... I happened to be interviewed Adam Machanic (SQL MVP) as I passed by the database section of the exhibitaiton. My ramblings were captured on video and posted here. http://www.sswug.org/sswugradio/getpodcast.asp?pid=119 

In this edition, I interview Henry Seiller from the IIS team. Henry is in charge of installation and upgrades at it relates to IIS on Vista and Longhorn. This is actually a pretty interesting topic and there are significant changes under the hood.

Check it out http://channel9.msdn.com/Shows/IIS_Show

-brett

 

So I loaded a screencast on Channel 9 today at http://channel9.msdn.com/Showpost.aspx?postid=206237. It's about installing IIS7 on Vista. Haven't done one of these screencasts before so forgive the resolution. A link to a better one is here: InstallingIIS7onVista.wmv (70.97 MB).

Short story is IIS 7 modular so the IIS team had an interesting situation to consider. Since we claim all over the place to be "secure by default", the question arises - now that we can opt to not load certain features in IIS 7 that are loaded all the time in IIS 6 (CGI processing, ADSI compatibility, Digest authentication for example): should we load things that customer expect since that they way IIS 6 works, or not load things they don't ask for making it more secure. The current trend in that discussion is the "not" side of the discussion. As as result, IIS 7 doesn't do some thing you might expect if you just install the default configuration. Here's a video that explains shows you some of the details.

-brett

 

I just created a new discussion list for IIS 7 on my list server.

You can signup at http://iislists.com if you want to. No spam I promise.

FYI, this list server is not associated with Mircrosoft, just something I do to help the community. I've had the list server for years, long before I started at Microsoft.

So, if you want to subscribe, please do. It is not moderated (unless people go crazy which happens from time to time so I'll intervene if necessary, but is rare). There are a lot of good admins on the IIS6 lists, so check it out. 

-brett

 

I spent the week hanging out at the IIS booth at TechEd. The booth was, as usual for IIS, located in the back and kind of out of site. "Can't get no respect". I didn't do any formal presentations this year but did a few "chalktalks". A chalktalk is what we call a presentation that is not a formal "breakout" session. The chalktalks were presented at the little theatre style areas on the expo floor. If you go to a Microsoft event, be sure to check these out as they often have the coolest info. Theres usually about 5-25 people there so you can ask a lot of questions, the presenters are typically expert in their topics and the presenter is able to do a much for relaxed, free form presentation.

One of my favorites was Andrew Lin, who works with the IIS team on the UI and administration, doing a presentation on the new Microsoft.web.adminstration API for IIS 7. In real time, he created a little comman line utility that did basic operations like create a website, assign it an app pool, then added features to with just a couple of lines of code like stop and start the site etc. Very nice. He took requests (or at least tried to get requests) from the audience about what to add. In the end, he had a little utility that would do some basic operations for administering a site using the the ne managed code API. Before you ask, APPCMD, the new command line utility, will do all of these things as well. The point was to show off the new API and how you can write code to deploy content as well as mange the server quite easily.

Another favority demo was on that Alexis Eller, IIS PM, did in her formal breakout session. I was really amazed at her demo bravery. She installed Community Server on IIS 7 in real time then loaded it with request using prepared Wcat scripts. Then she used Powershell to implement a WMI call to show the currently executing requests (using the new APIs again), in a worker process but only when the CPU use was over 75%. This worked flawlessly and the powershell code was only about 20 lines of code. When this ran, every 10 seconds or so, the screen would show about 10-15 currently exectuing requests, then pause as the CPU load dropped, then list some more lines, then drop. Very cool stuff. She'll proably post it on IIS.net, but I'll ask her about it.

People who saw IIS 7 were pretty impressed and of course the biggest complaint is that we have to wait till Longhorn Server. So next year, expect IIS 7 to be huge at TechEd! Looking forward to that.

These guys came to redmond a year ago to see IIS 7 and are the first I know about to offer IIS 7 to customers. Many more to come, but as usual, MaximumASP delivers. --------- MaximumASP to Provide Hosting for Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0; MaximumASP Launches Hosting Accounts for Microsoft Windows Server ``Longhorn'' Beta 2 and IIS 7.0 LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 8, 2006--MaximumASP, a leading provider of Microsoft Windows-based hosting services, today announced that it will be Microsoft Corp.'s first partner to provide free beta test accounts featuring Microsoft Windows Server "Longhorn" Beta 2 and Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0. This new technology release will be available in a hosted environment, allowing users from around the world to test and evaluate the new platform free of charge. "MaximumASP is a natural choice to debut IIS 7.0 in a hosted environment. Throughout the evaluation and testing process, MaximumASP demonstrated excellent flexibility and technical skill, and has developed a strong relationship with the developer product groups at Microsoft," said Bill Staples, product unit manager of IIS 7.0 at Microsoft. "The IIS product is at the center of Microsoft's Web platform strategy. IIS serves as the underlying hosting and management infrastructure for all of Microsoft's Web platform technologies including ASP.NET and Windows Communication Foundation. Microsoft is excited to work with MaximumASP as an early adopter of IIS 7.0 and believes its commitment to quality hosting and excellent customer service will result in a fantastic opportunity for customers to evaluate IIS 7.0." "We are very excited about the IIS 7.0 architecture and anxious to give users a sneak preview of how it will change management of hosted sites and Web applications," said Chris Page, CTIO of MaximumASP. "MaximumASP continues to lead the hosting industry by giving our customers a competitive edge and enabling them to be first-to-market with new solutions." Page also added, "Since 2000 we have been a solution for professional Microsoft developers seeking a partner in the hosting space that understands their needs and approaches hosting from their point of view. Our business model allows developers to focus their attention on what they do well: develop, deploy, and support web-based applications using Microsoft technologies. MaximumASP is thrilled to offer the latest innovation from Microsoft while also providing the back-end infrastructure and management to ensure maximum reliability and scalability for end users." To learn more about this exciting new technology and corresponding support visit: www.iis.net What's new in IIS 7.0? The short answer is "a lot!" IIS 7.0 makes it easy to: -- Minimize patching and security risks with fine grained control over the Web server footprint -- Implement powerful Web solutions rapidly with a new extensibility framework -- Go to market faster with simplified deployment and configuration of applications -- Reduce administrative costs by managing Web infrastructure more efficiently -- Reduce Web site downtime by quickly resolving faulty applications What's new with Windows Server "Longhorn" Beta 2? The next version of Microsoft Windows Server, code-named "Longhorn," is the next-generation Windows Server operating system that will help IT professionals maximize control over their infrastructure and deliver a more secure, reliable and robust server environment. Windows Server "Longhorn" Beta 2 is now available to subscribers to TechNet and MSDN in addition to select beta testers, customers, and partners. Beta 2 is aimed at hardware manufacturers, independent software vendors and developers, and the IT professional community. Windows "Longhorn" Server Beta 2 offers a unified platform for Web publishing integrating with IIS 7.0, Microsoft ASP.NET, Microsoft Windows Communication Foundation and Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0. MaximumASP, based in Louisville, Kentucky, was founded in 2000 as an outsourcing firm for Microsoft Windows-based hosting services. The company currently hosts more than 44,000 domains for customers in over 60 countries. With a strong focus on hosting solutions that combine advanced monitoring and management tools, MaximumASP has become a top choice for Microsoft developers seeking a robust hosting platform for mission-critical web applications. For more information visit www.maximumasp.com The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Study Finds Windows Server More Reliable Than Linux InternetNews - 6/8/2006 A study by the Yankee Group has found that Windows Server 2003 had nearly 20 percent more annual uptime in similar deployment scenarios over Linux. http://www.internetnews.com/stats/article.php/3611926