Moving an asp.NET application to a new server

[bspittles]

Hi.

I'm an experienced programmer, but one who has never used .NET technology before.

The college I recently started working for will be decommissioning some old servers during the Summer, and I'd like to make a start on moving the applications to their new home. I thought I would start with a simple one-page data extraction webpage that retrieves information from an SQL database.

I've copied the database from the old server to the new, and I've copied the directory structure across. The files involved are:

default.aspx
default.aspx.vb
masterpage.master
masterpage.master.vb
printme.css
web.config

admin/default.aspx
admin/default.aspx.vb
admin/web.config

app_code/classdiagram.cd
app_code/staff_details.vb
app_code/staff_manager.vb

There is also an empty app_data directory and an app_themes directory containing what looks like standard templates. Each of the directories also contains a _vti_cnf subdirectory, which I understand hold information about the creation and development of the code within that folder.

Within the root directory, there are subdirectories named _private (empty), _vti_pvt, _vti_script (empty) and _vti_txt (also empty).

Having copied these files, I tried to access them using http://server/directory but got a 403 error. I then tried http://server/directory/default.aspx and received the error "Server Application Unavailable". I amended one of the files (using Visual Studio 2005), which contained information about the database links, to point to the new server, but received exactly the same errors.

I've checked the application event log on the server, and the entry reads "It is not possible to run two different versions of ASP.NET in the same IIS process." The old server seems to have .NET 2.0 installed whilst the new one is running 3.5 SP1. Looking at the IIS Manager on the old server shows a directory-like structure containing the files listed above.

So, what else do I need to do? Do I need to export the application from old server to new? Do I need to rewrite it from scratch? Are there features in 3.5 that might benefit the application? Or is there simple flag I can change so that the old code will work on the new server?

Many thanks for reading this far. If I've missed any information that would be useful, please let me know. As I said at the start, I'm far from being a newbie when it comes to programming, but .NET (and MS server technology/terminology) is completely new to me.

Cheers,
Brian

[Fortinbra]

Are you setting these up as application under the DefaultWebSite on IIS or are you simply dropping the directories into the wwwroot folder? What server version are the new servers?

And Yes, there are some new features that the application will benefit from, but most require reworking the code to take advantage of them.

This is actually something I do a lot at work. I move an application from a Server 2003 box to a Sever 2008R2 box almost daily.

Without answering all the questions, what you could try is making sure the folder containing the appication is set as an application in IIS, and make sure it's corresponding AppPool is set to the correct .NET version.

[bspittles]

Hi Fortinbra,

Many thanks for reply, and apologies for the late acknowledgement (due to the Easter holidays).

The IT team that look after the server are investigating your suggestion about setting a separate application pool in IIS. In the meantime, I suspect we will continue to run the applications on the old server and rewrite them (in a technology still to be decided) as and when they are required.

Again, many thanks for taking the time to reply.

Brian

[aspproject]

just do copy asp.net web application from old server to new server

[bspittles]

Hi aspproject,

Thanks for the reply. Could you provide step-by-step instructions for doing that?

Many thanks,
Brian