| Written by | Victor Wolters |
| with | |
| Chuck Boudreau, Steve Crandall, Nelson Howell, Zack Jones, Steve Phelan, John Telford, Stephen Wynkoop, Brian Farrar, Jim OíDonnell |
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Victor Wolters is a Director at PowerCerv Corporation. He has been managing application and systems integration teams since 1984. His creative, results-oriented approach has kept him in demand in the Fortune 1000 information systems community. He has developed and presented numerous executive and technical curriculums concerning enterprise solutions. He continues to write and speak on various advanced technology topics throughout the industry. His enthusiasm for cutting-edge technologies such as wireless and Internet computing, home-based computing, and personal digital assistants is contagious.
Chuck Boudreau (CPD, CPI) is a Director at PowerCerv Corporation. His humorous presentation style, industry knowledge, and ability to connect with developers and project managers keep Chuck in high demand as an instructor and conference speaker around the world. His fortes include goal-oriented design, graphical user interface design, object-oriented techniques, team development, and best practices for enterprise client-server developers. He writes for several magazines including PowerBuilder Advisor and PowerBuilder Developers Journal. He is also a contributing editor to Special Edition Using PowerBuilder 5.
Stephen Crandall has over 17 years experience in the computer and telecommunications industries. He currently is Manager of Software Support and Services for a large systems and network integrator. In addition, he is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer.
Brian Farrar received his B.A. from Wabash College in 1985 in English and Economics. He completed an MBA from Indiana University in 1987. He began his career at GTE and progressed through a series of positions until 1994 when he left to start an Internet and intranet consulting practice for Metamor Technologies. Through this practice, Brian has helped some of the largest companies in the world decide on and deploy Internet technologies to solve business problems.
Nelson Howell is a veteran of the computer industry. Starting with IBM Mainframes in 1967, he has survived the changes from mainframes to mini's to microcomputers. He has had the opportunity to meet some of the founders of the computers including J. Presper Eckert and Admiral Grace Hooper. In addition to writing, he is now engaged in providing support to users of software for Integra Technology International. Now at home in Tucson, Arizona, he is surrounded by his family of four sons and a very tolerant wife.
Zack Jones is a Senior Project Manager and Applications Architect with PowerCerv Corporation's Software Factory. He has served in various technical and managerial roles developing client/server solutions to diverse business problems since the technology's inception. He has spent the past year developing and implementing distributed database solutions for PowerCerv's salesforce automation product, Xceed.
Mr. John M. Telford formed InfoMax Consulting more than five years ago to work with clients and architect client/server solutions that are practical and useful. Mr. Telford is a distributed systems architect. He is applying Web technology to client/server principles and realities. Mr. Telford has been working in the computer business for more than 30 years. He has extensive experience managing software groups and projects, as well as being an accomplished software practitioner. Mr. Telford has a Bachelor of Science Electronic Engineering degree. He can be reached at jmt@infomax.com. Check out his Web page at http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/jmt/infomax.htm.
A special thanks to Mom & Dad who taught their child that "Long hours and hard work never killed anyone!"Thanks Mom and Dad!, or as their friends know them: Jack and Elsie Wolters.
Thanks for friends like Zack and Chuck who help make dreams come true.
Thanks to Al Valvano who had the guts to take a chance with me.
BIG thanks to Angela Kozlowski for her patience through the deadlines and for providing additional authors required to finish this book.
Thank you, Rebecca, for all the phone calls and reminders. You were a great asset in these last few weeks pulling all the loose ends together.
Last but not least, thanks to the author team who put many hours of research, writing, and rewriting into this book. Thank you Steve, Nelson, Chuck, and Zack. I hope we get to work together again.
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Internet Web server configuration and management used to be considered a difficult task. With all the aspects of installation, security, performance monitoring, and service partitioning, prospective Internet and intranet site managers were usually so intimidated that they often gave up any hope of setting up a site on their own. Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) has changed all of that.
Internet Information Server is quickly becoming a de facto standard in the burgeoning Internet server market. It provides an easy way to create an Internet or intranet site. It installs and runs all services on an existing Windows NT Server in just minutes. It is downloadable for free from Microsoft's World Wide Web page. All the more reason to consider using it!
Special Edition Using Microsoft Internet Information Server fulfills two functions. First, it steps the novice Web site manager through the entire installation and configuration process while providing a complete orientation along the way. Second, it is a one-stop resource for more advanced site managers and provides useful information on advanced topics such as security, performance, HTTP/ODBC, CGI, ISAPI, NSAPI, and Java.
In recent years, the personal computer has taken a central role in the sharing of information between people both inside and outside of organizations. Instead of publishing and distributing paper copies of information, organizations have turned to the client/server computing environment. A client/server environment is characterized by several PCs (called clients) which access another centralized computer (called a server) via a network connection. A server usually provides access to a shareable resource, such as a file, a database, a printer, a fax, or an application program.
In figure I.1, you see a typical client/server environment. Here, three client PCs are accessing a database on a server PC. Each PC is running an application program which is accessing the database. The database program is running on the server computer. Because the database is centralized, only one backup procedure is needed for the database. Also, all clients can access up-to-date information entered by other clients.
Figure I.1: This figure depicts a typical client/server environment.
The benefits of this client/server environment are many. However, a major deficit is the amount of configuration which has to be done to the client to get it to communicate with the various types of servers across the network. For example, as a new server is added to the network, it is not uncommon to require that client software be reconfigured or completely upgraded in order to function properly with that server. This configuration management issue is one of many reasons that organizations are looking to the Internet environment as an alternative way of sharing resources.
While the Internet environment also uses a network of clients and servers, it facilitates the sharing of resources with minimal configuration on the client PC. Client PCs use industry standard ways of communicating with the server (called protocols) and use a common application program (called a browser) for accessing resources on the server. Examples of shareable resources on an internet server are HyperText Markup Language (HTML) documents, application programs, files, and databases.
What this means to you is that with an Internet server, you now have an easier way than ever before of sharing information between users of networked PCs. It also means that you have an opportunity to provide a wide variety of on-demand information services to Internet users. HTML pages can be linked together via hypertext to form a way of navigating the Internet commonly referred to as the Web or World Wide Web.
The term internet generally refers to the publicly accessible collection of servers available to computer users known as the Internet. The term intranet refers to those servers which are not publicly available but are private to an organization.
Intranet environments are quickly becoming the preferred way of communicating information within an organization. Those organizations that have implemented their own corporate intranet have experienced many benefits including a dramatic reduction in electronic mail and increased circulation of important and timely information.
Using IIS, you can expect several benefits: no cost to acquire, rapid installation and configuration, easy service management, effortless performance monitoring, and robust security.
One of the best things about Internet Information Server-at the time of this writing-is that it is free. You can easily download it using your web browser from the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/InfoServ/.
Internet Information Server runs only on Microsoft Windows NT Server. However, it is part of an integrated growing product family known as Microsoft BackOffice. This group includes Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Exchange Server, Systems Management Server, and SNA Server. IIS works with all client PC browsers on any platform.
A graphical setup program installs and runs Web, file transfer protocol (FTP), and Gopher services on your NT Server in about ten minutes. You can immediately publish existing files from your server or other servers, and in no time, you can have your own Web site up and running.
An IIS feature known as the Internet Service Manager graphically displays all management options in a graphical menu. Using ISM, you can manage any IIS servers on your network. You can remotely manage your IIS servers over the Internet as well. ISM also makes it possible for you to host multiple Web sites from a single server.
You can use the Performance Monitor feature to measure system performance. IIS also logs site management and performance information for you for further analysis. Should you outgrow your server's processor, IIS runs under Windows NT Server which is scalable to a host of single processor and multiple processor computers.
IIS uses Windows NT Server directory services to establish secure areas of your Web site. That means you have the ability to require user identification and passwords before a user can access a specified area of your server. You can control access by anonymous users, set document permissions, and audit document access easily with IIS. Additionally, a secure socket layer encrypts conversations between IIS and client browsers that support SSL.
This book has something for every Internet Information System administrator.
If you do not know much about Windows NT Server or Internet Information Server, this book will help you be successful in your first implementation. It is arranged to help you get started quickly, providing more detailed reference information as you proceed. It is divided into the following six sections:
This section includes an overview of IIS showing you what is unique about it and how to understand it. It discusses the following topics:
This section lays out the entire architecture of IIS explaining the importance and relevance of particular components. It discusses the following topics:
This section shows you step-by-step how to install IIS. Once you install IIS, this section shows you how to verify that your installation is working properly. It covers the following topics:
This section shows you how to configure and manage your installed IIS site. It discusses the following topics:
This section shows advanced techniques for IIS site managers. It discusses the following topics:
This section provides a variety of reference materials that will be useful to IIS site managers. It discusses the following topic:
This book contains many conventions to make your use of this reference easier. Messages that appear on the screen are written in a special font: could not connect to server. New terms are introduced in italic type. Text that you enter is in boldface.
Take note of the following special icons which appear throughout
this book:
| TIP |
Tips suggest easier or alternative methods for executing a procedure. |
| NOTE |
Notes indicate additional information that may help you avoid problems or that should be considered during your use of IIS. |
| CAUTION |
Cautions warn you of pitfalls when working with IIS. |
Cross-references show you related text that you may want to view or review while reading about a topic. For example:
See "Internet Protocol and Domain Names,"
These conventions are designed to make the information contained in this publication more accessible to you. In addition, each chapter concludes with a helpful road map entitled "From Here…"
As you learn about the features and functionality of IIS, "From Here…" recommends links to related information from other chapters in this book. It provides you with a helpful way to progressively master the material. Getting started has never been easier.