Setting up Web.config to allow uploading of large files by ASP .NET applications

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Introduction

During the construction of an intranet application that allows users to upload documents and share information between users, I noticed that when a user tries to upload files that are larger than 4 MB, he is asked for the user/password and even if he enters the correct user/password, the file is not uploaded, and he gets a HTTP 401.1 error.

Of course, this should not be an article, but CodeProject doesn't have a "quick tip section"-like, so here it goes.

The problem

By default, Machine.config is configured to accept HTTP Requests upto 4096 KB (4 MB) and it is reflected in all your ASP.NET applications. You can change the Machine.config file directly, or you can change only the Web.config file of the application(s) you want to.

The solution

Open your Web.config file, and just below the <system.web> tag, add the following tag:

<httpRuntime 
executionTimeout="90" 
maxRequestLength="4096" 
useFullyQualifiedRedirectUrl="false" 
minFreeThreads="8" 
minLocalRequestFreeThreads="4" 
appRequestQueueLimit="100" 
enableVersionHeader="true"
/>

Now, just take a look at the maxRequestLength="4096" attribute of the <httpRuntime> tag. As you may have realized, all you need to do is change the value to some other value of your choice (8192 for 8 Mb, 16384 for 16 Mb, 65536 for 64 Mb, and so on...).

That's it. I hope it is useful to you.