Internet Information Services includes optional components that you can enable or disable at anytime. Descriptions of these components and the impact to your current IIS settings are described below. Installation instructions follow the descriptions.
The IIS Common Files option is selected by default when you install IIS. For the sake of added security in your server environment, you may choose to deselect some of the common files. However, if you deselect the Common Files option, all of the common files are subsequently deselected and IIS will not be installed on your machine. Therefore, if you want to install IIS on your computer, leave this option selected. If you want to limit the services and components installed with IIS, deselect the individual components that are listed below the Common Files component.
The IIS documentation option is selected by default when you install IIS. The IIS online documentation contains the complete Getting Started, Administration, and Active Server Pages Guide; all of which provide conceptual information to help you understand the different features, tools, and administrative options in IIS. The documentation also includes step-by-step procedures to help you administer, monitor, and improve performance on your IIS Web server. You can search the IIS online documentation or browse by topics in the topic tree or in the index.
If your computing environment is setup in such a way that you will be administering several IIS Web servers from a primary IIS Web server, then you may choose not to install the documentation on all servers. IIS settings and functionality are not impacted if you choose not to select this optional component.
Once you have installed this optional component, you can view the IIS online documentation by typing http://localhost/iisHelp/ in your browser address bar and pressing ENTER.
The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is used to copy files to and from remote computer systems on a network using Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), such as the Internet. This protocol also allows users to use FTP commands to work with files, such as listing files and directories on the remote system. For IIS, enabling FTP means you are able to transfer files via a Web browser.
For more information on FTP, see
FrontPage Server Extensions allow you to view and manage a Web site in a graphical interface using FrontPage as the authoring environment. FrontPage allows you to quickly create Web sites on your server, as well as, create, edit, and post Web pages to IIS remotely. While you are creating your site, FrontPage keeps a connection open to IIS, saving and changing the Web files so you can view your site. If you choose not to install the FrontPage Server Extensions, you will have to copy all of your Web content by hand, configure your settings, and in some cases, manually register applications already registered in FrontPage. Microsoft FrontPage Server Extensions are not supported for resources in Microsoft Clustering.
For more information, see
The Internet Service Manager is now referred to as the Internet Information Services snap-in. The IIS snap-in is a graphical user interface to administer your Web site. The IIS snap-in is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in, meaning it is an application that snaps into the MMC code so that it appears in an MMC window and looks like all the other management applications that snap into MMC. Without the IIS snap-in, you can still manage your server, but you need to use coded scripts like inetpub\adminscripts\adsutil.vbs or your own scripts that call on the IIS API's to create sites, applications, virtual directories, and security settings. The Web service and the FTP service require the IIS snap-in.
For more information, see
You can use Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) to set up news services that work in conjunction with IIS. This protocol is used to distribute network news messages to NNTP servers and to NNTP clients (news readers) on the Internet. NNTP provides for the distribution, inquiry, retrieval, and posting of news articles by using a reliable stream-based transmission of news on the Internet. NNTP is designed so that news articles are stored on a server in a central database, thus users can select specific items to read. Indexing, cross-referencing, and expiration of aged messages are also provided.
If you have NNTP installed, you can view the product documentation by typing file:\\%systemroot%\help\news.chm in your browser address bar and pressing ENTER.
You can use Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) to set up intranet mail services that work in conjunction with IIS. SMTP is a TCP/IP protocol for sending messages from one computer to another on a network. This protocol is used on the Internet to route email.
If you have SMTP installed, you can view the product documentation by typing file:\\%systemroot%\help\mail.chm in your browser address bar and pressing ENTER.
Microsoft Visual InterDev is a powerful Web application development tool that you can use to rapidly build leading edge Web sites. Visual InterDev features a set of integrated database tools that greatly simplify connecting your Web site to OLE DB data sources and Open Database Connectivity (ODBC)-compliant databases. Visual Interdev RAD Remote Deployment Support enables the remote deployment of applications on your Web server.
For more information, see
IIS serves pages to the Internet and the World Wide Web. This component must be installed for IIS to perform its primary service. If you deselect this option, you disable Internet Information Services.
The World Wide Web Server includes the following virtual directories:
Windows Whistler dynamically lists all the printers on your server on an easily accessible Web site (http://localhost/printers/). You can browse this site to monitor printers and their jobs. You can also connect to the printers via this site from any Windows computer.
This directory provides a central storage location for your scripts.
Terminal Services is a feature of Windows Whistler that enables remote desktop access to another computer for desktop sharing (Remote Desktop) or multiple application hosting (Terminal Server). With Terminal Services Remote Desktop (enabled by default in Windows Whistler), you can remotely administer Windows Whistler services such as IIS as if you were at the server console. Terminal Services does not require you to install the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) or the IIS snap-in on the remote computer.
Terminal Service client software is available for older legacy PCs and non-PC devices such as UNIX workstations. (Non-Windows-based client devices require third-party add-on software.) The built-in Remote Desktop Connection client software in Windows Whistler allows connection over a network (such as LAN, PPTP, or dial-up).
Remote Desktop Web Connection provides a Web control and sample pages for deploying Terminal Services client connections over the Web. When you deploy Remote Desktop Web Connection on a Web server, client computers can establish remote connections to terminal servers and other Remote Desktops using only Internet Explorer and a TCP/IP connection.
For more information, see the Remote Desktop Web Connection documentation, installed by default at C:\%Windir%\Help\Rdesktop.chm. On Windows Whistler Server, Terminal Server documentation is installed at C:\%Windir%\Help\Termsrv.chm.
By default, IIS installs the following:
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