Hi,
I can forward requests successfuly through IIS7 to a backend http server located on the local network by using the default "ARR_hosting_loadbalance" URL Rewrite rule that was created by IIS when I added the backend app (local IP) as a server to a Server Farm.
The backend app is not a "fully fledged" web server. It's a standalone exe program that listens for SOAP requests over http that client applications make to access various web services that the backend app provides. I hope to use the SSL offloading capability provided by ARR to shield the SOAP/XML data being sent over the internet. (Common theme, I'm sure.)
In Scott Forsyth's video here:
http://dotnetslackers.com/articles/iis/Bindings-and-Rules-for-Application-Request-Routing-ARR-Week-32.aspx
he recommends adding a {HTTP_HOST} condition to filter the required domain. I think he suggested that, without doing that, web requests would be redirected to the Server Farm for all domains?
But when I add the {HTTP_HOST} condition eg. ^hosting\.blah\.com\.au$ the "Route to Server Farm" breaks. The Win32 client program which makes SOAP requests (is not a web browser) throws up an error of:
Not Found (404) - 'http://hosting.blah.com.au/soap/ISCDataServer'
The problem seems to be that the URL has been truncated.
The full form of SOAP request that is being made by the client program looks like this:
http://hosting.blah.com.au/soap/ISCDataServer - SOAPAction:urn:SCDataServerIntf-ISCDataServer#CheckServer
That is, there is a space both before and after the hyphen.
I'm guessing that it's the space after ISCDataServer that is the problem.
(But it's odd that this problem doesn't arise unless I put in the condition I mentioned.)
Other information about the URL Rewrite rule is:
1) Matches Pattern * (Wildcard)
2) Action: "Route to Server Farm http://hosting/{R:0}
Both of these were the defaults in "ARR_hosting_loadbalance" rule generated by IIS when I added the server.
Do I really need worry about trying to include this HTTP_HOST condition?
Although I hope to later add other domains for IIS to handle, I will not need to add any other Server Farm / server.
If so, how can I get URL Rewrite to pass on the whole URL, not just the part up to the space?.