ryancheley / gcp-django-demo

Helper files needed for GCP Django Windows Server Setup

Guide to Deploy Django on IIS using wfastcgi

1. Open a Powershell terminal in Admin mode

2. Browse to c:\inetweb\wwwroot

3. Delete the IIS start files in the c:\inetweb\wwwroot\ directory

4. Checkout the code from the repo:

git clone https://github.com/ryancheley/gcp-django-demo mywebsite

5. Open VS Code as Admin

6. Open Folder c:\inetweb\wwwroot\mywebsite

7. Trust the Code if given the prompt

8. Open terminal

9. Create a virtual environment:

python -m venv venv

10. Activate the virtual environment:

.\venv\Scripts\activate

11. Install the requirements from the requirements.txt file:

pip install -r requirements.txt

12. Run wfastcgi-enable command:

wfastcgi-enable

13. Update web.config to put in needed values (e.g. server name, path to python executable, and path to the Django application):

<configuration>
  <system.webServer>
    <handlers>
      <add name="Python FastCGI" path="*" verb="*" modules="FastCgiModule" scriptProcessor="C:\inetweb\wwwroot\mywebsite\venv\Scripts\python.exe|C:\inetweb\wwwroot\mywebsite\venv\Lib\site-packages\wfastcgi.py" resourceType="Unspecified" requireAccess="Script" />
    </handlers>
    <httpErrors errorMode="Detailed" />
    <directoryBrowse enabled="false" />
    <httpProtocol>
      <customHeaders>
        <add name="X-Powered-By" value="Django/3.2.2" />
      </customHeaders>
    </httpProtocol>
    <staticContent>
      <mimeMap fileExtension=".webmanifest" mimeType="application/manifest+json" />
    </staticContent>
  </system.webServer>
</configuration>

14. Run migrate command:

python manage.py migrate

15. Run development server:

python manage.py runserver

16. Verify that the site works by opening a web browser and navigating to http://localhost:8000/.

17. Stop the development server

18. Collect static files:

python manage.py collectstatic

19. Grant Full Permissions for web directory to IIS AppPool\DefaultAppPool

20. Go to IIS Manager

21. Add Virtual Directory to Static Folder

22. Unlock the configuration manager

23. Move web.config to parent directory c:\inetweb\wwwroot\

24. Restart the WebSite

That's it! Your Django application should now be deployed and running on IIS.