Add IIS 7 AppPool Identities as SQL Server Logons

Question

I'm running an IIS 7 Website with an AppPool of Integrated Pipeline Mode. The AppPools does NOT run under NetworkService, etc.. identity (by purpose), but uses it's own AppPool Identitiy (IIS AppPool\MyAppPool).

This is a so called service account or virtual account. (a user account, which is not a full account...)

I'd like to give this service account (IIS AppPool\MyAppPool) permissions to connect to my SQL Server 2008 Express (running in Mixed Auth. Mode).

While SQL Server can add any normal user account, the IIS AppPool\MyAppPool virtual account cannot be added to the valid logons (SQL Server says, that the account cannot be found).

Is there any trick, anything I need to enable to make the virtual accounts work? (the w3wp.exe process runs under this identity according to taskmgr, but I cannot use the account in NTFS security either...)

Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

As a side note processes that uses virtual accounts (NT Service\MyService and IIS AppPool\MyAppPool) are still running under the "NETWORK SERVICE" account as this post suggests http://www.adopenstatic.com/cs/blogs/ken/archive/2008/01/29/15759.aspx. The only difference is that these processes are members of the "NT Service\MyService" or "IIS AppPool\MyAppPool" groups (as these are actually groups and not users). This is also the reason why the processes authenticate at the network as the machine the same way NETWORK SERVICE account does.

The way to secure access is not to depend upon this accounts not having NETWORK SERVICE privileges but to grant more permissions specifically to "NT Service\MyService" or "IIS AppPool\MyAppPool" and to remove permissions for "Users" if necessary.

If anyone has more accurate or contradictional information please post.

Answer 2

Look at: http://www.iis.net/learn/manage/configuring-security/application-pool-identities

USE master
GO
sp_grantlogin 'IIS APPPOOL\<AppPoolName>'

USE <yourdb>
GO
sp_grantdbaccess 'IIS APPPOOL\<AppPoolName>', '<AppPoolName>'
sp_addrolemember 'aspnet_Membership_FullAccess', '<AppPoolName>'
sp_addrolemember 'aspnet_Roles_FullAccess', '<AppPoolName>'