## Metabase Security and Reliability

###### Metabase Access Control

The metabase key values are stored in a disk file, which is named Metabase.bin by default. The metabase is loaded from disk when IIS starts, stored to disk when IIS shuts down, and saved periodically while IIS is running. It is important to protect this file from unauthorized use. It is recommended that you store this file on an NTFS partition and use Windows security to protect it.

Metabase.bin is stored in the Inetsrv directory. You can move or rename the file and change the Windows registry setting that tells IIS where to find the file on startup. To relocate or rename the metabase file, you must stop IIS, move or rename the file, and modify the registry key LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\INetMgr\Parameters. Then add a REG_SZ value, named MetadataFile, to this key. MetadataFile specifies the new complete path of the metabase file, including the drive letter and file name.

###### Metabase Reliability

You can implement your own custom backup policy for the metabase, or create specialized backup tools. Your application can use the methods provided by the IIsComputer object (for IIS Admin Objects) or IMSAdminBase (for the IIS Admin Base Object) to manage metabase backups. You can store multiple backup versions in long-term storage, restore the metabase from a backup version of your choice, and enumerate and delete backups.

Important The metabase backup and restore functionality has been updated for IIS 5.1. Legacy metabase backups exist for versioning purposes, not for cross-machine replication. A legacy metabase backup must be restored only to the same machine on which it was originally created. For more information about creating and restoring metabase backups, see Backing Up the Metabase and Restoring the Metabase.

For more information, see the Advanced Programmatic Administration section in the Platform SDK.

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