How to Configure IIS to Host my Web Page

IIS (Internet Information Services) is an easy-to-use web server from Microsoft. IIS is not installed on Windows XP Professional by default. It is however installed when you upgrade from Windows NT or Windows 2000 to Windows XP Pro. If not installed IIS can be installed as follows:

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and double-click Add/Remove Programs. The Add/Remove Programs application starts.
2. In the left column of the Add/Remove Programs dialog box, click Add/Remove Windows Components.
3. When the Windows Components Wizard appears, click Next.
4. In the Windows Components list, select IIS.
5. Click Next, and follow the instructions.

IIS allows you to host a web page on your own computer that can be accessed by others using the DNS name or the IP address of the PC on the network. The IP address can be found by using the command ipconfig in command prompt.

The IIS is configured using the IIS snap-in, previously called the Internet Services Manager. This can be accessed in one of three ways:

Method 1:

1. From the Start menu, select Settings and then Control Panel
2. Open Administrative Tools
3. Open Internet Information Services

Method 2:

1. Right click on My Computer on your desktop
2. Select Manage to open the Computer Management console
3. Select Internet Information Services under Services and Applications

Method 3:

1. From the Start menu, select Run
2. Type inetmgr and run the command

The Internet Information Services snap-in provides server management options to control content and access to your Web or FTP sites. For example, if you are a developer testing a site before uploading it to an intranet or the Internet, you can use this tool to test your settings exactly as they will be on the final server. When the IIS is installed a default Web site and FTP site are created. You can now publish information on these default sites by following the steps outlined below:

To Publish Content on your Web Site

1. Create a home page for your Web site using any web page design tool
2. Name your home page file Default.htm or Default.asp
3. Copy your home page into the default Web publishing directory for IIS also called the home directory located in \inetpub\wwwroot
4. If your network has a name resolution system (typically DNS), then visitors can simply type your computer name in the address bar of their browsers to reach your site. If your network does not have a name resolution system, visitors must type the numerical IP address of your computer.

To Publish Content on your FTP Site

1. Copy or move your files into the default FTP publishing directory. The default directory provided by Setup is \inetpub\ftproot.
2. If your network has a name resolution system (typically DNS), then visitors can type ftp:// followed by your computer name in the address bar of their browsers to reach your site. If your network does not have a name resolution system, visitors must type ftp:// and the numerical IP address of your computer.

Using Windows XP Professional you can host one Web site and one FTP site on a single computer. If you would like to host multiple Web or FTP sites on a single computer, consider upgrading to a server product.

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Y.Chandrasekhar Gupta