Microsoft’s Internet Information Server (IIS) is a web server software that has evolved to perform many functions. It listens to requests from web browsers and responds with appropriate content, supporting HTTP and additional protocols. IIS was released in 1996 as a free download to rival Netscape’s server software. IIS has faced criticism for poor security, but Microsoft has improved security in newer versions by breaking down server functionality into components. IIS 7 and 7.5 are highly modularized, allowing for customization and reducing vulnerabilities.
Internet Information Server (IIS) is web server software from Microsoft®. Since its initial release, IIS has evolved from a very simple web server application to a complex platform capable of performing many different functions. Some older versions of the program have been criticized for poor security, but Microsoft® has attempted to counter this perception in more recent versions. Newer versions of IIS are highly modularized and break functionality into several components.
While running, Internet Information Server listens to requests from Web browsers and responds with the appropriate content. All versions of IIS support the standard Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and many support additional protocols such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Some versions of the software provide support for email services and newer versions have a different architecture that can support additional protocols. With the exception of early revisions, IIS generally supports more advanced features either natively or through the use of additional software components.
Microsoft® released the first version of its Internet Information Server on February 12, 1996 as a free download for Windows® NT 3.51. The release of IIS at no cost was a tactic aimed at rival Netscape® Communications, which was selling its own server software. The Internet Information Server feature set expanded rapidly, and two more versions were released by the end of 1996. IIS 3.0 was a major release, including support for a new technology called Active Server Pages (ASP) that allowed embedded code in a web page to run directly on the server.
By the turn of the century, Microsoft® had defeated Netscape® and IIS had secured second place in the Web server market, behind open source competitor Apache. However, some have begun to question the security of Internet Information Server software. Two major worms, dubbed Code Red and Nimda, have infected hundreds of thousands of web servers running IIS and have remained a nuisance for years. There have been calls for large companies using IIS to look into alternatives to secure their IT infrastructure.
In response to these concerns, Microsoft® took action to improve security in versions 6 and 7 of IIS, which was renamed Internet Information Services. These releases break down the server functionality into several components, allowing only the necessary parts of the server to run at any given time and reducing the potential number of vulnerabilities. IIS 7 and 7.5 are highly modularized, with even the core parts of the server being split into different services. In addition to increasing security, this design choice allowed the creation and installation of add-ons, offering a high level of customization to network administrators.
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