IIS Manager: How to Open & Use It

This is a working reference on IIS Manager, maintained by our IIS web server support team. It covers how to open the console, what each panel does, the feature icons at the server and site level, step-by-step instructions for the most common tasks, remote management setup, and the command-line alternatives when the GUI is not enough.

What IIS Manager is

IIS Manager (executable name InetMgr.exe) is the graphical management console for Internet Information Services on Windows Server and Windows client. It reads and writes the same configuration store the web server itself uses, so anything you change in the console lands in configuration files on disk, not in a separate database. The console can manage the local server and, with the Web Management Service, remote servers. If you need background on the web server itself before working in the console, see what IIS is.

How to open IIS Manager

On Windows Server, the console is installed with the Web Server (IIS) role — it is the IIS Management Console role service under Management Tools. On Windows 10 and 11, IIS and its console are an optional feature: Control Panel > Programs > Turn Windows features on or off > Internet Information Services > Web Management Tools > IIS Management Console. If inetmgr returns "Windows cannot find", the console is not installed. Installation of the role and its tools is documented in the official IIS installation guide.

The three panels

• Connections (left) — a tree of the servers the console is connected to. Under each server: Application Pools and Sites. Expanding a site shows its applications and virtual directories. Everything you select here changes what the other two panels show.
• Feature view / workspace (center) — the feature icons for whatever is selected in the tree, grouped into IIS, ASP.NET, and Management areas. Double-click an icon to open its feature page. A Content View tab at the bottom switches to a listing of the selected node's files and folders.
• Actions (right) — context-sensitive task links for the current selection or open feature page: Start, Stop, Restart, Bindings, Basic Settings, Explore, Apply, Cancel. Bindings, notably, is only reachable here, not as a feature icon.

The layout and navigation model are described in Microsoft's Getting Started with IIS Manager guide, which still matches the IIS 10 console — the UI has not materially changed since IIS 7.

Feature icons worth knowing

Common tasks

Add a website

1. In the Connections tree, right-click Sites > Add Website.
2. Enter a site name, choose or accept the application pool, and set the physical path to the content folder.
3. Set the binding (type, IP, port, host name) and click OK. The site starts immediately unless the binding conflicts with an existing one.

Add or change a binding

1. Select the site in the tree.
2. In the Actions pane, click Bindings > Add (or select an existing binding > Edit).
3. Set type (http or https), IP address, port, and host name; for https, pick the TLS certificate. Click OK — no restart needed.

Restart a site vs recycle an application pool

1. Restart site: select the site > Actions pane > Restart. This stops and starts the site's bindings but does not reset the worker process.
2. Recycle pool: select Application Pools > select the pool > Actions pane > Recycle. This replaces the worker process and clears in-process state, which is what actually resolves most hung-application situations. The difference is covered in our post on the IIS application pool.

Change an application pool identity

1. Select Application Pools in the tree, then select the pool.
2. Actions pane > Advanced Settings > Process Model > Identity.
3. Choose a built-in account (ApplicationPoolIdentity is the default and the recommended one) or set a custom account, then click OK and recycle the pool.

Turn directory browsing off

1. Select the site or folder in the tree.
2. Double-click Directory Browsing in the feature view.
3. Click Disable in the Actions pane. Disabled is the IIS default; if it is on, someone enabled it, and folder listings are exposed until it is turned back off.

Remote management

Managing a remote server from IIS Manager requires the Web Management Service (WMSVC) on that server. Setup, per Remote Administration for IIS Manager:

1. On the server, install the Management Service role service (Server Manager > Web Server (IIS) > Add Role Services > Management Service). It is not part of the default IIS install.
2. In IIS Manager on the server, select the server node > Management Service feature > check Enable remote connections > Apply > Start.
3. WMSVC listens on port 8172 over HTTPS only, with a self-signed certificate by default; setup adds the matching firewall rule. The service installs with Manual startup, so set it to Automatic (sc.exe config WMSVC start= auto) if it should survive reboots.
4. On your workstation, File > Connect to a Server in IIS Manager, enter the server name (and port if changed), and supply Windows or IIS Manager credentials.

The client side on Windows 10/11 is a separate download: IIS Manager for Remote Administration 1.2, available from iis.net. It is a standalone console that connects only through WMSVC — it cannot manage the local machine — and it remains the current version; Microsoft has not shipped a newer client. It can manage IIS 7.x through IIS 10 servers, with the feature set negotiated down to what the remote server supports.

Command-line alternatives

Everything the console does can be done from the command line, which matters for scripting and Server Core:

• AppCmd — the built-in utility at %windir%\system32\inetsrv. appcmd list sites shows every site with its state and bindings; the same tool adds sites, sets configuration, and recycles pools. Reference: Getting Started with AppCmd.exe.
• PowerShell — the IISAdministration module ships with Windows Server 2016 and later. Get-IISSite lists sites with state, physical path, and bindings; Start-IISSite, Stop-IISSite, and Get-IISAppPool cover the rest. Cmdlet reference: IISAdministration module. The older WebAdministration module (Get-Website, the IIS: drive) still works but IISAdministration is the current one.

Where the configuration actually lives

IIS Manager is a front end for XML configuration files. Server-level settings — the site list, application pools, global modules — live in applicationHost.config at %windir%\System32\inetsrv\config. Site- and folder-level settings can also live in web.config files inside the content folders. Every change made in the console is written to one of these files immediately on Apply; there is no separate metabase as in IIS 6. This means configuration can be diffed, backed up, and version-controlled, and it also means a malformed edit to applicationHost.config takes every site down until it is fixed. IIS keeps automatic snapshots in %windir%\System32\inetsrv\config\history for exactly that case.

When the console cannot fix it

IIS Manager handles configuration. It does not diagnose worker process crashes, hangs under load, HTTP 503s from a stopped pool that stops again on restart, certificate chain failures, or kernel-level HTTP.sys binding conflicts — those need failed request tracing, debug diagnostics, and log analysis outside the GUI. That class of problem on a production server is diagnostic work, not console work.

FAQ

What is the command to open IIS Manager?

Run inetmgr from the Run dialog (Win+R) or a command prompt. On Windows Server it is also under Server Manager > Tools.

Why is IIS Manager missing on my machine?

The console is not installed. On Windows Server, add the IIS Management Console role service under Web Server (IIS) > Management Tools. On Windows 10/11, enable it under Turn Windows features on or off > Internet Information Services > Web Management Tools.

What port does IIS remote management use?

Port 8172, HTTPS only, served by the Web Management Service (WMSVC). The port is configurable in the Management Service feature page.

Where does IIS Manager save its changes?

In applicationHost.config at %windir%\System32\inetsrv\config for server-level settings, and in web.config files within site folders for delegated settings.