# QGIS Server

About this page

This document contains instructions for setting up QGIS Server with Pozi Server. This is no longer the preferred way to set up QGIS Server. See QGIS Server Installation for setting up QGIS Server with Azure AD.

# Installation

On the server on which Pozi Server is installed:

if any previous version of QGIS Desktop has been installed using the stand-alone installer, uninstall it
go to https://trac.osgeo.org/osgeo4w/
click on link for OSGeo4W network installer to download
navigate to downloaded osgeo4w-setup.exe file, right-click on it, and "Run as administrator"
Advanced Install, accept defaults
Install for all users, accept defaults
Choose a download site, select top one, Next
Select Packages
- Desktop
  - qgis-ltr - click on the word 'Skip' to toggle through to the latest version
- Libs
  - gdal-ecw
  - gdal-mss
- Web
  - qgis-ltr-server
Next > accept defaults > "Install these packages..." > Next > "I agree..." > Next

# IIS Integration

QGIS Server IIS Integration using FastCGI.

NOTE: Pozi Server 2.2.8 ships with default configuration files for QGIS Server IIS Integration using FastCGI -- the following folder is assumed to exist if you have installed Pozi Server to the default C:\Program Files (x86)\Pozi location:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Pozi\server\iis\Pozi\QgisServer

# Install IIS

Copying and pasting using command prompt

When copying and pasting multiple lines into the command prompt, all lines will be executed except the last one. You must hit Enter for the last line to be executed.

In a new command prompt window, running as administrator:

dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:IIS-WebServerRole
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:IIS-WebServer
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:IIS-ApplicationDevelopment
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:IIS-ApplicationInit
dism /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:IIS-CGI

If IIS has not previously been set up on the server, the command prompt may return Restart Windows to complete this operation. Restarting may be necessary for the subsequent configuration.

# Configure IIS

"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd" add app /site.name:"Default Web Site" /path:/Pozi /physicalPath:"C:\Program Files (x86)\Pozi\server\iis\Pozi"
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd" add app /site.name:"Default Web Site" /path:/Pozi/QgisServer /physicalPath:"C:\Program Files (x86)\Pozi\server\iis\Pozi\QgisServer"

If the command prompt returns "C:\Windows\system32\inetsrv\appcmd" is not recognised as an internal or external command, then a restart may be required before re-attempting this configuration step.

There should be web.config file located at the following path:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Pozi\server\iis\Pozi\QgisServer

NOTE: If you have installed QGIS Server to a location other than the default C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe then you will need to update that path in the web.config below:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Pozi\server\iis\Pozi\QgisServer\web.config
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<configuration>
    <system.webServer>
        <handlers>
            <add name="PoziQgisServerFastCgi" path="*" verb="*" type="" modules="FastCgiModule" scriptProcessor="C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe"
            resourceType="Unspecified" requireAccess="Script" allowPathInfo="false" preCondition=""  />
        </handlers>
        <security>
            <requestFiltering>
                <requestLimits maxQueryString="32768"/>
            </requestFiltering>
        </security>
        <caching enabled="true" enableKernelCache="true" />
    </system.webServer>
</configuration>

Back in the command prompt, run the following:

NOTE: If you have installed QGIS Server to a location other than the default C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe then you will need to update that path in the commands below:

%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe unlock config -section:system.webServer/handlers
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd" set config -section:system.webServer/fastCgi /+"[fullPath='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe',idleTimeout='604800']" /commit:apphost
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd" set config /section:isapiCgiRestriction /+"[path='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe',description='PoziQgisServer',allowed='True']"

# Configure Environment Variables

Migrating to GDAL 3.5

When upgrading an existing installation from prior to June 2022, the following changes need to be made:

Changed:

GDAL_DRIVER_PATH = C:\OSGeo4W\apps\gdal\lib\gdalplugins (previously C:\OSGeo4W\bin\gdalplugins)

New (not previously configured or documented by us prior to GDAL 3.5 change):

GDAL_DATA = C:\OSGeo4W\apps\gdal\share\gdal
PYTHONPATH = C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\python
PROJ_LIB = C:\OSGeo4W\share\proj

The instructions and scripts below assume a new installation which will include GDAL 3.5.

Copy and paste the following into the command prompt:

:: Clear any potentially pre-existing env vars (handy when doing upgrades)
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.webServer/fastCgi /-"[fullPath='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe'].environmentVariables

:: Set env vars

:: The PATH variable required
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.webServer/fastCgi /+"[fullPath='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe'].environmentVariables.[name='PATH',value='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin;C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qt5\bin;C:\OSGeo4W\bin;C:\Windows\system32;C:\Windows;C:\Windows\system32\WBem']" /commit:apphost

:: The following env vars may be optional
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.webServer/fastCgi /+"[fullPath='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe'].environmentVariables.[name='O4W_QT_PREFIX',value='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\Qt5']" /commit:apphost
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.webServer/fastCgi /+"[fullPath='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe'].environmentVariables.[name='O4W_QT_BINARIES',value='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\Qt5\bin']" /commit:apphost
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.webServer/fastCgi /+"[fullPath='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe'].environmentVariables.[name='O4W_QT_PLUGINS',value='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\Qt5\plugins']" /commit:apphost
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.webServer/fastCgi /+"[fullPath='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe'].environmentVariables.[name='O4W_QT_LIBRARIES',value='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\Qt5\lib']" /commit:apphost
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.webServer/fastCgi /+"[fullPath='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe'].environmentVariables.[name='O4W_QT_TRANSLATIONS',value='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\Qt5\translations']" /commit:apphost
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.webServer/fastCgi /+"[fullPath='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe'].environmentVariables.[name='O4W_QT_HEADERS',value='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\Qt5\include']" /commit:apphost
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.webServer/fastCgi /+"[fullPath='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe'].environmentVariables.[name='QGIS_PREFIX_PATH',value='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr']" /commit:apphost
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.webServer/fastCgi /+"[fullPath='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe'].environmentVariables.[name='QT_PLUGIN_PATH',value='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qt5\plugins']" /commit:apphost
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.webServer/fastCgi /+"[fullPath='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe'].environmentVariables.[name='TEMP',value='C:\Windows\Temp']" /commit:apphost
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.webServer/fastCgi /+"[fullPath='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe'].environmentVariables.[name='PYTHONHOME',value='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\Python39']" /commit:apphost
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.webServer/fastCgi /+"[fullPath='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe'].environmentVariables.[name='QGIS_SERVER_IGNORE_BAD_LAYERS',value='1']" /commit:apphost
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.webServer/fastCgi /+"[fullPath='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe'].environmentVariables.[name='QGIS_SERVER_LOG_FILE',value='C:\Program Files (x86)\Pozi\server\iis\logs\qgis_server.log']" /commit:apphost
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.webServer/fastCgi /+"[fullPath='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe'].environmentVariables.[name='QGIS_SERVER_LOG_LEVEL',value='1']" /commit:apphost
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.webServer/fastCgi /+"[fullPath='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe'].environmentVariables.[name='QGIS_PLUGINPATH',value='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\plugins']" /commit:apphost
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.webServer/fastCgi /+"[fullPath='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe'].environmentVariables.[name='GDAL_DRIVER_PATH',value='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\gdal\lib\gdalplugins']" /commit:apphost
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.webServer/fastCgi /+"[fullPath='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe'].environmentVariables.[name='GDAL_DATA',value='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\gdal\share\gdal']" /commit:apphost
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.webServer/fastCgi /+"[fullPath='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe'].environmentVariables.[name='PYTHONPATH',value='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\python']" /commit:apphost
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.webServer/fastCgi /+"[fullPath='C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe'].environmentVariables.[name='PROJ_LIB',value='C:\OSGeo4W\share\proj']" /commit:apphost

If the command prompt option doesn't work, you can configure the environment variables manually.

Windows > IIS > select server > Fast CGISettings > select qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe application > Edit > Environment variables:

Name	Value
PATH	`C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin;C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qt5\bin;C:\OSGeo4W\bin;C:\Windows\system32;C:\Windows;C:\Windows\system32\WBem`
O4W_QT_PREFIX	`C:\OSGeo4W\apps\Qt5`
O4W_QT_BINARIES	`C:\OSGeo4W\apps\Qt5\bin`
O4W_QT_PLUGINS	`C:\OSGeo4W\apps\Qt5\plugins`
O4W_QT_LIBRARIES	`C:\OSGeo4W\apps\Qt5\lib`
O4W_QT_TRANSLATIONS	`C:\OSGeo4W\apps\Qt5\translations`
O4W_QT_HEADERS	`C:\OSGeo4W\apps\Qt5\include`
QGIS_PREFIX_PATH	`C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr`
QT_PLUGIN_PATH	`C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qt5\plugins`
TEMP	`C:\Windows\Temp`
PYTHONHOME	`C:\OSGeo4W\apps\Python39`
QGIS_SERVER_IGNORE_BAD_LAYERS	`1`
QGIS_SERVER_LOG_FILE	`C:\Program Files (x86)\Pozi\server\iis\logs\qgis_server.log`
QGIS_SERVER_LOG_LEVEL	`1`
QGIS_PLUGINPATH	`C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\plugins`
GDAL_DRIVER_PATH	`C:\OSGeo4W\apps\gdal\lib\gdalplugins`
GDAL_DATA	`C:\OSGeo4W\apps\gdal\share\gdal`
PYTHONPATH	`C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\python`
PROJ_LIB	`C:\OSGeo4W\share\proj`

(End of Manual Configuration instructions)

Log Levels

The above script/instructions sets the QGIS_SERVER_LOG_LEVEL value to 1 to capture warnings and critical events in the log. If you want to capture all activity for troubleshooting purposes, set the value to 0 in the GUI.

More information about QGIS log levels is at https://docs.qgis.org/latest/en/docs/server_manual/config.html#qgis-server-log-level

# Application Pool

Create PoziQgisServer application pool:

"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" add apppool /name:"PoziQgisServer"
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set app "Default Web Site/Pozi/QgisServer" /applicationPool:"PoziQgisServer"
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.applicationHost/applicationPools /+"[name='PoziQgisServer'].recycling.periodicRestart.schedule.[value='02:00:00']" /commit:apphost
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set apppool "PoziQgisServer" /recycling.periodicRestart.time:00:00:00
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set apppool "PoziQgisServer" /processModel.idleTimeout:00:00:00
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set apppool "PoziQgisServer" /startMode:AlwaysRunning
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set app "Default Web Site/Pozi/QgisServer" /preloadEnabled:true

# Permissions

Set permissions for IIS AppPool\PoziQgisServer :

IIS > select server > Application Pools > PoziQgisServer > Advanced settings > Identity > Application Pool Identity > Custom account > enter details of the domain user that runs Pozi "service" account (include the domain prefix and backslash, or use the email address of the domain user)

# Configuring Clean URLs for QGIS Server FastCGI

The following instructions relate to hiding the QGIS project file path from the GetCapabilities URL.

mkdir "C:\Program Files (x86)\Pozi\server\iis\Pozi\QgisServer\Next\Vicmap"
xcopy "C:\Program Files (x86)\Pozi\server\iis\Pozi\QgisServer\web.config" "C:\Program Files (x86)\Pozi\server\iis\Pozi\QgisServer\Next\Vicmap"

Open the new web.config file located in the C:\Program Files (x86)\Pozi\server\iis\Pozi\QgisServer\Next\Vicmap folder and replace the PoziQgisServerFastCgi with 'PoziQgisServerNextVicmapFastCgi -- please note that this handler name has to be unique which is why we are replacing it:

web.config
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<configuration>
    <system.webServer>
        <handlers>
            <add name="PoziQgisServerNextVicmapFastCgi" path="*" verb="*" type="" modules="FastCgiModule" scriptProcessor="C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin\qgis_mapserv.fcgi.exe"
            resourceType="Unspecified" requireAccess="Script" allowPathInfo="false" preCondition=""  />
        </handlers>
        <caching enabled="true" enableKernelCache="true" />
    </system.webServer>
</configuration>

Below we are going to create another application pool that we are going to set the MAP environment variable for:

"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd" add app /site.name:"Default Web Site" /path:/Pozi/QgisServer/Next/Vicmap /physicalPath:"C:\Program Files (x86)\Pozi\server\iis\Pozi\QgisServer\Next\Vicmap"
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" add apppool /name:"PoziQgisServerNextVicmap"
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set app "Default Web Site/Pozi/QgisServer/Next/Vicmap" /applicationPool:"PoziQgisServerNextVicmap"

"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.applicationHost/applicationPools /+"[name='PoziQgisServerNextVicmap'].recycling.periodicRestart.schedule.[value='02:00:00']" /commit:apphost
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set apppool "PoziQgisServerNextVicmap" /recycling.periodicRestart.time:00:00:00
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set apppool "PoziQgisServerNextVicmap" /processModel.idleTimeout:00:00:00
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set apppool "PoziQgisServerNextVicmap" /startMode:AlwaysRunning
"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set app "Default Web Site/Pozi/QgisServer/Next/Vicmap" /preloadEnabled:true

"%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe" set config -section:system.applicationHost/applicationPools /+"[name='PoziQgisServerNextVicmap'].environmentVariables.[name='QGIS_PROJECT_FILE',value='C:\Program Files (x86)\Pozi\server\data\local\sample\queenscliffe\vicmap_iis_clean.qgs']" /commit:apphost

And now QGIS Server should respond to query for that QGIS_PROJECT_FILE without including it in URL:

http://local.pozi.com:3001/iis/qgisserver/next/vicmap?service=WMS&request=GetCapabilities

Additional Reference for Clean URLs

Development notes that may contain useful additional information for Pozi developers:

https://github.com/pozi/PoziServer/pull/40#issuecomment-972331899

# Troubleshooting

Depending on how QGIS has been installed, some dependency paths may vary.

# `GDAL_DRIVER_PATH`

GDAL 3.4 and earlier: C:\OSGeo4W\bin\gdalplugins
GDAL 3.5: C:\OSGeo4W\apps\gdal\lib\gdalplugins

Update the GDAL_DRIVER_PATH environment variable accordingly.

If you experience an "Error loading QGIS" message, it may specify a file named qgis-ltr-bin.env that might not exist in your installation:

Error loading QGIS Oops, looks like an error loading QGIS

Details: Could not load qgis_app.dll Windows Error: The specified module could not be found.

Help: Check C:\OSGeo4W\bin\qgis-ltr-bin.env for correct environment paths

Use a text editor to recreate the missing file with the following content:

C:\OSGeo4W\bin\qgis-ltr-bin.env
PATH=C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\bin;C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qt5\bin;C:\OSGeo4W\apps\Python39\Scripts;C:\OSGeo4W\bin;C:\Windows\system32;C:\Windows;C:\Windows\system32\WBem
GDAL_DATA=C:\OSGeo4W\apps\gdal\share\gdal
GDAL_DRIVER_PATH=C:\OSGeo4W\apps\gdal\lib\gdalplugins
GDAL_FILENAME_IS_UTF8=YES
JPEGMEM=1000000
OSGEO4W_ROOT=C:\OSGeo4W
PROJ_LIB=C:\OSGeo4W\share\proj
PYTHONHOME=C:\OSGeo4W\apps\Python39
PYTHONUTF8=1
QGIS_PREFIX_PATH=C:/OSGeo4W/apps/qgis-ltr
QT_PLUGIN_PATH=C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qgis-ltr\qtplugins;C:\OSGeo4W\apps\qt5\plugins
VSI_CACHE=TRUE
VSI_CACHE_SIZE=1000000
O4W_QT_PREFIX=C:/OSGeo4W/apps/Qt5
O4W_QT_BINARIES=C:/OSGeo4W/apps/Qt5/bin
O4W_QT_PLUGINS=C:/OSGeo4W/apps/Qt5/plugins
O4W_QT_LIBRARIES=C:/OSGeo4W/apps/Qt5/lib
O4W_QT_TRANSLATIONS=C:/OSGeo4W/apps/Qt5/translations
O4W_QT_HEADERS=C:/OSGeo4W/apps/Qt5/include
QGIS_WIN_APP_NAME=OSGeo4W\QGIS Desktop 3.22.8

Check that the GDAL_DATA and GDAL_DRIVER_PATH paths exist for your installation. If not, update the file accordingly.

If you are denied permission to create or edit the file in the destination location, create the file elsewhere and move it to C:\OSGeo4W\bin\ using Windows Explorer.

Further details about this issue

IIS > select server > Application Pools > PoziQgisServer > Advanced Settings:

General > Start Mode > AlwaysRunning
Process Model > Idle Time-out (minutes) > 0
Recycling > Regular Time Interval (minutes) > 0