Question

Is it possible to have separate config files for specific sections of the web.config? Specifically I’d like to move IIS 7’s rewrite section out of the web.config and into it’s own config file.

Answer 1

You can certainly move your rewrite rules and mappings out to a separate file:

Storing URL rewrite mappings in a separate file

<system.webServer>
  <rewrite>
    <rewriteMaps configSource="rewritemaps.config" />
    <rules configSource="rewriteRules.config" />
  </rewrite>
</system.webServer>

In addition you can move quite a few configuration sections to their own files:

<appSettings configSource="appSettings.config" /> [Docs]

<connectionStrings configSource="connectionStrings.config"/> [Docs]

<pages configSource="pages.config"/> [Docs]

For more info see this page which will help you decide if a configuration section can be stored externally:

General Attributes Inherited by Section Elements