Install IIS on a Windows VPS

Internet Information Services (IIS) is the native web server for Windows Server. This guide covers installation on a HolyCloud Windows VPS (Server 2019/2022), creating a site, and opening the firewall.

Prerequisites

• HolyCloud Windows VPS with Administrator access (RDP)
• Windows Server 2019 or 2022
• Domain name pointing to the VPS IP (optional for HTTPS)

RDP connection

From Windows:

mstsc /v:VPS_PUBLIC_IP

User Administrator (or provided account) and password from the client area.

Install the IIS role (GUI)

1. Server Manager → Add Roles and Features.
2. Role-based installation → select the local server.
3. Check Web Server (IIS).
4. Recommended services:

- Web Server → Common HTTP Features: Default Document, Directory Browsing (optional), HTTP Errors, Static Content

- Application Development: ASP.NET 4.8 / .NET Extensibility for .NET apps

- Management Tools: IIS Management Console

1. Confirm and install. Restart if prompted.

PowerShell installation (equivalent)

Open PowerShell as administrator:

Install-WindowsFeature -Name Web-Server -IncludeManagementTools
Install-WindowsFeature -Name Web-Asp-Net45, Web-Net-Ext45, Web-ISAPI-Ext, Web-ISAPI-Filter

Verify:

Get-WindowsFeature Web-* | Where-Object Installed
Get-Service W3SVC

Publish a static site

Create the folder and a test page:

New-Item -Path C:\inetpub\wwwroot\monsite -ItemType Directory -Force
Set-Content -Path C:\inetpub\wwwroot\monsite\index.html -Value '<h1>Bienvenue sur HolyCloud</h1>'

In IIS Manager:

1. Sites → Add Website
2. Site name: monsite
3. Physical path: C:\inetpub\wwwroot\monsite
4. Binding: port 80, host name www.exemple.fr (or empty for IP-only test)

Restart the site if needed:

Import-Module WebAdministration
Restart-WebAppPool -Name 'DefaultAppPool'
iisreset

Open the Windows firewall

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "HTTP IIS" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 80 -Action Allow
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "HTTPS IIS" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 443 -Action Allow

Also check the HolyCloud network firewall (manager): allow 80/443 to the VPS.

HTTPS certificate (overview)

1. Obtain a certificate (Let's Encrypt via win-acme, or imported certificate).
2. IIS → site → Bindings → Add → type https, select certificate.
3. HTTP → HTTPS redirect via URL Rewrite (installable module).

# verify the site is listening
netstat -an | findstr ":80 "

Logs and troubleshooting

• IIS logs: C:\inetpub\logs\LogFiles\
• Event Viewer → Windows Logs → Application

| Problem | Action |

|----------|--------|

| 403 Forbidden | NTFS permissions on the folder (IIS_IUSRS read) |

| Site won't start | Get-Service W3SVC, port 80 conflict |

| Page unreachable externally | Windows firewall + HolyCloud panel |

Need help?

For SQL Server or PHP on IIS, specify the stack in your support ticket.