IIS: Modifying Web.Config file vs IIS Reset

When you say IIS RESET do you know IIS Reset stops and restarts the entire web server?

Let's take a look at IIS.

In IIS you can create multiple websites and application pools. You can run multiple applications under one application pool.

Now in your IIS you have so many applications running and you just modified one of your application's web.config file. If you are thinking of modifying a web.config file and reset the IIS, then that means you have impacted all the applications running on the IIS server. Does that really make sense?

The Answer to the above question is NO. It doesn't reset the IIS when you modify the web.config file of your application.

Editing the web.config in a web application only affects that web application (recycles just that app), so it doesn't require a reset to IIS. It just impacts that particular application and reloads the app domain. And if you are recycling an app pool that will only affect applications running in that app pool. But editing the machine.config on the machine will recycle all app pools running.

Another question is when you change/update DLLs/drop new DLLs in the bin directory of your web application, will that reset IIS??

Again the answer is NO. It doesn't reset IIS. IIS monitors the /bin directory of your application. Whenever a change is detected in DLLs, it will recycle the app and re-load the new DLLs.

References

This article is originally posted on http://shaikhnizam.blogspot.in/2011/06/modifying-webconfig-file-and-iis-reset.html