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Internet and e-mail services and features

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

Internet and e-mail services and features

This topic contains a brief overview of the Internet services and features in this release. It is divided into three sections: New and updated features since Windows Server 2003 (without SP1), New and updated features since Windows NT 4.0, and New and updated features since Windows 2000.

For links to more information about the features in this release, see New Features.

The Windows Server 2003 family includes improved support for a wide variety of Internet capabilities.

New and updated features since Windows Server 2003 (without SP1)

Windows Server 2003 operating systems with Service Pack 1 (SP1) offer the following improvements (compared to Windows Server 2003 without SP1) that help provide increased levels of support for Internet services:

  • Group Policy additions under "Internet Communication Management"
    Windows Server 2003 with SP1 contains Group Policy settings that were not available in the original release of Windows Server 2003. Some of these settings can be found in Group Policy under the key called Internet Communication Management. This key is located within GPMC in Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System and in User Configuration\Administrative Templates\System. The settings under the Internet Communication Management key are designed to help you control the way components in Windows Server 2003 with SP1 communicate with the Internet.

New and updated features since Windows NT 4.0

The Windows Server 2003 family offers the following improvements (in comparison to Windows NT 4.0) that help provide increased levels of support for Internet services:

  • Active Server Pages
    Active Server Pages (ASP) is a server-side scripting environment for creating dynamic, interactive Web server applications. With ASP, developers can combine Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) pages, script commands, and Component Object Model (COM) components as needed to create flexible Web-based applications.
  • Windows Media Services
    Using Windows Media Services, you can deliver high-quality streaming multimedia to users on the Internet and intranets. Windows Media Services is not included with Windows Server 2003, Web Edition or the Itanium-based versions of the Windows Server 2003 family.
  • Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning
    Using Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV), remote authors can use a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) connection to work with files. For more information, see Disk and file management features.
  • Application recycling
    Application recycling enhances the reliability and health of servers. You can refresh applications and prevent possible resource leaks, which increases the reliability and availability of your servers.

New and updated features since Windows 2000

The Windows Server 2003 family offers the following improvements (in comparison to Windows 2000) that help provide increased levels of support for Internet services:

  • Microsoft .NET Framework components
    Microsoft .NET Framework offers a wide range of possibilities for building, deploying, and managing Web services. For more information, see Microsoft .NET Framework.
  • Internet Information Services 6.0
    Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 is a full-featured Web server that has been optimized for running Web applications and Web services in a hosting environment. Many new features have been included in IIS 6.0 to enhance reliability, security, manageability, and performance. Note
    • By default, IIS is not installed with new installations of Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition; Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition; and Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition. You can add it by using the Configure Your Server Wizard or by using Add or Remove Programs.
  • Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration Services
    Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) is an industry specification for publishing and locating information about Web services. Some products in the Windows Server 2003 family include UDDI Services, a Web service that provides UDDI capabilities for use within an enterprise or across organizations. UDDI Services is a standards-based XML Web service designed for enterprise developers to efficiently discover, share, and reuse Web services directly through their development tools. UDDI Services is not included with Windows Server 2003, Web Edition. In addition, Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, supports only stand-alone installations of UDDI Services. Distributed installation support is available with Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition, and Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition. In a stand-alone installation of UDDI Services, both the UDDI Web server component and the UDDI database component are installed onto a single server. In a distributed installation, UDDI components are distributed across multiple servers. For more information about Windows Server 2003, Web Edition, see Overview of Windows Server 2003, Web Edition.
  • E-mail services (POP3, SMTP)
    The POP3 service provides e-mail transfer and retrieval services. Administrators can use the POP3 service to store and manage e-mail accounts on the mail server. Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) supports the transfer of e-mail between servers. For more information, see POP3 Service and Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service.
  • Configuration Database WMI Provider
    The Configuration Database WMI Provider for IIS facilitates cross-application administration of servers that are running IIS. Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) has a rich schema and associative approach to modeling application configuration, which makes it possible to write scripts that manage all aspects of a Web application, including system configuration, application files, and databases.