Any idea what this .NET error means?

Question

I have Bugnet installed on my hosted server and it does work, seems that all functionality of the project works as one would expect.

However seems on any page render this error is generated;

System.Configuration.

ConfigurationErrorsException: 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.

The part that throws me is the application does function as expected. It is installed into a subdomain on a hosted server, not setup to run in a virtual directory.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Answer 1

It sounds like a web.config issue - this link should help (point 2).

Answer 2

Generally speaking, this error occurs when IIS is not configured correctly for your deployment. You state that this is installed to a subdomain on your hosted server, which at first glace indicates that this error should simply not appear. But I have to ask what URLs you are seeing it with? (Just one or two, if you don't mind.)

Normally, this error has always occurred for me when I dropped a .NET app into a directory on an IIS site, and forgot to configure that directory as a virtual directory and application correctly. As a result, some config entries which are application-level only caused the ASP.NET framework to throw your exception.

If your URLs look right, see if your host provides you direct access to IIS settings. If they do, then you can double-check all of the settings directly and ensure that they are correct.

Answer 3

There is a web.config in your app with a section which is only allowed in the application root (or higher - i.e. machine config). Unless you have more than one web.config in your app, it is probably due to the fact that somehow the root virtual directory in your app is not configured to be a web app.

To configure it properly open property dialog for your root virtual directory in IIS control panel and click button labeled "Create Application"