As you might expect, the text introduces infrastructure issues, what Web servers are, and what they do. The guide also explores the relationship between IIS and NT. (The two tools work closely together, of course.) Sections on installing IIS cover the basics and look at individual Web services separately, from FTP, Mail, News, and Microsoft's NetShow services to databases with SQL Server and Index Server. Sections on daily administration of IIS, including performance tuning and troubleshooting a Web server, are also good. Finally, the book introduces the new Microsoft administration tool, the Microsoft Management Console (MMC), in detail. With plenty of screen shots and a good deal of expertise, this install guide can benefit both the raw beginner and the more experienced administrator.

Not just for administrators, Using Internet Information Server 4 also has plenty of material for Web developers, with an introduction (and source code) for basic client and server-side Web technologies, including Active Server Pages (ASPs), VBScript, JavaScript, and database access through Internet Data Connector and ActiveX Data Objects. Expert programmers will want more details here, but these chapters provide a worthwhile introduction to the various solutions for providing dynamic Internet content.