Web Server
Web Servers come in various packages and some people prefer one over another
but for what it's worth IIS is not as bad as some make out it is. It comes with
Windows2000 Server and WindowsXP Pro, is easy to setup and can be as simple or
complicated as you like.
One thing you need to be aware of is to install Microsoft's URLScan utility
which will stop virtually all attacks on the system. It is unfortunate that it
doesn't already come with IIS. It sits between the Net and IIS looking at all
the calls to the web server, interrogates the data and depending on how it is
setup will either pass the data on to the web server or discard it. It does keep
a log of all discarded data for reference.
IIS is only one package and depending on what Operating System you use there
is bound to be a package that will suit your needs.
What you choose maybe determined by what you intend to include on your web.
Some items include-
- Mailing lists, Discussion Forums, Newsletters
- Databases which could include catalogues, shopping carts, managed links,
etc.
- Web Mail
- Portal sites
- Server-side Scripting not available from an ISP
- Large amounts of data
You may have a preference to a particular scripting language like PERL or a
form of CGI-Script etc, which may also determine what package you choose. Perl
is available for Windows and IIS if you wish as well as other languages.
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