| Apache pros:
Open source updates. it's constantly being updated
and you can add functionality as it becomes available.
Free. The software is free. It's hard to beat that
price.
Multi-platform support. Apache can be used on systems
that have 80x86-series (i.e. Intel) processors running either Linux
or NT as an OS, or on other computers running a Unix-type OS on
a different processor.
Popular. Apache is the most-used Web server software
package in the world. As such, it's unlikely that further development
of the software will ever cease.
Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS)
Essentially, IIS is the server software of choice
if you want to run an ASP-based site.
IIS is Microsoft's main business offering
in the Web server software market. Billed as more of an extension
of the operating system, it is included on the "Windows NT
Option Pack" CD that comes bundled with NT 4.0. As a Windows-based
application, it offers the same ease of use as many other Windows
applications, including "Wizards" that assist with setup
and maintenance of the software. It should be easy for anyone familiar
with the NT OS to set up.
IIS really shines when it comes to
the handling of Active Server Pages (ASPs), pages that are generated
by the Web server software using Active X scripting - usually Visual
Basic Script or JavaScript code. IIS offers superior ASP-based interface
to ODBC sources like Access and SQL-Server.
IIS Pros:
Microsoft product. Since IIS is a
Microsoft product, it not only has the same heavy backing as other
Microsoft products, but is integrated seamlessly into the OS itself.
This means you can do things like drag and drop files into the software
for instant availability on the Web with a minimum of hassle.
Comes free with NT. If you do decide that NT is the
best OS to use, IIS is included in the box.
Limits bandwidth. Unlike other server software, IIS
has the ability to limit how much bandwidth your web pages have
available. Thus, if your ISP charges extra if you use more than
a given amount of bandwidth in a month, you can set your Web server
to limit itself to using that much bandwidth, saving you from having
to pay an extra monthly fee.
Crash protection. If one application running on the
server crashes, the Web server and other applications continue to
run, and the failed application restarts the next time a user requests
it.
IIS Cons:
Limited to NT-based systems. IIS is not available
for use on non-NT systems. This means that if you think a UNIX-based
OS is what you're looking for, you can't use IIS.
Closed source. As with NT, the source code to
IIS is
Microsoft's proprietary information - you can't get access to it
to make changes. This also means that there aren't many third-party
developers working on improving the core software.
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