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Using Managed Code to Detect if IIS is Installed and ASP/ASP.NET is Registered

By Scott Dorman

Explains how to use managed code to detect which version of Internet Information Services (IIS) is installed and if ASP or ASP.NET is registered.
C# 1.0, C# 2.0, C# 3.0, Windows, .NET 1.0, .NET 1.1, .NET 2.0, .NET 3.0, ASP.NET, IIS 5.1, IIS 6, VS.NET2003, VS2005, IIS 7, Dev
Posted:6 Apr 2007
Updated:30 Dec 2007
Views:36,069
Bookmarked:54 times
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Popularity: 4.29 Rating: 4.50 out of 5

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Introduction

My earlier article [^] on detecting what .NET Framework versions and service packs are installed using managed code generated some follow up questions related to detecting if Internet Information Services (IIS) is installed and if ASP or ASP.NET is registered.

Since this is a managed code solution, it does require that a version of the .NET Framework is already installed, so this class is not guaranteed to work as part of an installation process. If you need to do this reliably from an installation process, you need to look at doing the same work using unmanaged C++.

Background

The correct way to determine if a specific version of Internet Information Services is installed is to look in the registry for the following key:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\InetStp\MajorVersion

This is a DWORD value that indicates the version of IIS installed, if it exists.

MajorVersion IIS Version Description
4 IIS 4 Shipped in NT Option Pack for Windows NT 4
5 IIS 5 Shipped in Windows 2000 Server and Windows XP Professional
6 IIS 6 Shipped in Windows Server 2003
7 IIS 7 Shipped in Windows Vista

For IIS 5, you can use the MinorVersion DWORD value to determine if you are running on Windows 2000 Server or Windows XP Professional. If MinorVersion is 1, then you are running on Windows XP Professional.

Detecting IIS Subcomponents

Sometimes, just knowing if IIS is installed isn't enough and you need to determine if specific subcomponents are also installed. Again, we can turn to the registry for this information. All of the subcomponent information is contained in the following registry key:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\Oc Manager\Subcomponents

All of the values under this key are DWORDs, so if the value is 1 then that component is installed.

IIS Subcomponent Registry value
IIS common files iis_common
Active Server Pages (ASP) for IIS iis_asp
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) service iis_ftp
IIS Manager (Microsoft Management Console [MMC] snap-in) iis_inetmgr
Internet Data Connector iis_internetdataconnector
Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) service iis_nntp
Server-Side Includes iis_serversideincludes
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service iis_smtp
Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) publishing iis_webdav
World Wide Web (WWW) service iis_www
Remote administration (HTML) sakit_web
Internet Server Application Programming Interface (ISAPI)
for Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) server extensions
BitsServerExtensionsISAPI
Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS)
server extensions snap-in
BitsServerExtensionsManager
FrontPage server extensions fp_extensions
Internet printing inetprint
ActiveX control and sample pages for hosting
Terminal Services client connections over the Web
TSWebClient

Detecting if ASP or ASP.NET is Registered

In order to detect if ASP is registered with IIS, you can simply look to see if the ASP component (iis_asp) is installed. However, for ASP.NET it becomes a little bit more involved since there are different versions of ASP.NET. We can also use the registry for this information, by looking at the following keys:

Framework Version Registry Key
ASP.NET v1.1 HKLM\Software\Microsoft\ASP.NET\1.1.4322.0
ASP.NET v2.0 HKLM\Software\Microsoft\ASP.NET\2.0.50727.0

If the key exists, then that version of ASP.NET is registered with IIS.

Using the Code

In order to consolidate checking all of the various registry keys and help isolate changes for future versions of the .NET Framework and IIS, the InternetInformationServicesDetection class was created. This class exposes the following public methods:

  • public static bool IsInstalled(InternetInformationServicesVersion iisVersion)
  • public static bool IsInstalled(InternetInformationServicesComponent subcomponent)
  • public static bool IsAspRegistered()
  • public static bool IsAspNetRegistered(FrameworkVersion frameworkVersion)

As you can see, these functions use the FrameworkVersion, InternetInformationServicesVersion, and InternetInformationServicesComponent enumerations. These enumerations have the following definition:

/// <summary>
/// Specifies the .NET Framework versions
/// </summary>
public enum FrameworkVersion
{
   /// <summary>
   /// .NET Framework 1.0
   /// </summary>
   Fx10,

   /// <summary>
   /// .NET Framework 1.1
   /// </summary>
   Fx11,

   /// <summary>
   /// .NET Framework 2.0
   /// </summary>
   Fx20,

   /// <summary>
   /// .NET Framework 3.0
   /// </summary>
   Fx30,

   /// <summary>
   /// .NET Framework 3.5 (Orcas)
   /// </summary>
   Fx35,
}

/// <summary>
/// Specifies the Internet Information Services (IIS) versions
/// </summary>
public enum InternetInformationServicesVersion
{
  /// <summary>
  /// Internet Information Services 4
  /// </summary>
  /// <remarks>Shipped in NT Option Pack for Windows NT 4</remarks>
  IIS4,

  /// <summary>
  /// Internet Information Services 5
  /// </summary>
  /// <remarks>Shipped in Windows 2000 Server and Windows XP Professional</remarks>
  IIS5,

  /// <summary>
  /// Internet Information Services 6
  /// </summary>
  /// <remarks>Shipped in Windows Server 2003</remarks>
  IIS6,

  /// <summary>
  /// Internet Information Services 7
  /// </summary>
  /// <remarks>Shipped in Windows Vista</remarks>
  IIS7,
}

/// <summary>
/// Specifies the Internet Information Services (IIS) versions
/// </summary>
public enum InternetInformationServicesComponent
{
  /// <summary>
  /// Internet Information Services Common Files
  /// </summary>
  Common,

  /// <summary>
  /// Active Server Pages (ASP) for Internet Information Services
  /// </summary>
  ASP,

  /// <summary>
  /// File Transfer Protocol (FTP) service
  /// </summary>
  FTP,

  /// <summary>
  /// Internet Information Services Manager
  /// </summary>
  InetMgr,

  /// <summary>
  /// Internet Data Connector
  /// </summary>
  InternetDataConnector,

  /// <summary>
  /// Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) service
  /// </summary>
  NNTP,

  /// <summary>
  /// Server-Side Includes
  /// </summary>
  ServerSideIncludes,

  /// <summary>
  /// Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service
  /// </summary>
  SMTP,

  /// <summary>
  /// Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) publishing
  /// </summary>
  WebDAV,

  /// <summary>
  /// World Wide Web (WWW) service
  /// </summary>
  WWW,

  /// <summary>
  /// Remote administration (HTML)
  /// </summary>
  RemoteAdmin,

  /// <summary>
  /// Internet Server Application Programming Interface (ISAPI) for
  /// Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) server extensions
  /// </summary>
  BitsISAPI,

  /// <summary>
  /// Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) server extensions
  /// </summary>
  Bits,

  /// <summary>
  /// FrontPage server extensions
  /// </summary>
  FrontPageExtensions,

  /// <summary>
  /// Internet printing
  /// </summary>
  InternetPrinting,

  /// <summary>
  /// ActiveX control and sample pages for hosting Terminal Services
  /// client connections over the web
  /// </summary>
  TSWebClient,
}

A complete example in C# looks like this:

bool iis4Installed =
    InternetInformationServicesDetection.IsInstalled
        (InternetInformationServicesVersion.IIS4);

bool iis5Installed =
    InternetInformationServicesDetection.IsInstalled
        (InternetInformationServicesVersion.IIS5);

bool iis6Installed =
    InternetInformationServicesDetection.IsInstalled
        (InternetInformationServicesVersion.IIS6);

bool iis7Installed =
    InternetInformationServicesDetection.IsInstalled
        (InternetInformationServicesVersion.IIS7);


Console.WriteLine("IIS 4 installed? {0}", iis4Installed);
Console.WriteLine("IIS 5 installed? {0}", iis5Installed);
Console.WriteLine("IIS 6 installed? {0}", iis6Installed);
Console.WriteLine("IIS 7 installed? {0}", iis7Installed);

if (iis4Installed || iis5Installed || iis6Installed || iis7Installed)
{
    Console.WriteLine("ASP Registered? {0}",
        InternetInformationServicesDetection.IsAspRegistered());

    Console.WriteLine("ASP.NET 1.0 Registered? {0}",
        InternetInformationServicesDetection.IsAspNetRegistered(FrameworkVersion.Fx10));

    Console.WriteLine("ASP.NET 1.1 Registered? {0}",
        InternetInformationServicesDetection.IsAspNetRegistered(FrameworkVersion.Fx11));

    Console.WriteLine("ASP.NET 2.0 Registered? {0}",
        InternetInformationServicesDetection.IsAspNetRegistered(FrameworkVersion.Fx20));

    // These really don't exist, they are actually the .NET 2.0 version of ASP.NET.
    Console.WriteLine("ASP.NET 3.0 Registered? {0}",
        InternetInformationServicesDetection.IsAspNetRegistered(FrameworkVersion.Fx30));

    Console.WriteLine("ASP.NET 3.5 Registered? {0}",
        InternetInformationServicesDetection.IsAspNetRegistered(FrameworkVersion.Fx35));
}

Points of Interest

The public methods are simply wrappers that determine which private function should be called. These private functions, in turn, query the appropriate registry keys and process the result. However, the real work is done in the GetRegistryValue<T> function. This is a generic function that returns a boolean value indicating if the requested registry key was found and an out parameter that contains the value.

It is important to note that if the user does not have the appropriate permissions to access the registry, this function will throw an exception that will bubble up to the original caller. This was intentionally done to allow the caller the ability to take different actions based on the exception thrown.

Future Considerations

Windows XP 64-bit and Windows Vista 64-bit support. If someone wants to test this on these operating systems and let me know if it runs properly and if not what the errors are, I will correct them.

History

  • 6-April-2007
    • Original article
  • 17-August-2007
    • Updated the download to include fixes to the FrameworkVersionDetection class for the .NET Framework v3.5 Beta 2

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)

About the Author

Scott Dorman


Member
Scott is a C# MVP and has been involved with computers in one way or another for as long as he can remember, but started professionally in 1993. After spending 6 years as a systems administrator, Scott branched out and started developing eCommerce store fronts. From there, he has worked on many different projects and has been working with .NET and C# since 2001.

He has worked at Fortune 500 companies and privately held start-ups focused on IT consulting where he gained experience in embedded systems design and software development to systems administration and database programming, and everything in between.

Although his primary focus right now is commercial software applications using Microsoft .NET technologies, he prefers building infrastructure components, reusable shared libraries and helping companies define, develop and automate process standards and guidelines.

Scott is currently working as a senior developer and architect on the Gulf coast of Florida, where he lives with his three cats.
Occupation: Software Developer (Senior)
Location: United States United States

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 Msgs 1 to 25 of 26 (Total in Forum: 26) (Refresh)FirstPrevNext
GeneralI have the ASP.NET registry key even though I do not have IIS installed Pinmemberclaesbrandt6:47 7 Aug '08  
GeneralRe: I have the ASP.NET registry key even though I do not have IIS installed PinmemberJonB2:52 14 Aug '08  
GeneralRe: I have the ASP.NET registry key even though I do not have IIS installed Pinmemberclaesbrandt3:18 14 Aug '08  
GeneralRe: I have the ASP.NET registry key even though I do not have IIS installed PinmemberJonB3:50 14 Aug '08  
GeneralRe: I have the ASP.NET registry key even though I do not have IIS installed PinmemberJonB0:01 18 Aug '08  
GeneralRe: I have the ASP.NET registry key even though I do not have IIS installed Pinmemberclaesbrandt11:25 20 Aug '08  
GeneralRe: I have the ASP.NET registry key even though I do not have IIS installed [modified] PinmemberJonB22:32 20 Aug '08  
GeneralRe: I have the ASP.NET registry key even though I do not have IIS installed Pinmemberclaesbrandt22:52 20 Aug '08  
GeneralRe: I have the ASP.NET registry key even though I do not have IIS installed PinmemberJonB23:16 20 Aug '08  
GeneralRe: I have the ASP.NET registry key even though I do not have IIS installed PinmvpScott Dorman6:05 21 Aug '08  
GeneralRe: I have the ASP.NET registry key even though I do not have IIS installed PinmvpScott Dorman6:02 21 Aug '08  
GeneralRe: I have the ASP.NET registry key even though I do not have IIS installed PinmemberJonB7:35 15 Oct '08  
GeneralRe: I have the ASP.NET registry key even though I do not have IIS installed PinmvpScott Dorman9:17 15 Oct '08  
GeneralRe: I have the ASP.NET registry key even though I do not have IIS installed PinmemberJonB2:22 16 Oct '08  
QuestionDetecting if the subcomponents are enabled Pinmemberradikalee16:06 22 Nov '07  
AnswerRe: Detecting if the subcomponents are enabled PinmvpScott Dorman6:08 21 Aug '08  
GeneralWiX PinmemberLyhr12:50 26 Oct '07  
GeneralRe: WiX PinmemberScott Dorman15:01 26 Oct '07  
GeneralUpdates for .NET Framework 3.5 Beta 2 PinmemberScott Dorman17:29 17 Aug '07  
GeneralPretty Cool Pinmemberhk115:44 16 Aug '07  
GeneralRe: Pretty Cool PinmemberScott Dorman6:20 16 Aug '07  
QuestionIIS 6.0 Compatibility Mode on Vista PinmemberRazi Mohiuddin21:03 16 May '07  
AnswerRe: IIS 6.0 Compatibility Mode on Vista PinmemberScott Dorman16:41 17 May '07  
AnswerRe: IIS 6.0 Compatibility Mode on Vista Pinmemberparxs8:45 1 May '08  
GeneralLooks good! PinsitebuilderUwe Keim9:02 6 Apr '07  

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