Quora's Answer to What is application pool in IIS in layman terms? An application pool in IIS (Internet Information Services) is a container that separates web applications to improve stability, performance, and security. Each pool runs its own w3wp.exe process, which handles web requests. This isolation ensures that if one application crashes or consumes excessive resources, other applications remain unaffected. It also allows for custom settings, such as using different .NET versions for specific applications. Application pools are essential for hosting multiple websites on a single server efficiently. Learn more about the role of w3wp.exe and IIS application pools here: What is w3wp.exe in IIS Worker Process? Read more - https://www.quora.com/What-is-application-pool-in-IIS-in-layman-terms/answer/Pankaj-Soni-1266