Transferring an EPiServer 6 Site from an x86 Environment to x64
Here’s a quick note about a problem I faced when moving an EPiServer site between servers.
The original source server was an x86 machine, running Server 2008 and IIS7. The destination server also ran Server 2008 and IIS7 but was an x64 environment.
I set up the site, browsed it and all seemed to be fine until I tried to access the editor or admin, those threw back 404s.
It took me a bit of investigation to find the issue. It turns out that my episerver.config file was looking for EPiServer directories at C:\Program Files\EPiServer but on the new x64 environment EPiServer had been installed at C:\Program Files (x86)\EPiServer.
These broken references were causing the 404s on the editor and admin, once they were changed the site functioned as expected.
Something to watch out for!
Ran into this problem last year, our workaround was slightly different, we ended up creating a "symbolic link" as follows:
mklink /d "C:\Program Files\EPiServer" "C:\Program Files (x86)\EPiServer"
The reason for taking this approach was to keep the "episerver.config" file standardised across the development team for those who were running a 64bit OS.
Obviously the best approach would be to not have the "episerver.config" file under source control, but rather a global development and production config that is managed separately.
Whats your thoughts on this approach?