| IIS version 5.1 is included with Windows XP Professional, but not Windows XP Home Edition. Version 5.1 has some minor improvements over version 5.0, which ships with Windows 2000. IIS 6.0 ships with the Windows Server 2003 products. At any rate, the version of IIS in Windows XP Professional has the same capabilities as its server-based brethren, with two major differences. First, the license agreement for Windows XP Professional restricts the use of your computer and any services it hosts to a maximum of 10 concurrent connections. Second, the software does not support multiple, separate Web sites with different names, hosted by one computer (that is, it does not support multiple virtual domains). The bottom line is that it's legal to use Professional only for a low-volume site. Practically speaking, unless you're selling Viagra online or you get listed on Yahoo!'s Cool Site of the Day, you probably don't have to worry about this point. Do You Really Want to Do This? Before going any further, I should say: If you can get the hosting services you need from your Internet service provider (ISP), your corporate IS department, or just about anyone else, you might not want to bother with setting up your own Web server! There's no glory in hosting your own Web site, just hard work. Web servers at an ISP will have faster connections to the Internet, are probably backed up every night, and some poor soul with a pager tied around his neck is probably on call 24x7 in case something goes wrong with the server. With low-volume Web sites to be had for as little as $5 U.S. a month, including domain name service (DNS), mailboxes, FTP, and FrontPage support, taking this project on yourself hardly seems worthwhile. Hosting a public World Wide Web site requires domain name service, which Windows XP Professional alone doesn't provide. Therefore, if you want your site to be accessible as www.mysite.com, you still need someone else or an add-on product to provide DNS support. This support alone can cost nearly as much as a full-service Web site package, although there are free and discounted DNS services too. On the other hand, you might want to install IIS if you Want to host in-house communication within your company or workgroup. Want to share files or your printer over the Internet using Web Sharing. Develop custom Web programs or scripts, or use CGI programs that an ISP can't or won't provide. Want to write and preview Web pages and applications before deploying them to an online site. Think that a chance to participate in this global Internet thing is just too cool to pass by, no matter how much work it is. (I have to admit that this was the reason I set up a Web server.)
Whatever your reason, IIS installed in all its glory will give you plenty to chew on. IIS Components IIS is a collection of several independent components, which together provide a full range of Web services. You can install any or all of them. World Wide Web (HTTP) Service The WWW service is the basic component that lets your computer host Web pages. The WWW server supports server-side Java, JavaScript, and ASP scripting. You can add third-party support for Perl, Python, databases, and a host of other services. It's the full-blown IIS 5.1 package except for the limit of 10 connections; also, this version doesn't let you host multiple Web sitesfor example, for different domain namesas the Server version does. In addition, the WWW service gives you Internet Printing capability. The Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) lets you manage and print to your Windows printer from anywhere on the Internet. IPP can be used from Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, XP, and 2000. File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Server FTP lets remote users send and/or retrieve files from specified directories on your computer. FTP is a good interplatform file transfer system but poses some security risks, which we'll discuss in the next section. FrontPage 2000 Server Extensions The FrontPage Extensions allow you to post Web pages and graphics to your server directly from the FrontPage design program as well as Word 2000 and later versions. This capability greatly simplifies the process of copying a set of related files (a web) to the server's "online" directories. The Extensions also add searching and form-posting services to the WWW service, which you can include in your pages. The Extensions obey Windows file security, so you can control who has permission to update files on various parts of your Web site. NOTE While the FrontPage program has progressed beyond the 2000 edition, the server component is still named FrontPage 2000 Server Extensions. Don't worry; it's up-to-date.
The Extensions also enable Web Sharing, which lets you share files over the Internet with a high degree of security. Web Sharing lets Internet Explorer versions 5 and higher treat Web folders like regular Windows shared folders. You can view, copy, rename, and delete files over the Internet just as if you were using a local area network (LAN). If your computer is permanently accessible via the Internet, this may be a good enough reason to install IIS. Internet Information Services Snap-in This management tool permits you to configure and manage IIS from Administrative Tools on the Start menu, or from the Microsoft Management Console (MMC). Visual InterDev RAD Remote Deployment Support Visual InterDev is Microsoft's software development system for sophisticated Web-based services that access corporate database and multitier transactional systems. The Remote Deployment Support service lets VID developers install and test software on-the-fly. SMTP Service SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is the foundation for virtually all email exchange on the Internet. The SMTP Service provided with Windows XP is designed to permit IIS and Windows Scripting Host applications to send mail directly. It is, however, only a delivery system and doesn't provide mailboxes or a Post Office Protocol (POP) service, so it's only half of what you need to host your own email system. Indexing Service The Microsoft Indexing Service automatically builds a database of your Web site's content and gives visitors a way to search for documents by keywords and phrases. It understands Microsoft file formats such as RTF and Word Document format, so searches can locate text in these documents as well as plain text and HTML files. It also respects Windows file and folder security and doesn't list files a remote visitor doesn't have permission to view. The Indexing Service also assists when you choose Search for Files and Folders.
NOTE Indexing Service is installed by default on Windows XP and it's technically not a subcomponent of IIS. I've listed it here because it works hand-in-hand with IIS.
Extensive online documentation is also available. It's helpful, but IIS is a very big program. If you're going to get serious about Web site management and development using IIS, you might want to look at the following books: Active Server Pages 3.0 by Example, published by Que Active Server Pages 3.0 from Scratch, published by Que Microsoft IIS 5 Administration, published by Sams
Before You Get Started All IIS services require you to have a network that uses the TCP/IP protocol. These days, it would be very surprising if you did not because the Internet is everywhere, and you probably wouldn't be reading this book if you weren't either getting connected or already connected to it. If you only want to make Web pages available to others in your company, your computer only needs to be connected to a local area network. If you want to publish Web pages on the Internet at largethat is, be part of the World Wide Webyou need a full-time Internet connection as well. If your site is available only a few hours a day while you're dialed in to your ISP, then few people will ever be able to see it. Full-time, dedicated service is much less expensive today than it was only a few years ago, and can be had in some areas of the U.S. for under $50 a month. (You can read about Internet connectivity in Chapter 8, "Internet and TCP/IP Connection Options," and Chapter 19, "Connecting Your LAN to the Internet.") For global availability, you'll also need Domain Name Service, which I'll discuss in the next section. TIP IIS requires lots of memory. Don't even think of installing it on your system unless you have 256MB of memory or more.
Finally, your computer should use NTFS-formatted disks so that Windows can use its file security features to protect both your programs and Web data.  If you want to learn more details about choosing the best file system (NTFS, FAT32, or FAT) for your Windows XP Professional installation, p. 86.
CAUTION If you share Web data from a FAT-formatted drive, a simple mistake in configuration could let anyone be able to write over your files. And if you use the FTP service, FAT is absolutely unacceptable.
Name Service If you plan to use IIS just to develop and test Web pages, or if you want to share pages on a home, office, or corporate network, you don't have to worry about your computer being visible to the Internet at large. But if you want to host a public Web site with Windows XP Professional, you'll need to arrange for an entry in the Internet's Domain Name Service so that people can find your site using a standard name like www.myfamouswebsite.com. This is the link between your Web site's name and the public IP address of your Web server. Getting this set up is beyond the scope of this book, but here are a few tips: If your network has Windows 200x or NT Server, your network administrator can probably set up domain name service for you because a DNS server is included with these Server versions. Your site can use your company's domain name, or they might be willing to host an alternate domain name for you. If you use an always-on Internet connection like a cable modem, DSL service, satellite, or other dedicated link, you may want to see if you can get a permanent, static IP address from your Internet provider. (Some providers won't do this, and some will levy an additional charge.) This will make your life easier, as the link between your domain name and your IP address can be set once and left alone. Your ISP may provide you with domain name service, or you might be able to buy this type of service from a commercial Web site provider for about $5 U.S. a month. If you have the technical know-how, you might be want to do a Google search for "free DNS service" and check out some of listed providers. If you use a dial-up connection, logon + password DSL, or DHCP-based cable Internet service, your IP address will change with each connection, and you'll have to use a dynamic DNS service that automatically updates the link between your site's name and IP address every time the address changes. Dynamic DNS service is a little less convenient and reliable, which is why a static IP address is much more desirable. Still, you can check out Dynamic DNS providers like www.dyndns.org, www.tzo.com, and others listed at www.technopagan.org/dynamic. In any case, you also have to register your domain name with an Internet registry service. The original Internet registrar www.networksolutions.com charges $35 per year. I found registry service for $8 per year, with free (static) DNS included, at www.stargateinc.com and www.godaddy.com. It pays to shop around. The only worry about working with the discounters is that there's no telling if they will still be online next year. If they shut down, you may have a big problem getting your domain name transferred to another registrar.
If you use a shared Internet connection, even if it has a static IP address, you'll also need to configure the sharing software or hardware to direct incoming Web site requests to the computer that's actually running IIS. I'll discuss this later in the chapter, under "Making the Site Available on the Internet." |
