
Correct answer: appcmd
Appcmd.exe is the unified command-line tool for managing IIS 7 and later, covering sites, apps, pools, and config.
Question 2: In IIS, which configuration file at the site or application level can override server-level settings when the feature is delegated?
- machine.config
- web.config (Correct answer)
- applicationHost.config
- system.webServer.config
Correct answer: web.config
web.config files placed in site or application folders can override applicationHost.config settings when delegation allows it.
Question 3: Which IIS module handles the execution of CGI scripts by spawning a new process for each request?
- FastCGI Module
- CGI Module (Correct answer)
- ISAPI Extensions
- ASP Module
Correct answer: CGI Module
The CGI Module launches a separate process per request to execute CGI scripts, which is resource-intensive compared to FastCGI.
Question 4: What IIS setting controls how long (in seconds) a worker process will wait before shutting down after the last request is processed during an idle timeout?
- Ping Maximum Response Time
- Idle Time-out (Correct answer)
- Shutdown Time Limit
- Startup Time Limit
Correct answer: Idle Time-out
Idle Time-out in application pool advanced settings terminates a worker process that has been idle for the specified number of minutes.
Question 5: Which IIS authentication mechanism uses Kerberos or NTLM and does NOT send passwords over the network?
- Basic Authentication
- Anonymous Authentication
- Windows Authentication (Correct answer)
- Forms Authentication
Correct answer: Windows Authentication
Windows Authentication uses Kerberos tickets or NTLM challenge-response, neither of which transmits the actual password.
Question 6: In IIS, what is the function of a 'virtual directory'?
- A directory that exists only in RAM for caching
- A logical alias that maps a URL path to a physical directory on disk or UNC path (Correct answer)
- A sandbox for testing site changes
- A backup copy of the web root
Correct answer: A logical alias that maps a URL path to a physical directory on disk or UNC path
A virtual directory is an alias defined in IIS that maps a URL segment to a physical or network path outside the site's root.
Question 7: Which IIS feature enables HTTP/2 protocol support, and what is the minimum requirement for it to activate?
- It requires installing the HTTP/2 module separately on all IIS versions
- It is built into IIS 10 on Windows Server 2016+ and requires HTTPS (Correct answer)
- It requires enabling WebSockets first
- It requires .NET Framework 4.7 or later
Correct answer: It is built into IIS 10 on Windows Server 2016+ and requires HTTPS
IIS 10 on Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10 natively supports HTTP/2, but it only activates over TLS (HTTPS) connections.
Microsoft Internet Information Server Microsoft Internet Information Server 3
Which command-line tool is the primary interface for managing IIS configuration from the command prompt in Windows Server?