Microsoft Internet Information Server

Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) can help you deploy Internet Explorer and other business applications, host and manage Web sites, and publish and share information securely across a company intranet or the Internet. IIS can help you do the following:

• Manage the Web sites where you distribute and maintain your custom browser packages and other related files and programs.
• Generate dynamic Web pages by using Active Server Page (.asp) files.
• Customize Web site content, including custom error messages and content expiration.
• Capture user information in log files, which enables you to collect and analyze valuable customer and usage data.

Managing Web Sites

IIS management tools and flexible administration options can help you easily set up Web sites to distribute the browser and manage your custom packages and other content. Your organization can take advantage of these IIS site-management features:

• Built-in wizards step you through many common administrative tasks, such as creating a new Web site.
• From a single window, you can manage all network, Web, and application services.
• New configuration capabilities enable you to set properties independently for each Web site or file on the server.
• By running administration scripts from the command line, you can automate common administrative tasks across multiple servers.

Generating Dynamic Web Pages

You can create HTML page templates by using Active Server Page (.asp) files, which enable you to build dynamic Web pages for site information that is updated frequently. You can use .asp files to easily update the contents of Web pages without opening the HTML files. By keeping information, such as your site headlines, in a separate file, you can easily change the content or design of your site without updating every page. You can also keep frequently changing information in databases where it is easier to manage, and then build your Web pages from content dynamically extracted from the database. This capability means that Web sites of hundreds or thousands of pages can be reduced to a small number of .asp files.

Active Server Pages also make it easy to customize content for users. IIS Intrinsic Objects provide access to server variables, such as the user's browser type and screen resolution. An .asp file can use this information to select different graphics, layouts, or ActiveX components based on what the browser supports.

Customizing Web Site Content

You can easily customize the content on your Web site by taking advantage of the following IIS customization features:

• Custom error messages - Instead of using the default error messages, you can choose to send custom error messages (in a file or URL) to your users. You can also define custom .asp files to handle specific errors.
• Content ratings - You can configure content ratings for violence, nudity, sex, and offensive language by using embedded descriptive labels in the HTTP headers of Web pages on the server. Internet Explorer can detect these content labels and help users identify potentially objectionable Web content.
• Content expiration - You can set an HTTP header that determines how long a Web page should remain in the browser cache. For example, you can set the date for time-sensitive material, such as special offers or event announcements. The browser compares the current date to the expiration date and determines whether to display a cached page or request an updated page from the server.
• Cache control - You can set a tag in the HTTP header for secure Web sites that prevents Internet Explorer from caching the content. This capability prevents private information from being cached on a computer, where it could potentially be accessed by other people.
• Custom headers - You can send a custom HTTP header from the Web server to a browser. For example, you can send a custom HTTP header that allows the browser to cache a page, but prevents proxy servers from caching the same content.
• Custom document footers - You can configure the Web server to automatically insert a file that contains HTML formatting instructions for adding a logo image or text to the footer of Web pages on the server.

Capturing User Information

Using IIS logging features, you can gather detailed information about Web site visitors, such as the date and time the Web site is accessed, the client Internet Protocol (IP) address, and the browser type. IIS enables you to choose specific files for which you want to collect data, thereby reducing log file size and making it easier to interpret the log files. You can also create custom log files for processing specific user activities, such as tracking the Web site visitors who download your custom browser package.

Using Site Server Express analysis tools, you can easily identify basic trend and usage information from an IIS log file. The Usage Import and Report Writer modules of Site Server Express enable you to import an IIS log file and translate the entries into useful information about the client. Also, you can organize the information into over 20 predefined reports by using HTML or other business software file formats.

For More Information

For more information about using IIS to deploy Internet Explorer, see the following:

• Microsoft BackOffice Web site
• Chapter 13, "Setting Up Servers"
• Chapter 20, "Implementing the Sign-up Process"