Windows Server 2008 R2 Unleashed (80 page)

removed and others can be independently installed to produce a customized IIS 7.5.

Ultimately, the system is made more secure and easier to manage as you only install

and manage the features you need.

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Improved management tools—
Microsoft has completely rewritten the Internet

Information Services (IIS) Manager toolset, including the user interface. The new

user interface can manage both IIS and ASP.NET settings from one utility, increasing

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administrators’ productivity through centralized management. IIS 7.5 also introduces

a new command-line tool called appcmd.exe to help automate common IIS 7.5

management tasks and configuration changes, which does away with all the admin-

istration scripts as you knew them in IIS 6.0. Finally, IIS 7.5 is tightly integrated with

Windows PowerShell, meaning greater productivity can be achieved by scripting

management and administration tasks.

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Diagnostics and troubleshooting—
IIS 7.5 introduces enhancements to IIS logs,

automatic failures, and error codes to reduce overall IIS downtime. By providing

detailed error messages and trace events, troubleshooting has become a whole lot

easier in IIS 7.5. For example, the IIS logs are much more detailed and include more

status codes to help troubleshoot, diagnose, and repair an error much more effi-

ciently and effectively. In addition, the Runtime Status and Control API (RSCA)

further improves IIS 7.5 troubleshooting abilities as it provides detailed runtime

diagnostics about the server. It can also be used to examine and manage other

things, including, but not limited to, sites and .NET application domains.

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A contemporary FTP server that supports SSL—
A much-desired and requested

feature was to have a secure FTP solution for streamlined content publishing based

on today’s industry standards. The FTP server component has been completely

rewritten and now not only supports Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) for enhanced secu-

rity, but also includes virtual hostname support and user isolation. This FTP server

will support UTF8, IPv6, COM, and .NET extensibility, and .NET membership inte-

gration with SQL Server and other repositories. The FTP component is an out-of-

band offering; however, it is fully integrated into IIS 7.5. Unlike IIS 7.0, which

needed to be downloaded and installed as an out-of-band offering from Microsoft,

IIS 7.5 is fully integrated and included with Windows Server 2008 R2.

Understanding Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.5

379

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Delegated and remote administration—
A new role-based administration concept

has been introduced into IIS 7.5 to maximize administration efficiently and securely.

Administrators can log on to the same IIS management console and manage only

their particular site. In addition, administrators, along with a few other designated

people, can remotely manage IIS over the web using HTTP/SSL.

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Improved server farm support—
Now, it is possible to share both the .config and

applicationHost.config files on a central Universal Naming Convention (UNC) share.

This improves server farm support when running more than one node in a Network

Load Balancing (NLB) cluster as all nodes can access the same .config file, which

means management of server farms is much easier. In addition, the configuration

settings are stored within the .config files; therefore, they can be easily copied from

one server to another without the need for replication programs, which tend to be

error prone.

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Enhanced developer experience—
The all-new server application programming

interface (API) allows tight ASP.NET integration utilizing the latest .NET Framework.

Hands down, developers are provided with the best experience and extensibility ever

with this version of IIS. Classic ASP and other commercial frameworks are still

supported.

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Best Practices Analyzer (BPA)—
By leveraging BPA via Windows Server 2008 R2’s

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Server Manager and/or Windows PowerShell, it is now possible to scan the IIS 7.5

Web Server role to ensure that there aren’t any best-practice compliance or configu-

ration violations.

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.NET on Server Core—
The .NET Framework is an installation option now available

on Server Core. This means that the full use of PowerShell cmdlets can be leveraged

because ASP.NET applications on IIS installations can be enabled by administrators

on Server Core. In addition, this also allows for greater support for remote manage-

ment tasks. The versions of the .NET Framework include 2.0, 3.0, 3.51, and 4.0.

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Windows PowerShell Provider—
Common IIS administrative tasks can be auto-

mated via the Windows PowerShell Provider for IIS. A collection of task-oriented

cmdlets provides an easier way to manage websites, applications, and servers.

Understanding the New IIS Manager Tools

The centerpiece of IIS 7.5 is the new Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager user

interface. The user interface is used to manage IIS and ASP.NET, health and diagnostics,

and security. It is, however, the Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager snap-in tool

that reigns supreme as it contains the majority of the features and tools that are necessary

for configuring and managing various functions of IIS 7.5.

IIS is configured through the IIS Manager snap-in, which can be accessed by selecting

Start, Administration Tools, and Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager. Because

understanding the console is a must to comprehend how to administer IIS and where to

conduct the task, the next sections examine the layout of the new user interface.

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Exploring the IIS Manager Administration Panes

Each area within the IIS Manager console is referenced by a descriptive word, as shown in

Figure 12.1. For example, the descriptive words associated with the areas or panes such as

the Connections pane make it easier to identify the location of the IIS features. The follow-

ing is a list of the panes included in the IIS Manager console and their respective functions:

.
The Connections pane—
The Connections pane is located on the left side of the

console and displays the IIS console tree, which is also known as the node tree. Web

administrators can conduct the following tasks from within this pane:

. View the Start Page

. Connect to a server, site, or application

. Manage server settings

. Configure IIS, application pools, FTP, and websites

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Central Details pane—
Also known as the “workspace,” this large pane is located in

the center of the IIS 7.5 management console. This pane displays the configuration

options for each IIS feature installed. Each feature is represented by a new icon and

replaces the legacy property sheets and tabs that most administrators in the industry

were not too fond of in the past. The feature icons can be grouped by category or

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area; otherwise, grouping can be turned off.

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Actions pane—
The Actions pane is located on the right side of the console and dis-

plays common actions, including wizards associated with each task. This pane also

FIGURE 12.1

Examining Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

Understanding Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.5

381

typically contains multiple tabs for the different options available based on the

node chosen.

Examining the IIS Manager Administration Nodes in the Connections

Pane

12

Many web services components need to be configured to optimize IIS for security, func-

tionality, and redundancy. The IIS snap-in is the interface used to administer IIS services.

In the left pane of the snap-in, as shown in Figure 12.2, you will see folders or nodes

similar to the following:

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Start Page—
The Start Page is the first item within the Connections pane and is ulti-

mately a digital dashboard for IIS. It provides users with a wealth of information by

displaying IIS newsfeeds and links to online resources. In addition, the Start Page

includes recent connection information and connection tasks.

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IIS Server—
The main place to administer and manage server properties and features

is the server node. After being selected, the IIS feature icons are displayed in the

central pane. An administrator must double-click a feature to configure property

settings specific to that feature. Examples of feature icons include Feature

Delegation, Logging, and Machine Key.

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Application Pools—
Application pools are actually sections of physical memory

dedicated to the applications running within a pool. Application pools segment

applications from the rest of the memory resources used by other IIS services. This

promotes higher reliability and security, but it also requires more memory to be

FIGURE 12.2

Examining the IIS 7.5 Connections pane.

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CHAPTER 12

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configured on the web server. The application pool elements can be sorted based on

Name, Status, .NET Framework Version, Managed Pipeline Mode, Identify, and

Applications.

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Web Sites—
This folder contains all the websites being hosted on the web server.

The Default Web Site is created during the installation of IIS 7.5.

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FTP Sites—
This folder contains all the FTP sites being hosted on the web server.

Note that FTP services are not installed by default.

NOTE

An Internet Information Services (7.5) Manager can be started by typing ”start inet-

mgr” at the command prompt.

Planning and Designing Internet Information

Services 7.5

Two of the most important tasks to accomplish before implementing IIS 7.5 are thorough

planning and designing. Planning and designing are the beginning phases to properly

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implementing IIS, and they can consist of the following:

. Defining goals and objectives of the IIS 7.5 project

. Identifying and reviewing IIS application types and requirements

. Designing the IIS infrastructure to support the goals and objectives

. Deciding on which IIS 7.5 features will be utilized during the installation process to

meet the goals of the organization

. Defining fault-tolerance requirements

. Designing the back-end infrastructure, such as the database or application tier

. Defining security requirements to meet the goals and objectives and balancing the

security methodologies between risks and end-user experience

. Examining and designing disaster recovery plans, and monitoring requirements and

maintenance practices

. Documenting the current or new IIS infrastructure and the IIS design decisions

Determining Server Requirements

Hardware and software requirements are typically based on the information gathered and

the requirements set forth in the design and planning stages of a project. The necessary

hardware and software requirements should always match the goals and objectives of the

project. This information is very detailed and describes all the resources necessary for

hardware and software.

Installing and Upgrading IIS 7.5

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IIS 7.5 does not have specific minimum server requirements tailored toward running IIS