Windows Hosting Core Components

The minimum installation option conserves hard

disk space and offers the following limited components:

• Internet Information Server – A Web server that uses TCP/IP to host Web sites on the corporate Intranet or the Internet.
• File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Service – Installs the necessary components to operate an FTP server.
• SMTP Service – Supports Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).
• Microsoft Management Console (MMC) – Provides the ability to custom design administration tools taht “snap-in”. The MMC creates a uniform look and feel, regardless of the administration tool being used.
• Internet Service Manager snap-in – Offers complete control of your Web and FTP sites with a wizard driven graphical interface.
• Internet Service Manager (HTML) – Administers your Web and FTP sites from across the Intranet or Internet by using a Web browser.
• Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS) – A transaction processing system for developing, deploying and managing distributed server applications. A transaction is a server operation that succeeds or fails as a whole, even if the operating system involves many steps. MTS also supports process isolation of applications.
• Microsoft Data Access Components – Eases use of databases with support for a variety of connections including Microsoft Active X Data Objects with Remote Data Service and OLEDB.
• Windows NT Option Pack Common Files – Core program files needed by all components.

The Typical Installation

option includes all the components offered in the minimum installation option in addition to the following components:

Active Server Pages: Enables you to use server side scripting and components to create browser independent dynamic content.

Documentation : Provides you with online documentation covering server administration, content management, and content development, including indexing, scripting and programming.

Front Page Extensions: Makes it possible for you to use Microsoft FrontPage to manage your Web site and to create the web site content.

Index Server: Creates a site index and search for text in a variety of formats.

Microsoft Script Debugger: Provides you with a comprehensive debugging environment for testing and correcting errors in your Web document scripts. You can use Microsoft Script Debugger to debug both client scripts and server scripts.

Windows Scripting Host : Enables you to use Cscript or Wscript to administer servers from the command line.

How to Install  IIS

The custom installation option offers a choice of all components included with the Windows NT Option Pack. In addition to the previously listed components, the following options are available:

Certificate Server : Enables you to issue your own client and server certificates.

Internet Connection Services for RAS : Core Windows NT services that facilitate the creation of secure, seamless virtual private networks (VPN) and improved dial-up connections.

NNTP Service: Support Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) used for discussion groups.

Site Server Express: Makes it possible for you to analyze activity logs to determine site usage statistics and check links on your Web site to be sure they are functioning properly.

Visual InterDev RAD Remote Deployment Support: Enables the remote deployment of applications on your Web server.

A Network File and Application Server

Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) is a network file and application server for Microsoft Windows NT Server network operating system. IIS is the base component building an Internet or Intranet server solution on Windows NT Server, Microsoft Windows NT Workstation.

Integrated with Windows NT Server

IIS is fully integrated with Windows NT Server. The tight integration of IIS with Windows NT Server allows the administrator to use the build in security of Windows NT Server and NTFS file system to build powerful, flexible and secure Internet and Intranet sites

IIS provides additional Internet technologies and enhancements to Microsoft BackOffice

1. Internet Service Manager Snap-in
2. Internet Service Manager (HTML)
3. Scripting

Configure IIS setting through the MMC.

There are two primary tools provided to perform administrative functionality with IIS. The Internet Service Manager snap-in allows you to configure IIS setting through the MMC.

The Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) version of the Internet Service Manager allows you to configure IIS settings remotely via Web access. Additionally, you can also use scripting to automate management of IIS routines.

Internet Service Manager (ISM).

The specific MMC snap-in that allows users to configure IIS is called the Internet Service Manager (ISM).

The ISM helps to configure and monitor all IIS services running on a Windows NT Server network operating system. Starting the ISM adds a node to the MMC from which you can administer IIS services.

To start the Internet Service manager:

• Click Start, point to Programs, point to Windows NT Option Pack, point to Microsoft Internet Information Server, and then click Internet Service Manager.

This opens the MMC main window and one child window.

Tools For The Server

The ISM snap-in provides the following band of administrative tools for the server on the Rebar of the child window:

• User Manager : To manage user and group accounts
• Server Manager : To manage server properties, services and file sharing.
• Event Viewer : To monitor server hits and record network related events.
• Performance Monitor : To monitor server performance.
• Key Manager : To manage user authentication codes.

ISM provides additional administrative functions such as creating directories and configuring property sheets through the Action menu on the Rebar.

Service Manager ??

With IIS, you can manage your servers remotely from anywhere on the Internet or company Intranet. Managers can conduct WWW and FTP administration from a Web browser in what is known as HTML administration or HTMLA. However, you cannot manager SMTP or NNTP services using HTMLA.

The HTML version of the Internet Service Manager provides most of the same features and functions of the ISM snap-in for the MMC. A user can manage accounts, track event logs, monitor performance, adjust server properties, administer authentication keys, and perform other server management functions using either HTMLA or the MMC. Although HTMLA offers many of the same features as the snap-in property changes such as certificate mapping which require co-ordination with Windows NT utilities cannot be made with HTMLA.
The HTMLA tool relies on integrated component architecture.

COM: Component Object Model

the basis of OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) and Active X technologies is the Microsoft software component model. COM components are encapsulated objects that have a set of structured interfaces. This standardization enables different applications or components to communicate freely with one another.

DCOM : Distributed Component Object Model

Distributed Component Object Model provides distributed services to COM. Such services allows various components to communicate easily across a network. As a single vendor standard DCOM represents a uniform interoperability mechanism.

IIS Scriptability

Active X scripting architecture allows users to automate IIS management routines with scripts in languages such as Microsoft VBScript and Microsoft JScript.

Windows Scripting Host (WSH)

Windows Scripting Host enables you to execute scripts directly on the Microsoft Windows Desktop (WScript.exe) or command console (Cscript.exe), without embedding those scripts in an HTML document.

Microsoft World Wide Web (WWW)

Service supports HTTP, allowing users to publish content to the Internet. The Web is the most graphical services on the Internet that has the most sophisticated linking capabilities.

Whether your site is on an Intranet or the Internet, the principles of providing content are the same.

You place your files in directories on your Web site so users can view your files with a Web browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer. You can publish documents in HTML format that includes text, graphics, animation or video.
WWW Services also allows you to install business applications on your Web site so customers can order products or fill out forms.

Microsoft File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

Service supports FTP, the industry standard protocol used for transferring files between computers on a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) network.
FTP was one of the earliest protocols used on TCP/IP networks and the Internet.

WWW and FTP sites enable you to use one computer to host multiple domain names. With only one computer and one installation of IIS, you are able to give the appearance of having “multiple computers” with a different WWW or FTP site on each “computer”. For example, an Internet service provider (ISP) can use one computer running two Web sites to provide Web sites for two different companies, each with its own unique domain name and Internet Protocol (IP) address.
The ISP uses Internet Service Manager to create as many Web or FTP sites as needed for customers, and assign unique identification information and property settings on each one.
An unlimited number of sites can be created. When creating a very large number of sites, be sure to consider hardware limitations and upgrade hardware as necessary.

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)

The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) Service enables IIS to be an SMTP e-mail client. This exposes the capability for a Web based application to send and receive message. Also, administrators can receive e-mail driven by events on the Web server.
The SMTP Service:

• Enables a Web site developer to program their site to send and receive SMTP e-mail messages.
• Allows for a single mail drop to let customers respond to a bulk mailing.
• Administrators can program Web Server to trigger an e-mail message when a particular event occurs.
• Supports for a single e-mail drop on the Web Server so that the Web Server can receive message sent to it.

Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP)

The Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) Service is a commercial grade standards based server for hosting electronic discussion groups, NNTP provides Internet sites and services with the means to:

• Create public, read-only, moderated or private (authenticated) discussion groups.
• Provide customers with access to remote discussion groups.
• Provide secure authentication through standard Windows NT Server mechanism or encrypted clear text authentication using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).
• Provide encrypted access to newsgroups by using SSL.

Integrated Setup Wizard

The Integrated Setup Wizard provides users with a one step setup for the Windows NT Option Pack and all of its components. During setup, users select the components they wish to install and answer configuration questions. Then the wizard completes the setup process.

Microsoft Management Console

Microsoft Management Console (MMC) is an extensible user interface container for systems management applications. MMC combines the administrative tasks of IIS and associated components into a single integrated utility, enabling administrators to manage their Web servers with ease.

HTML based Administration

HTML based administration allows administrators to manage the Web Server or individual web sites remotely from any industry standard web browser that supports frames and JScript.

Command Line Administration Scripting

Command Line Administration Scripting allows administrators to manage their Web sites from the command line, providing administrators with the ability to write a script to automate repetitive tasks.

Windows Scripting Host

Windows Scripting Host is the language independent scripting host for 32-bit windows platforms. WSH enables you to execute scripts directly on the Windows desktop (wscript.exe) or command console (cscript.exe), without embedding those scripts in an HTML document. WSH is ideal for non-interactive scripts needs such as logon scripting and administrative scripting.

Integration with Microsoft Transaction Server

Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS) is a programming model that provides automatic support for transactions, thread management, database connection pooling, process isolation, and other mission critical programming functionality required for multiuser web server applications. MTS allows developers to capitalize on their existing knowledge of popular tools such as Microsoft Visual Basic, Microsoft Visual C++, Microsoft Visual J++ in creating desktop applications to create reliable and scalable data-driven web applications.

Process Isolation

Process isolation enables applications to run in a separate memory space from the Web and other applications. This provides a higher level of reliability for organizations running Web applications because Process isolation prevents an unstable application from crashing the server.

Active Server Pages

Active Server Pages is an open, compile free application environment in which developers can combine the ease of HTML with familiar tools like Visual Basic scripting and reusable Microsoft Active X server components to create dynamic and powerful websites. ASP enables server side scripting for IIS with native support for both VBScript and JScript.

The integration of IIS with Microsoft Transaction Server allows Report Writer to run as a component in the MTS environment and to take advantage of capabilities such as process isolation, transactions and scalability.

Server Side Java Virtual Machine
Server Side Java Virtual machine is a high performance and reliable Virtual Machine for creating and running Java components on the server. It provides developers with an industry standard, high performance platform for building and deploying Java based applications.

Certificate Authentication

With certificate authentication, clients can be mapped to a Windows NT Server user account using the industry standard client certificates such as X.509 digital certificates. Using this feature, administrators are able to provide users with single logon servers to network resources using client certificates.

Certificate wild-card mapping allows administrators to authenticate users without having access to the actual certificate. This provides administrators with the ability to map users to a Windows NT server user account using third party certificates such as those issued by VeriSign.

Internet Domain Blocking

Domain blocking allows administrators to grant or deny access to content on their server by domain. Report Writer provides a reliable way for administrators to control access to content by either granting or denying access to content on the server to all the users from a a specified Internet domain.

Web Publishing Wizard

The Web Publishing Wizard (WPW) is a client side application that helps users post web pages to an IIS web site by automating the process of copying files from your computer to a web server. The WPW connects to the ISP, determine the protocol needed to copy the files, and uploads the files to the appropriate directory on the ISP computer.

Posting Acceptor

The Posting Acceptor is a component of Site Server Express. It enables IIS to accept Web content from the WPW, Netscape Navigator, Content Replication Server and other clients using HTTP.

Microsoft FrontPage 98 Server Extensions
IIS incorporates Microsoft FrontPage98 Server extensions, which allows users to take advantage of the administration features of FrontPage98 in managing their website.

Microsoft Windows NT Server

Following elements of the Windows Option Pack

are considered core components of the IIS platform:

Microsoft Management Console (MMC)
A tool to create consoles for performing administrative tasks on your network. MMC integrates all the tools, information, Web Pages and views of the network an administrator needs to perform specific tasks.

Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS)
The standards based Web application server for Windows NT Server.
IIS is both a web server for corporate Intranets and public internet sites and the superior platform for the next generation of line of business applications.

Microsoft Certificate Server
Certificate Server provides customizable services for issuing and managing digital certificates. You can use these certificates for secure e-mail and to authenticate clients and server on the Internet and corporate Intranets.

Microsoft Index Server
Index server will index the contents and properties of documents on an Internet or Intranet. Web site served by IIS.
Index server can be set up so clients can search a web site with any browser by filling in the fields of a query from formatted Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).

Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS)
MTS is component based transaction processing system for developing, deploying and managing high performance, scalable and robust server applications. MTS defines a programming model and provided a run-time environment and graphical administration tool for managing enterprise applications.

Microsoft Site Server Express (SSE)

Comprised of three tools:

1. Content Analyzer
2. Usage Import and Report Writer
3. Posting Acceptor

SSE offers a subset of the functionality found in Microsoft Site Server.

1. Content Analyzer: Provides comprehensive site visualization content analysis, link management and reporting capabilities for managing Web sites.
2. Usage Import and Report Writer: Enables you to collect and analyze IIS log files from a single server using nine pre-defined reports that give you insight into actual requests, users and organizations that interact with your site.
3. Posting Acceptor: A server add-on-tool that allows Web content providers to publish content using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). After installing Posting Acceptor on your Web Server, you will be able to provide a hosting service for users who want to post Web content to your server.

MMC

The primary management interface for Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) is the Microsoft Management Console (MMC).

A cross application and shared management tool, the MMC provides a framework for administering multiple network management programs. In addition to being included as a component for the Microsoft Windows NT Option Pack, the MMC will be incorporated into Windows NT.

The MMC console by itself does not provide any functionality, but it does provide a common environment for snap-ins. Snap-ins provide the actual management environment for each associated product. For IIS, the implemented snap-in is Internet Service Manager. When you start Internet Service Manager, the MMC starts and loads the Internet Service Manager snap-in.

In future release of all Microsoft BackOffice products, including Windows NT, administrative tools will be converted to MMC snap-ins. MMC specifications are also available to third party companies and many third party software vendors will ship products managed by snap-ins. Example of these tools include the Microsoft Active X, Real Audio controls, Wrag Image Edit controls and Microsoft Certificate mapper. Administrators can create or purchase additional tools to be used with specific snap-ins.

MMC provides many advantages to server administrators:

Customization

The MMC enables total console customization. Administrators can create management consoles that include only the exact administrative tools they need. Customization helps make administration more task-oriented. A customized tool set will related more closely to the tasks an administrator needs to perform as apposed to a large array of objects and features, only a few of which are used.

Integration and Commonality

MMC provides common framework in which snap-ins can run, making it possible for administrators to manage various network products by using a single integrated interface. Because all snap-ins run in the same framework and must conform to the same specifications, the look and feel of each will be similar. This makes learning to use each tool easier for administrators.

Flexibility in Choosing Tools and Products

MMC does not restrict users to any specific protocols, enabling them to choose the best product of each type. Users can manage tools seamlessly, without compatibility problems.

An MMC console window has two panes. The left pane (the scope pane) shows a tree view of the namespace, which is the hierarchy of all the item that can currently be managed by MMC. Each item (called a node) is one of a variety of objects, tasks or containers that serve as management tools.

You administer the network by taking action on the contents of the result pane (the right pane) or by using commands in toolbars or command menus.

Command menus and bands on the Rebar (the lowest bar above the scope and result panes) adjust automatically to correspond to the node selected.

You can create multiple windows within the MMC. Each window can have a different view of the current namespace. The console always has one current master namespace, each child window may just provide a different view of that master namespace. Multiple windows enable you to view and switch to multiple parts of the console interface at once.

The following is a summary of the features associated with the MMC interface:

Scope pane : the left window in the MMC, the scope pane corresponds to the left pane in Microsoft Windows NT Explorer. The scope pane lists all the services that can be administered through the MMC. This may include multiple servers and multiple services, such as Microsoft Transaction server and FTP server.

Results pane : The right window in the MMC, the results pane corresponds to the right pane in the Windows NT Explorer. When you select a node in the scope pane, the result pane displays a list of all elements and services that fall within the domain of that selected node.

Rebar : The MMC has three menu bars. The lowest of these three is the Rebar. The Rebar consists of Action and View pull down menus, plus two additional toolbars or bands. The commands associated with Rebar menus and bands all change with respect to the selected node. Functions tied to individual services such as the Performance Monitor for IIS are all found on the Rebar.

Nodes: Nodes, which appear in the tree view of the scope pane, are instances of individual services. For example, a computer on a network or a Web service on a particular server may appear as as node in the scope pane of the MMC. You can open the property sheets of any node by right clicking on it and selecting Properties from the pop up menu.

Icons: The icons in the scope pane depict an object, service or item.

How to Save Console File

Once you have have created a console you like by loading snap-ins and arranging windows, you can save the console to a file with the default extension of .MSC
Loading the file later recreates the saved console state.

Save console files called tools are not tied to large amounts of managed data, so it is practical to create multiple console files and to share them by e-mail or other means. Tools can be shared as read only, so the people receiving and using them cannot change them.

To save a console:

1. On the Console menu, click Save Console As.
2. Type a name for the file in the File name box, and then click Save.

To restore a console file when you are not already running MMC

1. Double click the .msc file in Windows NT Explorer
   or
2. Click Start, click Run and then specify the save console file name in the Open dialog box.

To load a saved console from within MMC

1. On the console menu, click Open.
2. Type the file name and then click Open.

Windows NT Security

You may want to review and enable Windows NT Server security features to help secure your IIS installation. These Windows NT security features include:

• Using a complex password scheme.
• Maintaining strict account policies such as limiting the Guest account to specific directories on the server.
• Limiting the membership of the administrators group.
• Running only the service and protocols required by your system.
• Checking permission on network shares.
• Enabling auditing.
• Formatting drives as NTFS and applying appropriate permissions.