Install Internet Information Services 7.0 and Drupal 7 by Using the Microsoft Web Platform Installer 3.0

Last updated April 13, 2011. Created by jclpeaks on April 11, 2011.
Edited by Carolyn, Prowess_Joe. Log in to edit this page.

Install Internet Information Services 7.0 and Drupal 7 by Using the Microsoft Web Platform Installer 3.0

This article describes how to install and configure Drupal 7 on
Windows Server 2008 R2 by using the Microsoft Web Platform Installer
(Web PI) version 3.0.

The Web PI is a free tool that makes getting the latest components
of the Microsoft Web Platform-including Internet Information Services
(IIS), Microsoft SQL Server Express, the Microsoft .NET Framework, and
Visual Web Developer-quick and easy. The Web PI also lets you install
web applications such as Drupal with the built-in Windows Web App
Gallery.

To install Drupal on IIS version 7.0 by using Web PI 3.0, follow these
steps:

Prerequisites

Step 1. Install the Web Platform Installer 3.0

Step 2. Select the products and applications to install

Step 3. Review and configure the selected products and applications

Step 4. Verify the installation and configuration

Step 5. Enable clean URLs

Prerequisites

The supported operating systems for the Web PI 3.0 are Windows 7,
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1), Windows Vista, Windows XP Service
Pack 2 (SP2) and later versions, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server
2008, and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) and later versions.

For this guide, it is assumed that you have Windows Server 2008 R2
installed on your computer. You will also need an Internet connection
and administrator privileges for your computer.

It is a good idea to confirm that your system meets the hardware
requirements for IIS 7.0. See
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc268240.aspx for more
information.

Step 1. Install the Web Platform Installer 3.0

In this step, you begin to install the Web PI 3.0, which is a 1.3MB
download.

1. Log on to Windows Server 2008 R2 as a user who has administrative

privileges.

2. Start Windows Internet Explorer.
3. Go to http://www.microsoft.com/web/downloads/platform.aspx.
   
   





4. Click Download It Now.
5. Click Run.
   
   





6. Click Run again.
   
   




7. Wait a few seconds for the Web PI to start.

Step 2. Select the products and applications to install

In this step, you select the version of Drupal that you want to install. Drupal 7 is used in this guide.

1. Next to Drupal 7 Developer release, click Add.
   
   Note If Drupal 7 Developer release is not in the items list, click
   Applications in the left navigation pane.
   
   





2. Click Install.
   
   

Step 3. Review and configure the selected products and applications

In this step, you review and configure what you have added.
Additionally, you add the database, name the SQL Server Express
database, and name the Drupal 7 site.

1. When you are asked what type of database you want to use, leave SQL
   Server selected.
   
   Note: This will install Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Express to handle
   all the database transactions that are required by Drupal.
   
   




2. In the list, select Install it on my machine, and then click
   Continue.
3. Scroll down to confirm that all the following items have
   been automatically included as dependencies:
   
   • IIS 7.0
   
   • PHP 5.3.5
   
   • IIS URL Rewrite 2.0
   
   • Windows Cache Extension 1.1 for PHP 5.3
   
   • SQL Server 2008 R2 Express
   
   • Microsoft SQL Driver 2.0 for PHP
   
   Note: Windows Cache Extension is used to increase the speed of PHP
   applications that are running on your web host. URL Rewrite allows
   clean URLs to be enabled for Drupal.
   
   





4. Review the files to be downloaded and installed, as well as the
   license terms, and then click I Accept.
5. Specify a password for the SQL Server Administrator account (sa),
   and then click Continue.Note: It is important to remember this password because you will be
   asked for this password in the steps that follow.
   
   





6. Allow the Web PI 3.0 installation to complete.
7. In the Web Site box, leave Default Web Site selected.
8. In the 'Drupal 7 Developer release' application name box, type a name for the
   Drupal 7 site, and then click Continue. For example, type myDrupal.
   
   





9. Leave Create new database selected.
10. Type the database administrator user name and password.
    Note: This account is used to create and manage the database that is
    needed for Drupal.
    
    





11. Type the database user name. Note Drupal will use this account to access and write to the database
    as needed.
12. Type the password for the database user name, and then click
    Continue.
    
    





13. Click Finish.
    
    





14. Click Exit to close the Web PI 3.0.

Step 4. Verify the installation and configuration

In this step, you complete the installation. You can add additional
languages if you want to.

1. Switch to Internet Explorer.
2. Go to your Drupal website. For example, go to
   http://localhost/myDrupal.
   
   





3. Select Standard, and then click Save and continue.
4. Leave English selected, and then click Save and continue.
   Note: A link is provided to install additional languages if you want to
   do so.
   
   





5. Complete the site information fields. Fields that are marked with an
   asterisk (*) are required.
   
   









6. Click Save and Continue.
7. Click Visit your new site.
   
   

Step 5. Enable clean URLs

In this step, you enable clean URLs now that Drupal has been installed.

1. At the top of the page, click Configuration.
   
   





2. Scroll down to the SEARCH AND METADATA section, and then click Clean
   URLs.
   
   





3. Click Save configuration.
   
   





4. Click X to close the configuration window.
   
   

The installation is now complete, and you are ready to use Drupal!

Additional Information

1. IIS URL Rewrite 2.0 lets you create powerful rules to implement URLs
   that are easier for users to remember and easier for search engines to
   find. For more information, visit these websites:
   
   http://www.iis.net/download/urlrewrite
   
   http://learn.iis.net/page.aspx/734/url-rewrite-module/
2. Windows Cache Extension for PHP is a PHP accelerator that is used to
   increase the speed of PHP applications that are running on Windows and
   on Windows Server. After Windows Cache Extension for PHP is enabled and
   loaded by the PHP engine, PHP applications can take advantage of the
   functionality without any code modifications. For more information,
   visit this website: http://www.iis.net/download/wincacheforphp
3. PHP Manager for IIS is a tool for managing one or many PHP
   installations on IIS 7.0 servers. For more information, visit these
   websites:
   
   
   http://www.iis.net/community/default.aspx?tabid=34&g=6&i=2007
   
   http://learn.iis.net/page.aspx/944/using-php-manager-for-iis-to-setup-and-configure-php/
4. For more general information about PHP, visit these websites:
   
   http://www.php.net/manual/en/install.windows.manual.php
   
   http://www.php.net/manual/en/install.windows.iis6.php
   
   http://www.php.net/manual/en/install.windows.iis7.php
5. Other useful links:
   
   http://php.iis.net/
   
   http://windows.php.net/
   
   http://forums.iis.net/1102.aspx