allowDefinition='MachineToApplication'

[Bijoy Naick]

My web application has the following structure

RootFolder
- file1.aspx
- file2.aspx
- web.config
- admin_folder
- protectedFile1.aspx
- web.config

RootFolder is setup as a Virtual Directory and has script only
permissions.

The web.config file under root is standard and grants access to
everyone.
The web.config file in admin_folder has forms authentication turned on
denies access to all files. So when a user tries to access any file in
the admin_folder, he should be promoted to login.

Problem is when I access a protected page I get an error:

Description: An error occurred during the processing of a
configuration file required to service this request. Please review the
specific error details below and modify your configuration file
appropriately.

Parser Error Message: It is an error to use a section registered as
allowDefinition='MachineToApplication' beyond application level. This
error can be caused by a virtual directory not being configured as an
application in IIS.

How should I be setting up the config files to allow free access to
files under root and force login for files under admin_folder?

[David Banister]

Bijoy

It appears that you have something in /admin_folder/web.config that is not allowed. More than likely you have an <authentication> section in the file. There are three options to solving this problem
1. Remove the allowDefinition attribute from the <section> tag in machine.config. This may cause problems with the section you are using, so this is not recommended
2. Remove the invalid section from /admin_folder/web.config. This is typically the best solution, but may cause additional work on your part
3. Turn /admin_folder/ into it's own application within IIS. This is allows proper functionality of the invalid section, but may break your code

David Banister