Leveraging the .NET Servers

In some respect, you can think of Microsoft's .NET platform as the next generation of Windows DNA, an earlier platform for developing enterprise applications. Windows DNA included many foundation technologies still found within the .NET Framework, such as Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS), COM+, MSMQ, and Microsoft SQL Server. The .NET Framework incorporates these technologies and adds a Web service framework around them.

The .NET servers offer developers the flexibility to develop scalable enterprise applications. Enterprise applications can leverage the .NET servers to build scalable applications quickly and reliably. The .NET servers include the following:

• Application Center Server: This server manages and monitors clusters of application servers and is primarily for managing application scalability.

• Application Center Test Server: This server tests and measures the scalability of enterprise applications by scripting and simulating concurrent connections and measuring response times.

• BizTalk Server: This server integrates applications and enterprises by graphically modeling business processes. Processes can trigger system resources and integrated applications or wait for human interaction.

• Commerce Server: This server supports the development of e-commerce applications with tools and templates for building Web components and services.

• Exchange Server: This server offers messaging and collaboration services that include sending and receiving e-mail, scheduling appointments, managing tasks , and keeping journals.

• Host Integration Server: This server offers integration with legacy applications, such as SAP, PeopleSoft, and Siebel Systems, with specialized data adapters.

• Internet Information Server: This Web server distributes static and dynamic Web content and services to remote Web-based clients .

• Internet Security and Acceleration Server: This server offers firewall and Web caching services.

• Microsoft Message Queue Server: This server manages and routes messages between applications within and between enterprises.

• SharePoint Portal Server: This server provides a functional portal supporting content management, search, and crawling, along with subscription management.

• SQL Server: This server manages enterprise data and accessibility to that data with support for caching, indexing, transactions, stored procedures, and backup/restore services.