This topic contains conceptual information about Web sites and FTP sites (virtual servers). This topic describes the properties of Web and FTP sites, administration privileges, and administration from remote locations. This section includes:
On Windows XP Professional, you can use one computer to host one Web and one FTP site. The following example illustrates an intranet situation where the system administrator installed IIS on a departmental workstation and then created two default sites: one Web site and one FTP site.
Note If you need to host multiple Web or FTP sites on a single computer, you need to install one of the Windows server products.
Properties are values that can be set on your Web site. For example, you can use the IIS snap-in to change the TCP port assigned to the default Web site from the default value of 80 to another port number. Properties for a site are displayed in property sheets and stored in a database called the metabase.
During IIS installation, default values are assigned to the various properties that are found on the property sheets. You can use the default settings in IIS or you can customize these settings to suit your Web publishing needs. You may be able to provide additional value, better performance, and improved security by making adjustments to the default settings.
Properties can be set on the site level, on the directory level, or on the file level. Settings on higher levels (such as the site level) are automatically used, or inherited, by the lower levels (such as the directory level) but can still be edited individually at the lower level as well. Once a property has been changed on an individual site, directory, or file, later changes to the master defaults do not automatically override the individual setting. Instead, you receive a warning message that asks whether you want to change the individual site, directory, or file setting to match the new defaults.
Some properties have a value that takes the form of a list. For instance, the value of the default document can be a list of documents that are loaded when users do not specify a file in a URL. Custom error messages, TCP/IP access control, script mappings, and MIME mappings are other examples of properties stored in a list format. Although these lists have multiple entries, IIS treats the entire list as a single property. If you edit a list on a directory and then make a global change on the site level, the list at the directory level is completely replaced with the new list from the site level; the lists are not merged. Also, properties with list values display their lists only at the master level, or on a site or directory that has been changed from the default value. List values are not displayed if they are the inherited defaults.
Filters are displayed in a list format but are not treated as a list. If you add filters at the site level, the new filters are merged with the list of filters from the master level. If two filters have the same priority setting, the filter from the master level is loaded before the filter from the site level.
The following graphic depicts the property sheets used to set all Web site properties.
In the IIS snap-in, you can click the Help button on a property sheet to learn more about individual property settings.
FTP restart addresses the problem of losing a network connection while downloading files. Clients that support FTP restart need only re-establish their FTP connection using the REST command and the file transfer will automatically pick up where it left off.
Note The IIS 5.1 implementation of FTP restart is not enabled when using FTP to download wildcard requests (MGET), uploading files to a server (PUT), or downloading files larger than 4 gigabytes.
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) is an Internet standard that provides a way for Web browsers to view files that are in multiple formats. The registered file types that are installed by default on Windows XP are listed in the File Types dialog box of the Internet Information Services property sheet.
MIME mappings can be configured at the computer, Web site, virtual directory, directory, or file level. To configure MIME mappings at the computer level, use the Internet Information Services property sheet. To configure MIME mappings at the other levels, use the HTTP Headers property sheet.
Note MIME mappings configured at the computer level do not automatically override those set at the lower levels.