Happy 2008, folks. We have been in offline blog mode for some time, but we are getting back on the stick here for the new year.
Look for an update e-mail tomorrow from Port80 Software with information on IIS 7, httpZip 4.0 for IIS compression with 64 bit support (we are looking for beta testers), ServerDefender AI 1.1 (with some new features and a helpful evaluation guide), and a list of good Web dev and network freeware tools.
We also just got an e-mail from IIS guru Brett Hill that announced the IIS Team at Redmond has released a new IIS migration tool. They are looking for us in the IIS Community at large to use the tool and maybe give them some feedback. Here are the details copied below.
More to come in from the Port80 Team in 2008 (including httpZip.NET and a new ServerDefender VP tool). Windows Server 2008 is going to be an interesting launch given Vista and the direct impact of a whole new IIS in the 7.0 version. We have our own lists, but what are your key IIS challenges for 2008? We would love to hear what you are up to!
Cheers,
Port80 Software
FROM THE MICROSOFT IIS TEAM:
IIS is thrilled to announce the Technical Preview 1 release of the Microsoft Web Deployment Tool! The tool provides deployment and migration support for IIS 6.0 and 7.0. It incorporates many features that enable web server administrators to deploy, sync and migrate sites, including configuration, content, SSL certificates and other types of content associated with a Web server.
This tool can be used on Windows Server 2008 and IIS 7.0 as well as Windows Server 2003 and IIS 6.0. Please note that this is a Technical Preview release of the tool and should not be used on production servers. For a Tech Preview, only forum level support is available.
How to Get Started
Download and read the walkthroughs: http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=8100895
Download the x86 version: http://www.iis.net/downloads/default.aspx?tabid=34&g=6&i=1602
Download the x64 version: http://www.iis.net/downloads/default.aspx?tabid=34&g=6&i=1603
Web Deployment Tool forum: http://forums.iis.net/1144.aspx
Web Deployment Team blog: http://blogs.iis.net/msdeploy/
Features
The following list contains several of the features in this version:
· Synchronization and Snapshot of IIS 6.0/IIS 7.0:
The sync operation provides administrators with a way to quickly synchronize a site or server and deploy changes to existing sites and servers. A synchronization allows you to synchronize one source with one destination. For example, you can synchronize two directory paths or two web servers. The sync can be performed with local or remote objects.
The snapshot, or archive, functionality allows administrators or developers to quickly take an archive of their web site or server for rollback, restore or backup purposes.
· Migration from IIS 6.0:
The migrate operation provides administrators with a way to migrate sites or entire servers from IIS 6.0 to IIS 7.0, including their settings and content. A migration is essentially a way of synchronizing, filtered by migration rules. For example, when migrating from IIS 6.0 to IIS 7.0, MS Deploy will check the value of some properties and see if it is the IIS 6.0 default. If it is the default, such as the log files directory, it will instead use the value set on the IIS 7.0 server. This enables a server admin to maintain new settings on IIS 7.0 while moving sites or applications from IIS 6.0.
· Analysis of IIS 6.0 Installed Features:
The analyze operation allows administrators to check what components are installed on the source server. In this way, they can determine if features are present that they will need in IIS 7.0 or that require more advanced setup than simply copying files. For example, ASP.NET requires more than a file copy and will need to be installed on the destination server.
· Troubleshooting and Validation Features:
For validating an operation, the -whatif flag allows administrators to see what actions would happen when they perform an operation. This is especially useful for performing sync or migration, when they want to validate what changes will be made before performing them. For troubleshooting, the -verboseLevel flag allows administrators to get rich detail about what operations are being performed, and upon failure, the ability to diagnose the problem.