How to Enable IIS Failed Request Tracing Print

Applies to: Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2022, and Windows Server 2025.

Failed Request Tracing captures detailed pipeline diagnostics for selected status codes without tracing all traffic.

Prerequisites

• Administrative access to the affected servers.
• A verified backup and approved maintenance window.
• A pilot system for testing before production rollout.

Step-by-step procedure

1. Prepare a protected trace directory.
2. Enable tracing for the affected site.
3. Add a narrow rule for the relevant status code.
4. Reproduce the failure and stop collection.

Commands

Import-Module WebAdministration
Set-WebConfigurationProperty -PSPath "IIS:\Sites\Contoso" -Filter "system.webServer/tracing/traceFailedRequests" -Name enabled -Value $true
Get-ChildItem C:\inetpub\logs\FailedReqLogFiles

Verification

A new trace matches the test URL, timestamp, and failure status.

Rollback

Disable tracing, remove the temporary rule, and securely delete traces after retention expires.

Security and operations

• Use least privilege and document all production changes.
• Replace example addresses and names with approved values.
• Review relevant Windows event logs after implementation.

Related resources

Canadian Windows VPS and RDS hosting is available from networkmanager.info. Also review the official Microsoft Windows Server documentation.