systemwebServerhttpCompression

System.webServer is a configuration section used by Internet Information Services (IIS) to control server-side features for an ASP.NET application. It appears in web.config files and is part of IIS’s integrated pipeline configuration, applying at the site, application, or virtual directory level. The section governs how requests are processed, which modules and handlers are active, and how the server serves content.

Within system.webServer, administrators configure modules, handlers, security, and other server features. The modules element registers HTTP modules that participate in request processing; the handlers element maps requests to the appropriate processors. Other common elements include defaultDocument (which defines the default files served when a directory is requested), directoryBrowse (which controls directory listing), httpErrors (custom error pages), staticContent (MIME types for static files), and security with requestFiltering (limits on URLs and request sizes). There are also performance-related elements such as serverRuntime. Some configurations rely on optional components like URL Rewrite, which is implemented through a separate subsection under system.webServer/rewrite.

Scope and inheritance: Changes in web.config apply to the application they reside in and can be overridden by nested configurations. Global or site-wide settings may originate from applicationHost.config, with local web.config files capable of overriding higher-level settings. When IIS starts, these configurations determine how requests are processed within the affected scope.

Relation to system.web: The system.webServer section configures IIS features, while system.web controls the ASP.NET runtime behavior within the application. Together they influence how requests are handled and how resources are delivered.