Clarifying the Confusion: IIS 7 Manager vs. IIS 7 Web Server
This issue has been surfacing on the forums a lot recently, so I think some clarification is in order.
The general question that is seen on the message boards is this:
I installed IIS7 on Windows XP but it doesn't work. Can anyone help?
First, IIS 7 Web Server can't be installed on Windows XP or Windows 2003. It depends on some features that are only found in Vista and Windows Server 2008. Also, the IIS 7 Web Server is now an integrated Windows component and isn't a separate install.
Second, we released Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0 Manager as a download with the launch of Windows Server 2008 at the end of February. This is a standalone tool that can connect to a remote IIS 7 Web Server for administration purposes and it can be installed on Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Vista Service Pack 1. The IIS 7 management console in 2008 already has this capability. If someone looks closely we see that there is some ambiguity in the names used.
The confusion is really in the name of the standalone administration tool. We released it as Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0 Manager. The full name itself makes sense. This is the management tool for an IIS7 server and not the server itself. A better name might have been Remote Manager for IIS 7, but we can't change the name until the next release.
As always, feel free to continue asking your questions on the IIS forums or make comments on blog posts if you continue to run into problems or don't find the answers posted here.
Summary:
- IIS 7 Web Server runs on Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008
- IIS 7 Manager runs on Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista
- IIS 7 Manager is not a Web Server, it is a tool to administer an IIS 7 Web Server
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