IIS

Exploring IIS, the web server by Microsoft.

• Intro
• Miscellaneous IIS Features

Intro

What is IIS?

• IIS is Internet Information Server for versions 4.0 and down. It comes with the Windows NT Server 4.0 Option Pack.
• IIS is Internet Information Services for versions 5.0 and up. It comes with Windows 2000 Server.
• IIS is not to be confused with the much less powerful PWS (Personal Web Server) that runs on 95/9x systems. This version is limited to around 10 connections at a time.
• IIS is called PWS (Personal Web Server or Peer Web Server) when it comes with NT Workstation. This version is limited to around 10 connections at a time.
• IIS 5.0 limited version comes with Windows 2000 Professional.
• IIS 5.1 comes with Window XP Professional.
• IIS 6.0 comes with Windows.NET Server.

IIS is a network file and application server product by Microsoft. IIS 4 runs in a 400 kB process called Inetinfo.exe. IIS 4 can be installed with the Windows NT Option Pack. IIS 4 provides standard Internet services:

• HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol). Delivers HTML pages and web applications to the Internet & intranet.
• FTP (File Transfer Protocol). Allows FTP clients to download & upload files.
• SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). IIS provides IIS with client services for e-mail so it can use e-mail.
• NNTP. (Network News Transfer Protocol). Newsgroups are publicly displayed e-mails that people can post replies for. IIS supports a single-server discussion group, as opposed to a full global Usenet NNTP news service. You'd have to get something like MS Exchange Server for that. [Insidious.]
• gopher. An Internet technology that allowed gopher clients to download files using text-based directories. Versions of IIS prior to 4 supported this, but gopher is so dead because of web pages.

Miscellaneous IIS Features

• IIS supports HTTP 1.1
  • Host headers enable an IIS server to host multiple web site using its single IP address.
  • Pipelining enables clients to have multiple requests at a time instead of one at a time.
  • Persistent connections enable IIS multiple objects (eg images, Java applets, etc.) over fewer connections.
  • Chunked transfers enable IIS to break data into multiple pieces with different sizes.
• Each IIS application or sub-process runs in separate virtual machines. This shields each app from the rest.
• IIS can use ASP and MTS to provide transactional service apps.
• IIS can participate in clustering services that enable server A to take the place of server B, if server B fails. 
• IIS can use Microsoft Certificate Server to provide additional site security.
• App Verbs from IIS: OPTIONS, GET, HEAD, POST, PUT, DELETE, TRACE.
• Windows XP has IIS 5.1 and ASP 3.0
• In IIS 6, ASP are prohibited by default. To turn them on, go to IIS Manager. Click on "Web Service Extensions" on the left hand side. Ref: http://www.gafvert.info/iis/article/install_iis_6.htm.

Page Modified: (Hand noted: 2007-11-04 13:12:32Z) (Auto noted: 2007-11-04 13:22:18Z)