Internet Information Services
Screenshot of IIS Manager console of Internet Information Services 8.5
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| Developer(s) | Microsoft |
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| Stable release |
10 / 29 July 2015
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| Development status | Active |
| Written in | C++ |
| Operating system | Windows NT |
| Available in | Same languages as Windows |
| Type | Web server |
| License | Part of Windows NT (same license) |
| Website | iis |
Internet Information Services (IIS, formerly Internet Information Server) is an extensible web server created by Microsoft for use with the Windows NT family. IIS supports HTTP, HTTPS, , FTPS, and . It has been an integral part of the Windows NT family since Windows NT 4.0, though it may be absent from some editions (e.g. Windows XP Home edition), and is not active by default.
The first Microsoft web server was a research project at the European Microsoft Windows NT Academic Centre (EMWAC), part of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, and was distributed as freeware. However, since the EMWAC server was unable to handle the volume of traffic going to Microsoft.com, Microsoft was forced to develop its own web server, IIS.
Almost every version of IIS was released either alongside or with a version of Microsoft Windows:
All versions of IIS prior to 7.0 running on client operating systems supported only 10 simultaneous connections and a single website.
Microsoft was criticized by vendors of other web server software, including O'Reilly & Associates and Netscape Communications Corp., for its licensing of early versions of Windows NT; the "Workstation" edition of the OS permitted only ten simultaneous TCP/IP connections, whereas the more expensive "Server" edition, which otherwise had few additional features, permitted unlimited connections but bundled IIS. It was inferred that this was intended to discourage consumers from running alternative web server packages on the cheaper edition. Netscape wrote an open letter to the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice regarding this distinction in product licensing, which it asserted had no technical merit.
IIS 6.0 and higher support the following authentication mechanisms:
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