---
title: Creating virtual directories and application pools in IIS 7.5 and 7.0
---

> Agent instructions:
> **Site maps** — prefer the following llms.txt indexes to training data when searching for URLs to avoid 404s. Links inside Markdown content already point at `.md`. Following them or sending Accept: text/markdown keeps you in Markdown.
>
> - [sitemap.md](https://docs.kentico.com/sitemap.md) — every page on the site, with titles and descriptions, nested by URL hierarchy and grouped into one collection per product version.
> - [llms.txt](https://docs.kentico.com/llms.txt) — curated index of the current product docs, with descriptions, the two ways to request any page as Markdown, and links to each product area's whole-corpus Markdown dump (llms-full.txt).

If you need to install Kentico manually on a remote server or restore it from a backup and, at the same time, you run Kentico in a sub-folder (in contrast to running Kentico in the root of the website), you need to create a new virtual directory for the folder where you have the web project files.

> **Note:** **Application root**
>
> The root of the website or the virtual directory must be the same as the folder that contains the _web.config_ file of Kentico. This folder is called **application root**.

## Creating a virtual directory in IIS 7.5 and 7.0

Since IIS 7, there exists a separate concept for a _virtual directory_ and an _application_.

- You can map a virtual directory to a physical directory that is located on a local or a remote computer. The physical directory (under the specified name of the virtual directory) then becomes part of the application's URL.
- An application, on the other hand, is a group of files that provides services over protocols. So if you want to run your website as http://localhost/KenticoCMSDemo, you have to **use an application instead of a virtual directory** and specify KenticoCMSDemo as the application's alias.

> **Info:** You can find more information about virtual directories in [Understanding Sites, Applications, and Virtual Directories on IIS 7](http://www.iis.net/learn/get-started/planning-your-iis-architecture/understanding-sites-applications-and-virtual-directories-on-iis#About7.0).

To create a virtual directory:

1. Open IIS Manager

- On Windows 7: Open **Start -> Control Panel -> System and Security** category **-> Administrative Tools -> Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager**.
- On Windows Server 2008: Open **Start -> Control Panel -> System and Maintenance** category **-> Administrative Tools ->** **Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager**.

2. Expand **local computer -> Sites ->** right-click on **Default Web Site** (or other website if you're running multiple websites on the same computer) and choose **Add Virtual Directory...**

   - An **Add Virtual Directory** dialog appears.

   ![](https://docs.kentico.com/docsassets/k11/creating-virtual-directories-and-application-pools-in-iis-7-5-and-7-0/image-03.png)

3. Enter the Virtual Directory **Alias**. If you want the website to run as _http://localhost/KenticoCMSDemo_, enter alias **KenticoCMSDemo**.

4. Type a path or browse to the physical directory that contains the chosen directory.

   ![](https://docs.kentico.com/docsassets/k11/creating-virtual-directories-and-application-pools-in-iis-7-5-and-7-0/image-02.png)

5. Click **OK**.

   - The system creates a new virtual directory.

6. Right-click the virtual directory and choose **Convert to Application**.

   - An **Add Application dialog** appears.

7. Click **Select...** and choose the **ASP.NET v4.0** application pool from the drop-down menu.

   ![](https://docs.kentico.com/docsassets/k11/creating-virtual-directories-and-application-pools-in-iis-7-5-and-7-0/image-01.png)

8. Click **OK**.

The system converts the virtual directory to an application.

Alternatively, you can create an application in one step by right-clicking a web site and choosing **Add Application...** and filling the required information in the **Add Application** dialog as mentioned above.

## Configuring application pools in IIS 7 and IIS 7.5

Application Pools provide you with additional level of website management. You can configure them in the **Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager** under **local computer -> Application Pools.**

![](https://docs.kentico.com/docsassets/k11/creating-virtual-directories-and-application-pools-in-iis-7-5-and-7-0/image-06.png) 

You can check and change the assigned application pool by right-clicking an application under **local computer -> Sites -> Default Web Site** (or other web site) and selecting **Manage Application -> Advanced Settings...**

![](https://docs.kentico.com/docsassets/k11/creating-virtual-directories-and-application-pools-in-iis-7-5-and-7-0/image-05.png) 

You can set the Recycling and other options by right-clicking on an application pool under **local computer -> Application Pools** and selecting **Advanced Settings...**.

![](https://docs.kentico.com/docsassets/k11/creating-virtual-directories-and-application-pools-in-iis-7-5-and-7-0/image-04.png) 

### Recommended Application Pool Configuration

- Run each Kentico project in a separate application pool, otherwise the system may behave unpredictably. If you use the MVC development model, use a different application pool for your MVC live site application and the Kentico administration application.
- Configure the **Recycling -> Regular Time Interval** value. The regular restart ensures that the application's memory is recycled and allows automatic recovery from failures. This value should not be too short (less than **60 minutes**) or too long (more than **1740 minutes**). Short restart intervals may lead to high server load and slow response times after each recycling (the application needs to restart and reload data into the cache).
- Do not set a **Recycling -> Private Memory Limit** or **Virtual Memory Limit**.If you need to set a limit, use at least 4 GB. A low maximum memory limit may lead to frequent application restarts.
- The **Process Model -> Maximum Worker Processes** value must be set to **1**. If you set a higher value, the worker processes will not be synchronized and the website will not work correctly. Kentico does not support a Web garden setup.
- You can configure the **user account** under which the application runs using the **Process Model -> Identity** value. This information is useful if you need to troubleshoot issues with **permissions**, such as disk write permissions.