Determining Web Site Compatibility with IIS 6.0

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Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 with SP1

Before you migrate to IIS, you must determine the compatibility of the Apache Web site with IIS 6.0. Because of architectural differences, Web sites hosted on Apache have different dependencies than Web sites hosted on IIS. For example, some PHP applications running on Apache use MySQL to connect to databases, whereas IIS Web sites use Microsoft ActiveX® Data Objects (ADO) or Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) to connect to databases. After you migrate an Apache Web site that uses MySQL for database connectivity, you must modify the Web site content to use ADO database connectivity.

Table 7.1 lists the Apache Web site components that you must consider before migrating the Apache Web site to IIS 6.0, along with brief descriptions of the compatibility issues, if any, that can result after migration.

Table 7.1 Apache Web Site Component Migration Compatibility Issues

Web Site Component Description Compatibility Issues

Static content

Static content contains no executable code. Examples of static content include HTML, .jpg, and .gif files.

Static content should migrate to IIS 6.0 without any modifications. However, IIS 6.0 MIME types might need to be configured to enable static content file types that are not well known.

For more information about MIME types, see Configuring File MIME Types on IIS 6.0 later in this section.

Dynamic content

Dynamic content contains executable code. Examples of dynamic content include CGI and PHP files.

To run Apache dynamic content on IIS, you must do one of the following:

  • Run the executable code on an appropriate environment that is compatible with IIS 6.0.

  • Convert the executable code to an environment that is supported by IIS 6.0.

For more information, see Migrating Apache-Specific Extensions later in this section.

Database connectivity

Database connectivity provides a standardized method of connecting to various database systems. MySQL is the most common database connectivity standard used in Apache Web sites.

To provide database connectivity on IIS 6.0, you must do one of the following:

  • Obtain a version of MySQL that is compatible with IIS 6.0.

  • Convert the executable code so that it uses ADO. ADO is the database connectivity standard supported by IIS 6.0.

For more information, see Migrating Apache-Specific Extensions later in this section.

External modules

External modules provide extended features to Apache Web sites. These components include Cold Fusion and Wpoison.

To use the features provided by these external modules, you must do one of the following:

  • Obtain a version of the external module that is compatible with IIS 6.0.

  • Convert the external module to IIS 6.0. For example, Wpoison is written in CGI and can be converted to run on IIS 6.0.

For more information, see Migrating Apache-Specific Extensions later in this section.