IIS 6.0 Core Components

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

IIS 6.0 contains several core components that perform important functions in the new IIS architecture. The more that you know about these components, the better you can use IIS 6.0 to your advantage and effectively troubleshoot any issues that might arise.

Most of these core components were briefly described in Overview of IIS 6.0 Architecture. This section provides additional details, including how these core components interact with each other or how they function in each of the two application isolation modes. For example, you can read about the following topics in this section:

  • HTTP Protocol Stack (HTTP.sys). How the HTTP protocol stack protects the operating system kernel from the effects of imperfect application code, and how it handles kernel-mode queuing.

  • Worker processes. How the worker process is controlled by the WWW service in both application isolation modes, but in different ways.

  • WWW Service Administration and Monitoring. How the WWW Service Administration and Monitoring component manages the lifetime of the worker process.

  • Inetinfo.exe. How the role of Inetinfo.exe has changed since IIS 5.0.

  • IIS Metabase. Benefits of the new XML metabase, especially in diagnosing possible metabase corruption or in reading and editing the metabase configuration.