The following is the fix for the error “HTTP Error 400. The request hostname is invalid” when trying to browse an IIS Express site using a different host name or IP address.
1. Exit the IIS Express instant currently running.
2. Open IIS Express’s applicationhost.config located at the following path C:\Users\<user>\Documents\IISExpress\config\applicationhost.config
3. Find the entry for a particular site (e.g “Test” running in port 6306) which you are developing.
e.g.
<site name="FlickrTest" id="10"> <application path="/" applicationPool="Clr4IntegratedAppPool"> <virtualDirectory path="/" physicalPath="E:\Projects\BB Apps\FlickrTest" /> </application> <bindings> <binding protocol="http" bindingInformation="*:6306:localhost" /> </bindings> </site>
4. Replace the following
bindingInformation=”*:6306:localhost” with bindingInformation=”*:6306:*”
5. Save the file.
6. Start a command prompt in administrator mode and run the following command.
netsh http add urlacl url=http://*:6306/ user=Everyone
7. Now debug the site again and you should be able to access the url using IP address or host name.