irseg

Here's a perfect example of why Windows-based servers really piss me off. They get *this close* to doing what you need them to do, but don't. And customizing them is a million times more difficult than it should me.

I set up a Linux server to handle all the IIS logs from the webservers. I thought this would be a cinch, since IIS does ODBC logging.

Then I looked up the table schema--IIS doesn't log referers if you use the ODBC connection. You can log them to a file just fine, but not a freaking database. I thought surely that can be customized. Nope! And tracking referers is crucial to this project.

Then I set up a Samba share on the Linux box where all the machines could write their logs. I then found out that all the servers have filesharing disabled because according to the Windows guys here, there's really no way to make it secure.

Are there any third-party logging modules for IIS that send ALL the log data over an ODBC connection? What a pain in the ass. This would be a 10-minute job in Apache, tops.

cyrnel

I'd suggest Apache but... I hear you. Oh for config files and modular code.

He's somewhat right about filesharing. It's tough to secure. Not impossible but it isn't something you want to add to the plate if they aren't ready.

Have you thought about adding a separate net for the fileshares? Another card, another cable, the works? I started doing this for special needs back when DLT backups started saturating our little 100Mb server farm. Things are way beyond that now but the benefits remain. Another cable takes most security problems away.

joltd

You could also just let iis write its logs in its native format then write a little ftp app in vbs that will move the logs to the *nix server or vice versa where the *nix box gets the iis logs.