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How does HTTP Redirection in IIS work?

If you are hosting a web site in IIS and want to redirect it to an URL without much effort, “HTTP Redirect” is the feature you’re looking for.

HTTP Redirect module in IIS application settings
HTTP Redirect module in IIS

It’s pretty straightforward. You give a target URL and set some options. I will be explaining what each option does through examples.

You will see 3 options in “Redirect Behavior” section:

  • Redirect all requests to exact destination (instead of relative to destination)
  • Only redirect requests to content in this directory (not subdirectories)
  • Status code: Found (302), Permanent (301) or Temporary (307)

Scenarios

Target: http://www.bing.com/

localhost/mysite/ > http://www.bing.com/
localhost/mysite/test.aspx > http://www.bing.com/test.aspx
localhost/mysite/about > http://www.bing.com/about
localhost/mysite/about/details.aspx > http://www.bing.com/about/details.aspx

Target: http://www.bing.com/

localhost/mysite/ > http://www.bing.com/
localhost/mysite/test.aspx > http://www.bing.com/
localhost/mysite/about > http://www.bing.com/
localhost/mysite/about/details.aspx > http://www.bing.com/

 

Target: http://www.bing.com/ localhost/mysite/ > http://www.bing.com/ localhost/mysite/test.aspx > http://www.bing.com/ localhost/mysite/about > http://www.bing.com/ localhost/mysite/about/details.aspx > http://www.bing.com/

Target: http://www.bing.com/

localhost/mysite/ > http://www.bing.com/
localhost/mysite/test.aspx > http://www.bing.com/
localhost/mysite/about > http://www.bing.com/
localhost/mysite/about/details.aspx > http://www.bing.com/

 

Target: http://www.bing.com/

localhost/mysite/ > http://www.bing.com/
localhost/mysite/test.aspx > http://www.bing.com/test.aspx
localhost/mysite/about > http://www.bing.com/about
localhost/mysite/about/details.aspx > http://www.bing.com/Default.aspx

 

Target: http://www.bing.com/sales

localhost/mysite/ > http://www.bing.com/sales/
localhost/mysite/test.aspx > http://www.bing.com/sales/test.aspx
localhost/mysite/about > http://www.bing.com/sales/about/
localhost/mysite/about/details.aspx > http://www.bing.com/sales/about/details.aspx

 

Target: http://www.bing.com/sales

localhost/mysite/ > http://www.bing.com/sales
localhost/mysite/test.aspx > http://www.bing.com/sales
localhost/mysite/about > http://www.bing.com/sales
localhost/mysite/about/details.aspx > http://www.bing.com/sales

 

Target: http://www.bing.com/sales

localhost/mysite/ > http://www.bing.com/sales
localhost/mysite/test.aspx > http://www.bing.com/sales
localhost/mysite/about > http://www.bing.com/sales
localhost/mysite/about/details.aspx > http://www.bing.com/sales

 

Target: http://www.bing.com/sales

localhost/mysite/ > http://www.bing.com/sales/
localhost/mysite/test.aspx > http://www.bing.com/sales/test.aspx
localhost/mysite/about > http://www.bing.com/sales/about
localhost/mysite/about/details.aspx > http://www.bing.com/sales/Default.aspx

 

Finally, status codes:

  • Found (302): Tells the web client to issue a new request to the location. Also called “Moved Temporarily”. This is the default option.
  • Permanent (301): Tells the web client that the location requested has permanently changed. If a client has link-editing capabilities, it should update all references to the Request URL. The response is cachable. If the 301 status code is received in response to a request of any type other than GET or HEAD, the client must ask the user before redirecting. Also called “Moved permanently”.
  • Temporary (307): The request should be repeated with another URL; however, future requests should still use the original URL. In contrast to 302 status code, the request method is not allowed to be changed when reissuing the original request. For instance, a POST request should be repeated using another POST request. Prevents a Web browser from losing data when the browser issues an HTTP POST request. Also called “Temporary Redirect”

References

Ned Sahin

Blogger for 20 years. Former Microsoft Engineer. Author of six books. I love creating helpful content and sharing with the world. Reach me out for any questions or feedback.
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