Overview of Windows Server 2003, Web Edition

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Overview of Windows Server 2003, Web Edition

Microsoft® Windows Server™ 2003, Web Edition, is a part of the Microsoft® Windows Server 2003 family. It is an easy-to-deploy, easy-to-manage server operating system that is optimized to be a complete Web hosting package.

Windows Server 2003, Web Edition, includes the following features:

  • Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0, which provides a robust architecture for building and publishing secure Web applications

  • Revolutionary Microsoft ASP.NET, for deploying Web services and applications rapidly

  • Remotely administered management, with an easy-to-use, task-driven, internationalized Web user interface (UI)

  • Remote Desktop for Administration, which provides remote access to the desktop of any computer running a product in the Windows Server 2003 family

  • Web Interface for Remote Administration, for configuring and managing a server from a remote client, including creating and deleting Web sites, configuring network settings, setting disk quotas, managing local user accounts, and restarting the Web server

  • Flexibility to use Microsoft Management Console (MMC) and scripting, using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) for detailed control and management

  • Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV), so that users can easily publish, manage, and share information over the Web

  • Additional wizards to make it easier for administrators to set up and manage secure authentication and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) security

  • Improved CPU throttling, which helps organizations to allocate CPU resources on a per-site basis

  • Scalability through Network Load Balancing

  • Reliability and security improvements for the entire Windows Server 2003 family

Because Windows Server 2003, Web Edition, is optimized for Web serving and hosting, the following features are not included:

  • Server clusters

  • Terminal Server (Note that Remote Desktop for Administration is available.)

  • File Server for Macintosh and Print Server for Macintosh

  • Infrared (IR) support

  • Printer and fax sharing

  • Internet Authentication Service (IAS)

  • Remote Storage

  • Remote Installation Services (RIS)

  • Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) services

  • Windows Media Services

A server running Windows Server 2003, Web Edition, cannot be established as a domain controller, and it cannot be configured as a host for other server applications, such as Certificate Services, Microsoft Exchange Server, or Microsoft SQL Server.

Virtual private network (VPN) connections are limited to one per media type: local area network (LAN), remote access (dial-up), and direct cable connection. Server Message Block (SMB) connections are limited to 10 simultaneous connections.

Notes

  • The feature limitations in this topic apply only to computers running the Windows Server 2003, Web Edition, operating system. If you enable Web services, such as IIS, on a computer running Microsoft® Windows Server® 2003, Standard Edition, or Microsoft® Windows Server™ 2003, Enterprise Edition, the feature limitations in this topic do not apply.

  • For the latest product information, see Windows Update at the Microsoft Web site. Windows Update is a catalog of items, such as drivers, patches, the latest Help files, and Internet products, that you can download to keep your computer up to date.