Friday, July 26, 2013
What is Internet Information
Server?
Microsoft Internet
Information Server is a Web server that enables you to publish information on a
corporate intranet or on the internet. Internet Information server transmits
information by using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol(HTTP). Internet
Information server can also configured to provide File Tranfer Protocol(FTP)
and gopher services. The FTP service enables users to transfer files to and
from your Web site. The gopher service uses a menu-driven protocol for locating
documents. The gopher protocol has been largely superseded by the HTTP
protocol.
What Can I Do with Internet Information Server?
The creative
possibilites of what you can offer on an Internet Information server Web site
are eneless.
Some familiar uses are to :
Publish a home page on
the Internet for your business featuring a newslitter, sales information, or
employment opportunites.
Pulish a catalog and
take orders from customers.
Publish interactive
programs.
Provide your remote sales
force easy access to your sales database.
Use an order-tracking
database.
How Does Internet Information server Work?
The Web is fundamentally
a system of requests and responses. Web browsers request information by sending
a URL to a Web server. The Web server responds by returning a Hypertext Markup
Language(HTML) page.
The HTML page canf be a
static page that has already been formatted and stored in the Web stite, a page
that the server dynamically creates in response to information provided by the
user, or a page thata lists the available files and forlders on the Web site.
Web Browser URL Request
Every page on an
intranet or on the Internet has a unique URL that identifies it. Web browsers
request a page by sending a URL to a Web server.
The server uses the information in the URL to locate and display the
page. URL syntax is a specific sequesce of portocol, domain name, and path to
the requested information. The protocol is the communication method used to
gain access to information: for example, Hypertext Transfer Protocol(HTTP). Internet
Information Server supports the HTTP, FTP, and gopher protocols. The domain
name is Domain Name System(DNS) name of the computer that contains the
information. The path is the path to the requested information on the computer.
The following table shows examples of different URLs :
A URL can also contain
information that the Web server must process before returning a page. The data
is added to end of the path. The Web server passes the data to a program or a
script for processing and returns the results in a Web page. Example request
types are listed in the following table:
Web Server Response
A Web server responds to
a Web browser request by returning an HTML page. The returned page can be one
of three types: a staic HTML page, a dyanamic HTML page, or a directory-listing
page.
Static Pages
Static pages are static
HTML pages that are prepared in advance of the request. The Web server returns
the HTML pages to the user, but takes no special action. The user requests a
static page by typing in an URL (in the following illustration,
http:\\www.company.com\home.htm) or by clicking a link pointing to an URL. The
URL, request is sent to the server. The server responds by returning the static
HTML page.
Dynamic Pages
Dynamic pages are
created in response to a user's request. A Web browser collects information by
presenting a page with text boxes, menus, and check boxes that the user fills
in or selects. When the user clicks a button on a form, the data from the form
is sent to the Web server. The server either passes the data to ascript or
application to be processed, or it queries or posts data to adatabase. The
server returns the results to the user in an HTML page.
The following
illustration shows how a user can send a query to Internet Server API(ISAPI)
application that adds two numbers. The user types the two numbers to be added,
then clicks a button, which in turn sends the two numbers to the Web server.
The Web server calls the ISAPI application to add the numbers, then returns the
results to the user in an HTML page.
The following
illustration shows a user posting an order to a databese using the Internet
Database Connector. The user completes a form, then clicks a button, which in
turn sends the data in the form to the server. The server posts the data to a
database, then confirms the order by sending an HTML page.
Directory Listing
If users might send
queries without specifying a particular file, you can either create a default
document for a Web site or for a particular directory, or you can configure
your server for directory browsing. If no default listing ( a hypertext version
of a Windows Explorer or File manager listing) is returned to the user in the
form of an HTML page. The user can then jump to the appropriate file by
clicking it in the directory listing.
Rather than using
directory listing, you can provide a default document.
How Do I Use Internet Information Server?
Internet Information
Server is flexible enough to perform many important functions for your
organization. It is scalable from supporting a single-server site to supporting
large multi-server installations. For example, www.microsoft.com and
www.msn.com are among the busiest Web sites on the Internet today, and both use
multiple servers running Microsoft Internet Information Server.
One of the primary
factors that determines the configuration and use of Internet Information
Server is wheter it will be used internally by employees on your intranes, or
if it will be connected to the Internet.
The following scenaries
are intended to help you understand the range of possibilities for using
Internet Information Server.
Internet Scenaries
Internet Information
Server integrates well into almost any existing environment. Because Internet
Information Server integrates Windows NT security and networking, you can often
add the software to an existing computer and use existing user accounts. It is
not necessary to use a dedicated computer to run Internet Information Server.
For example, in a small
workgroup you can add Internet Information Server to an existing file and print
server. The workgroup's Web server can host personal Web-style pages,
customized workgroup applications, serve as an interface to the workgroup's
Structured Query Language(SQL) database, or use Remote Access Service(RAS) to
proved dial-up access to the workgroup's resources from remote sites.
In a larger business
with multiple departments or workgroups, each department might run Internet
Information Server on an existing file server for workgroup-specific
information. A central information server might be used for company=-wide
information, such as an employee manual or company directory.
Internet Scenarios
Internet Information
Server can function as a simple dedicated Web server on the Internet, as shown
in the following illustration.
In larger sites you can
provide access from your internal network to the Internet Information Server,
allowing employees to browse the server or to use authoring tools, such as
Microsoft FrontPageTM ,to create content for your server.
Internet Information
Server's integration with all of the WindowsNT services can also create servers
with multiple functions. For example, a company with sites in different parts
of the world can use Internet Information Server to provide communication
between sites, with the added flexiblity of Internet access. You can even add
RAS to an Internet Information Server to provide dial-up access to your
intranet or the Internet.
Note: Many scenarios for connection to the Internet involve third-party
routers or security devices that filte network packets between your computer
and the Internet. Routers and other
security devices are not indicated in the preceding illustrations.
Configuring and Manging Internet Information Server
Microsoft Internet Service Manager
Internet Information
Server provides a graphical administration rool called Internet Service Manager
that you can use to monitor, configure, and control the Internet services.
Internet Service Manager
is the control location from which you can control all of the computers running
Internet Information Server in your organization. You can run Internet Service
Manager on any computer that is runnhing Windows NT Workstation or Windows NT
Server and that is connected through the network to your Web server. With
remote administration you cna administer your Web servers from the server
computer itself, from a management workstation on the corporate local area
network(LAN), or even over the Internet.
Internet Service Manager
uses the Windows NT security model, so only validated administrators are
allowed to administer services, and administrator passwords are transmintted in
encrypted form over the network.
In addition to Internet
Service Manager, Internet Information Server provides an HTML-based Internet
Service Manager that you can run from any Web browser. You can perform the same
administration tasks by using either version of Internet Service Manager. In
this guide, any reference to Internet Servic eManager refers to both versions
of the tool unless otherwise noted.
This tells you how to :
Use Internet Service
Manager to view and configure the WWW,
FTP, and gopher services.
Start, stop, and pause
services.
Sort the services view.
Use Internet Service Manager property sheets to
configure the Internet services.
Limit network use by
constraining the network bandwidth allowed for the Internet services.
Microsoft Internet Srvice Manager
Internet Service Manager
helpes you configure and monitor all the Internet servicces running on the
Windows NT based computers in your network.
Connecting to a Web Server
You can administer any
Internet Information Server on your network by connecting to it in Internet
Service Manager. You can specify a Web server by typing the computer's Domain
Name System (DNS) host name, its Internet Protocol(IP) address, or its NetBIOS
name( or computer name).
You can also find all
the computers on your network that are running Internet Information Server.
To Connect to a Web Server
1. From the Properties
menu in Internet Service Manager, select Connect to Server.
2. In the Server Name
box, type the Web server's host name, IP address, or NetBIOS name.
To connect by selection a Web Server from a list
1. From the Properties
menu in Internet Service Manager, select Find All Services.
2. From the list of
servers displayed, doble-click the one you want to connect to.
Selectint a View
Internet Service Manager
displays a graphical view of the services running on your servers. You can view
a complete report, or you can sort information by the service type or by
computername Views enable you to tell at a glance which servives are running.
You can also display or hide services and sort services by their state
(running, paused, or stopped).
To select a view
From the View menu,
choose Servers View, Services View, or Report View. Views are described in the
following sections.
to sort information in a view
From the View menu,
choose sort by Server, sort by Service, Sort by comment, or Sort by State. For
example, you should sort by state to quickly see which services are currently
running.
To display or hide services
From the View menu
choose the service that you want to display or hide(FTP,gopher, or WWW).
Report View
Report view to the
default view. Report view alphabetically lists the selected computers, with
each installed service show on aseparate line. Click the column headings to
sort the entire list alphabetically. Report view is probably most useful for
sites with only one or two computers running Internet Information Server.
The following illustration lists the functions of the buttons and icons
in Internet Information Server:
You can also use the
Properties and View drop-down menus for the same functions.
Connect to servers and view property sheets
1. Connects to one
specific Web server.
2. Finds all web servers
on the network.
3. Displays property
sheets to configure the selected service.
Start, stop, or pause a service
4. Starts the selected
service.
5. Stops the selected
service.
6. Pauses the selected
service.
Select which servicves should be displayed
7. Displays the FTP
service in the Internet Serveice Manager main window.
8. Displays the goher
service in the Internet Service Manager main window.
9. Displays the WWW
service in the Internet Service Manager main window.
Start Kov Manager to create a Security Sockets Laver key
10. Displays the Key
Manager window.
Make any necessary adjustments to services
11.Sorts the listings
when you click a column heading.
12. Displays the
property sheets for a service when you double-click it.
13. Displays server and
service status.
Servers View
Servers view displays
services running on network comuters by computer nae. Click the plus symbol
next to a computer name to see which services that computer is running.
Double-click a service name to see its property sheets. Servers view is most
useful for sites running multiple Web servers when you need to know the status
of the services installed on a specifc computer.
Services View
Services view lists the
services on every selected computer, grouped by service name. Click the plus
symbol next to a service name to see the computers running that service.
Double-click the computer name under a service to see the property sheets for
the service running on that computer. Services view is most useful for sites
with widely distributed Web servers when you need to know which computers are
running a particular service.
Starting, Stopping, and Pausing Services
You can quickly start,
stop, or pause an service from Internet Service Manager.
To start,stop, or pause a service
1. In Internet Service
Manager, select the service you want to start, stop, or pause.
2. From the Properties
menu, choose Start Service, Stop Servicve, or Pause Service.
Configuring and Managing Services
You can configure and
manage the WWW,FTP, and gopher services by using Internet Service Manager. The
following information focuses on the WWW service, the most commonly used
service.
In Internet Service
Manager, double-click a computer name or a service name to display its property
sheets. Click the tab at the top of each property sheet to display the
properties for that category. After setting the properties for the service,
click OK to return to the main Internet Service Manager window.
The Service Property Sheet
You use the Service
property sheet to control what kind of authentication is required to gain
access to your Web site and to specify the account used for anonymous client
requests to log on to the server. Most Internet sites allow anonymous logons.
The Directories Property Sheet
You use the Directories
property sheet to specify which directories (folders) are available to users
and to create a Web site composed of folders that reside on different
computers. You can also designate a default document that appears if a remote
user does not specify a particular file, or instead enable directory browsing.
Deirectroy browsing means that the user is presented with a hypertext listing
of the directories and files so that the user can navigate through your
directory structure.
The Logging Property Sheet
You use the Logging
property sheet to log servicve activity. Logging provides valuable information
about how a Web server is used. You can send log data to text files or to an
Open Database Connectivity (ODBC)supported database. If you havae multiple Web
servers or services on a network, you can log all their activity to a single
database on any network computer.
By using the Logging
property sheet, you can also select the format you want for logging, either
Standard format or National Center for Supercomputing (NCSA) Common Log File
format.
The Advanced Property Sheet
You use the Advanced
property sheet to preven certain individuals or groups from gaining access to
your Web site. You control access by specifying the IP address of the computers
to be granted or denied access. For more information,
You can also set the
maximum network bandwidth for outbound traffic, to control (throttle) the
maximum amount of traffic on your site. For more information, see the following
section.
Limiting Network Use
You can constrain your
internet services by limiting the network bandwidth allowed for all of the
Internet services on your Web server.
Limiting the bandwidth
dedicated to users of Microsoft. Internet Information Server is especially
useful if your Internet line has multiple puposes. Limiting bandwidth allows
other operations ( such as e-mail and remote logons) to use the same line
without being slowed down by too much activity on the Web server.
To change bandwidth
1. In Internet Service
Manager, doble-click any service on the computer for which you want to change
the bandwidth usage allowed.
2. Click the Advanced
tab.
3.Select Limit Network
Use by all Internet Services on this computer.
4.Select the number of
kilobytes per second you want to allow for Internet services.
5.Click Apply and then
click OK.
How Internet Information Server Security Works
Internet Information
Server is built on the Windows NT security model. Windows NT security helps you
protes your computer and its resources by requiring assigned user accounts and
passwords. You can control access to computer resources by limiting the user
rights of these accounts. You can use the Windows NT File System (NTFS) to
assign permissions to folders and files on your computer. You can control
access to folders and files by preventing users from copying files to or from a
folder, or by preventing users from executing files in certain folders.
