Configure IIS for CSM

As a prerequisite to installing CSM, on-premises customers must enable certain features for the Internet Information Services (IIS) server that is used with CSM. This includes adding HTTP activation features for the .NET Framework, enabling dynamic compression, and enabling support for the WebSocket Protocol (IIS 8.0 and later only).

Enable HTTP Activation for the .NET Framework

To enable HTTP Activation:

  1. On the IIS server, open the Windows Server Manager.
  2. Select Manage>Add Roles and Features.
  3. Select Next until the Features page opens.
  4. For .NET Framework 4.5 verify that HTTP Activation is selected.

    IIS Features

Improve Response Time for CSM Web Applications

Enable dynamic compression to potentially improve response times for CSM Web Applications, particularly the Browser Client and CSM Portal. In many cases, the performance improvements are dramatic, so Cherwell highly recommends that you enable dynamic compression for all IIS instances.

To learn more about dynamic compression and how to enable it, see https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/iis/configuration/system.webserver/httpcompression/#setup.

Enable the WebSocket Protocol

WebSockets establish an efficient 2-way connection between IIS and CSM web applications. You can enable the WebSocket Protocol in IIS 8.0 and later; if you use an older version of IIS, polling is used and users may experience issues with CSM web applications, particularly when multiple tabs are used in the same browser session.

To enable the WebSocket Protocol, see https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/iis/get-started/whats-new-in-iis-8/iis-80-websocket-protocol-support.