System Requirements
Internet Information Services 5 must be installed on a Windows 2000 server. It is not backward-compatible, so it cannot be installed on a Windows NT 4 server—or any other operating system, for that matter. By default, Internet Information Services 5 is installed during the installation of a Windows 2000 server.
The first step in planning for an installation of Internet Information Services is provisioning adequate hardware and software resources. This section assists you in better understanding both the hardware and the software required to optimally deploy Internet Information Services 5.
Hardware
According to Microsoft, Internet Information Services requires the same hardware configuration as Windows 2000 Server software. Realistically, however, the hardware minimums for Windows 2000 probably aren't adequate hardware minimums either for Windows 2000 or for Internet Information Services, not to mention the additional Web applications you will probably install to energize your Web sites. This section goes beyond the minimum and recommended requirements, focusing on what I've found to be the most useful in building an Internet Information Services server. (My experience is with both Web servers hosting a single Web site and Web servers hosting up to 50 Web sites.)
The following list discusses my recommendations for each hardware component:
Processor. Look for at least a Pentium III 350MHz or better. If you can justify the minor cost increase, I recommend that you configure a dual processor server. Xeon processors can also boot the performance of your Web server because of their larger cache.
Memory. Use at least 256MB of RAM, even if you are deploying only Windows 2000 without Internet Information Services. Actually, the preferred amount of RAM is at least 512MB, because memory is an inexpensive way of reducing latency and increasing the overall performance of Internet Information Services.
Hard drives. Deploy at least two hard drives in an Internet Information Services server. The first drive is the system drive; the second is a data drive. This is also a good system strategy for security purposes, and increases the chance of recovery, should the system drive fail. Deploy SCSI-based drive technology with high RPM and low latency. Of course, the larger the drive, the better when allowing for future growth.
RAID. A RAID 5 (redundant array of inexpensive disks) array is basically a collection of drives treated as one drive but divided into one or more partitions. RAID is recommended for any server that will require nonstop operations and that cannot tolerate data loss or drive failure which forces the server to go offline. More commonly known as disk mirroring, RAID 5 requires two hard drives: one configured as a regular drive, and the second to provide an exact copy of structure of the first in real time. Disk mirroring is a simple and inexpensive way to guarantee against data loss, and is configurable in Windows 2000 without additional software.
Network interface card (NIC). Because IIS is network-intensive by nature, consider your network card an investment and buy PCI NICs that support 100Mbps connections. If you have only a 10Mbps connection today, buy a NIC that supports both 10Mbps and 100Mbps to support future network enhancements. Also, make sure you're buying a good name-brand NIC, such as 3COM or Intel.
Video. A video card and monitor are required to install Windows 2000, but many Web servers do not have monitors connected to them when they are live on the network. Generally, SVGA monitors allow for better refresh rates and proper display of color when viewing your Web site locally. You will probably also find that an 800 × 600 display with at least 256 colors works best for pcANYWHERE and many other third-party software screens.
Mass media devices. Of course, you will need a CD-ROM for most software installations. You may also need a backup solution. I like to install IOMEGA JAZZ drives in my Web servers for smaller backups.
At our company, ConnectOS Corporation, we have recently implemented a new backup device called anOnstream ADR tape drive. We have found this drive to be very useful and versatile, working first with Windows NT 4.0 Backup and then moving to Veritas Backup Exec software. Dollar for dollar, the Onstream drive provides the most storage space for the least expensive price.
Additional Hardware Considerations
Today, you can purchase inexpensive systems with very large IDE hard drives. These systems are ideal for general-purpose workstations or desktops, but the IDE drives cannot provide the sustained high output that can be achieved with SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) drives. SCSI is distributed with multiple interfaces, including Wide and Ultra Wide (which currently provides the best drive performance). Another benefit of SCSI is its bus-mastering capability, which means that the SCSI controller processes I/O requests instead of the system CPU. A good SCSI card will also include an I/O cache. You should use a SCSI controller that is built into the system motherboard or the SCSI controller that is a part of any RAID 5 controller, or purchase a name-brand controller, such as an Adaptec card.
Fault protection and the capability to recover data in the event of a failure can affect whether you are in business tomorrow. If you run a Web server at all times and a hard disk crashes, you will most likely experience unacceptable downtime, even with properly maintained backups. Naturally, downtime equals revenue loss and possibly the loss of clients. The most cost-effective way of reduce this type of downtime is to operate your Web servers in a data redundant mode—that is, make use of RAID technology. Several levels of RAID exist, but RAID 5 (also called RAID Level 5) is the optimal level.
When deciding between hardware and software RAID, keep in mind that hardware RAID provides the best performance, although software RAID is less expensive. The performance penalty of a software RAID solution will affect your Web server considerably in a high-demand environment. The bottom line is that a SCSI RAID 5 array will enable you to immediately recover from a failed hard drive and schedule its replacement at a more appropriate time.
Clustering multiple servers provides another fault-tolerant option. This topic is covered in the Chapter 2, "Internetworking Considerations."
Software
Successfully deploying Internet Information Services 5 requires only two software components: Windows 2000 with the Internet Information Services component and TCP/IP networking, and Internet Explorer 5.0 or later.
Internet Information Services 5 can be installed on either Windows 2000 Server or Windows 2000 Professional. I use Windows 2000 Server for my production Web servers. Windows 2000 Professional is most commonly used for development servers.