Some help required

Asp.net newbie

Win 2003 Server SP2. IIS6.

Although new to aspnet I have quite a bit of experience with FP & FPSE and also with WAMP and LAMP.

The wonderful offer of the 2008 Studio tempted me back to an IIS server with the promise of making things easier. So far it has just proven difficult.

I am trying to develop using VWD 2008 and have downloaded the packages and installed (hopefully) in the correct locations. The IIS snap in has details for .net1 and .net2 but not for .net3.5 (although installed). There does not seem to be an aspnet_isapi.dll in the 3.5 directory. Question1. Should there be and should IIS6 have 3.5 available in the Default Site Asp Net dropdown list?

I had a server error when accessing remotely caused by windows authentication. I have commented out the line in the web.config file (it works now). What is the correct way of handling this problem? 

Are there any tutorials for VWD 2008 (or will the 2005 ones suffice). How do I use .net3.5 (does IIS ever recognize it). I am obviously playing with workarounds – I would rather do things properly.

Can anyone point me in the right direction to a real newbie setup and get me going quickly.

The confusion about IIS and .net2 vs. 3.5 is understandable.  The .net assemblies have not changed since 2, but the scripts they use to support 3 and 3.5 have (you can really see this if you had an AJAX page in 2 and upgraded to 3 or 3.5).  The correct ASP.net version for 2, 3 and 3.5 is 2 on the ASP.net tab - no you are not going crazy, this is just the way it is. 

Typically to change the user authentication you would go to the Directory Security tab in IIS and Edit the "Anonymous access and authentication control".  When you have that open, you put a check in 'Anonymous access', and a check in 'Allow IIS to control password'.  then you need to make sure there are no checks in the Authenticated Access section.  If you still run into problems you may need to navigate to the directory where the files are stored and change the security access to include the user name that is listed in the 'anonymous access' section with at the very least Read access.  

Alternatively, you can right click on the ASP page directory in IIS and select 'All Tasks...' and then 'Permission Wizard' - I have had better luck doing it manually myself though.

A google search for "msdn2 tutorials iis 6 setup" yields some good reading that explain further.

See www.iis.net for IIS help.  Same login as here.

Jeff

Thanks for all the help. I did manage to sort things out in the end - despite the mind bending problems. It would be so much easier if it were straightforward with instructions and known issues - it would take all the guesswork and frustration away - but then again I would probably never sit at a computer again. I will take a good look at the resources - thanks. Hopefully I will be able to repay the favour someday.

Keith