Did you know: Configure WebDAV in IIS 7 / 7.5 – Part 1

Do you really need WebDAV? Well, there are pros and cons of using WebDAV and you can search the Internet to get better understanding of the same. I would use WebDAV because one of it’s unique "Lock" feature which is not available in FTP / FTPS. You can enable locking such that multiple WebDAV clients do not try to update content at the same time which prevents overwrite.

Today we will see how to configure WebDAV in IIS 7 / 7.5 and different Authorization Rules you can configure in WebDAV for different reasons. In Windows Server 2008, WebDAV is a OOB product and you can install WebDAV Extension using Web Platform Installer or from www.iis.net. In Windows Server 2008 R2, WebDAV is an integrated component which you can enable from Web Server Roles.

PART I - Steps to configure simple WebDAV site

1. Create a new Web Site (in our case WebDAV Site)
2. I have created a new folder “webDAV” in C:\inetpub and pointed the “WebDAV Site” to webDAV folder
   
   
   
   NOTE: I don’t have any site running on port 80, so I created “WebDAV Site” on port 80. You can choose a different port if port 80 is already in use.
3. Once the site is created, in the Features View –> double click WebDAV Authoring Rules
   
   
   
4. In Actions panel, click Enable WebDAV
   
   
   
5. In Action panel, click Add Authoring Rule…
   
   
   
6. Under Allow access to: select “All content”, under Allow access to this content to: select “All users” and select Read, Source and Write under Permissions. 
   
   
   
7. In Features view, double click Authentication, disable Anonymous Authentication and enable Windows Authentication
   
   
   
8. In Features view, double click Authorization Rules
9. Click Add Allow Rule…
   
   
   
10. Select “All users” under Allow access to this Web content to:
    
    
    
11. Let us now give NTFS permission required for users to be able to modify content. Add Users group and select Modify permission on the webDAV folder.
    
    

PART II - Test from a client machine.

1. Open Windows Explorer–> Tools–> Map network drive…
2. The Map Network Drive dialog box appears
3. Under Drive: select the drive letter (Z: in this example)
4. Under Folder: type http://WIN-2K8WSS1–> Next
5. Click Finish

You should have a WebDAV drive connected on drive Z.

Hope this helps,
Vivek Kumbhar