Configuring, Managing, and Implementing Internet Information Services (IIS)

IIS can be installed in the Add/Remove Programs applet in Control Panel. Before IIS is installed, you should already have a network adapter installed and configured with TCP/IP. For computers on your intranet to be able to access the website you create, you should have DNS installed somewhere on the network.

When you open the Add/Remove Programs applet, you must click Add/Remove Windows Components to start the wizard. In the first dialog screen, scroll down the list and select the Internet Information Services (IIS) check box, and then click the Details button. You are given a list of optional components to install, including Frontpage extensions, File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Service, and so on. Make certain that the optional components you want are selected and also select the World Wide Web Service check box and then click its own Details button. Clicking the Details button enables you to further select Printers Virtual Directory, Remote Desktop Web Connection, Scripts Virtual Directory, and World Wide Web Service. Click OK to close each dialog box when you have selected the features you want. After you click Next in the wizard, the components install.

To test whether IIS is functioning locally, open Internet Explorer and type http://mycomputer where mycomputer is the name of your Windows XP computer. IIS displays the online documentation and a notification indicating that any other computer attempting to connect to your website will receive a notice that it is under construction. If any errors are reported after you create a new default web page, you can troubleshoot them according to the following list:

• Cannot find server or Unknown host Run the ping command from the client station and attempt to ping the server IP address. If that works, try to ping the server name to see whether there is a name resolution error. Next, open Computer Management, navigate to the Services node, and view whether the World Wide Web service is started.

• The page cannot be displayed Run the ping command from the client station and attempt to ping the server IP address. Next, open Computer Management, navigate to Services and Applications, and then to Internet Information Services. Right-click and select All Tasks. Restart IIS.

• Under construction Confirm that the website you created is in the correct location. To look at the default site, click Start, Run, type Inetmgr in the Open text box, and press Enter. In the IIS snap-in, navigate in the left pane to select the Default website below Web Sites, which is below the computer name. Right-click and select Properties. Click the Home Directory tab. You can see the default location in the Local Path box.

• Request timed out This indicates that the World Wide Web service is not responding. Ping the computer. Use the tracert utility to ensure that the path to the computer is working. Verify that the World Wide Web Publisher service is installed and running on the IIS server.