CWIS - Windows-Specific Web (IIS) and DB (MS SQL SERVER) hosting

Microsoft Windows-based dynamic web and SQL Server hosting services are available to CSU colleges, departments, and organizations through the MSOPS team in the Division of IT. This includes access to development and production servers running IIS and MS SQL Server, and the infrastructure needed to host .NET applications with database support.

Applicable to: Fort Collins, Pueblo, Spur, System
Affiliation: Faculty, Staff, Departments, Organizations

For shared IIS and MS SQL Server hosting, colleges, departments, and organizations are set up with a special system account which can provide access to prod and dev IIS servers and Prod and Dev MS SQL Servers. The Division of IT provides the accounts, storage space and services but does not provide end-user support or debugging for web pages, web applications, or database systems.

Prerequisites

Your group must be a CSU-affiliated college, department, or organization
Email msops_help@mail.colostate.edu to request a CWIS account
Your team must be able to manage, test, and debug your own code and databases
Websites must comply with CSU accessibility requirements
Not available for personal websites or individual use by students, faculty, or staff

Features

Accessibility requirement
- CSU policy mandates that all university websites must meet accessibility standards
- Refer to the CSU Policy Library on Accessibility for full details
- Accessibility compliance is the responsibility of the department or organization owning the websites hosted on this shared service
Dual-server setup
- Separate development and production environments for both web and SQL servers
- Identical configurations allow safe testing before going live
Web server environment
- Hosted on Microsoft Windows Server using IIS
- Supports only Microsoft .NET Framework technologies
- Access via Windows Networking shared drives
- Optional Active Directory group configuration available for delegated access management
SQL Server hosting
- Use of SQLDEV and SQLPROD environments
- Request a database name, MSOPS will prepend the CWIS account to the name and grant your CWIS account DBO on the database
Self-managed development
- DoIT provides infrastructure only—departments are responsible for coding, testing, and debugging
- End users must use and maintain their own development tools (e.g., Visual Studio, VS Code, XCode, Eclipse, etc)
Authentication and authorization
- Optional support for CSU Federation via Shibboleth SSO for authentication
- Developers must code authorization mechanisms in their applications
SSL and DNS configuration
- Default URLs use SSL (e.g., https://wsprod.colostate.edu/cwis1234)
- Custom DNS entries (e.g., mysite.colostate.edu) are supported and will include SSL
- Departments are responsible for redirecting HTTP traffic to HTTPS
Fees and quotas
- No cost to departments for use of CWIS web or SQL hosting
- Disk usage is monitored; departments with excessive storage may be asked to reduce or reorganize usage
- Processing load is also monitored; web applications causing load levels which degrade the service may be throttled
Policy enforcement
- Development and testing must occur on the dev server before going live
- The Division of IT may disable a site causing performance issues until resolved

Outcome
Departments using this service will gain access to robust development and production hosting for .NET web applications and MS SQL databases, fully integrated into CSU’s IT infrastructure. The department is responsible for site accessibility, development, and ongoing maintenance.