is a local installation of asp possible?

[moondance]

is there any way i can install and test asp on a local machine, in a similar way to testing php & apache on my own computer?

i know a bit of vb and would like to tinker with asp, but get snowed under all this talk of servers and win2k - i was just wondering if it can be installed locally like php.

thanks.

[gil davis]

Go to microsoft.com and look for PWS (personal web server). It is an add-on for Window 98.

[cmelnick]

If you are using NT or Win2000, install IIS from the Windows installation disc, and ASP will work by default...

Your web root will be set up as "C:\inetpub\wwwroot". To view a page that is in that directory, from your web browser, use the URL "http://localhost/..." for the address.

For example, if your homepage was in c:\inetpub\wwwroot\index.asp, you would type "http://localhost/index.asp" to view the page.

[PeOfEo]

An NT based os would be the best bet for running a windows server (any nt meaning 2000 xp w2k3). I would not try it on 98 or me though because if someone is lagging up your site you would risk it crashing or just not loading at all for other users due to the pre windows nt processing, the processor can only perform one thing at a time basically, if you have ever gotten an error, the system is busy you know what I mean. But IIS comes with the professional addition of any windows nt os so you might even have it already. I am running IIS 5.1 off of my home computer and I have asp and asp.net running off of it.

[moondance]

wow - after an unexpected problem :mad: i'm now ready to continue with this thread - sorry for the delay

i've been reading up on PWS and its supposed to be a bit of a joke - also i'm not sure if asp.net will work on pws - has anyone tried this for sure?

PeOfEo - i'm going to be installing and developing asp/ asp.net apps from my home computer where i want to simply learn and develop scripts before moving them to a web host. I have winXP home edition running on my computer. Is it possible to install iis on this? or is there a simple upgrade to turn my XP home into XP professional (thereby getting iis as a windows component?)

[gil davis]

PWS is a subset of IIS. Here is a chart comparison (it doesn't say anything about asp or asp.net):
http://www.microsoft.com/ntworkstation/technicalresources/eval/scenarios/ntintranet/peerweb.asp

As to IIS, it comes with W2k and XP Professional. It is not available for XP Home Edition. See http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/pro/evaluation/overviews/iis.asp

I think you will need to use PWS. You'll have to upgrade to XP Professional to use IIS. If it is just for practice, you can at least test out ASP.

From http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/community/centers/iis/iis_faq.mspx :
Q. Is it possible to install either IIS or PWS in Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition?

A. Windows XP Home Edition does not support any version of IIS and cannot be made to run IIS by any reliable method. Windows XP Home Edition was not designed to be a development platform for Web-based applications. Upgrading to Windows XP Professional will allow you to install IIS 5.1 on your system so you can develop with ASP.Net. IIS 5.1 on Windows XP Professional is a full-featured and capable Web server, but is limited to 10 simultaneous connections since it is a workstation operating system and not a server platform. There are also a few other limitations consistent with Windows XP Professional being used as a client operating system and not a server operating system. By and large, these are the same differences you find in IIS 5.0 on Windows 2000 Professional, and Windows 2000 Server or Advanced Server. Nevertheless, Windows XP Professional is an excellent environment for developing Web-based applications with the .NET Framework.

[PeOfEo]

asp.net will not run on pws. I am pretty sure of that. I do not reccomend running asp of pws or any non NT based machines for that matter. It just seems to scream lag. You can run IIS on xp home. IIS just does not come with home. IIS will run on anything NT based, same with asp.net anything NT based. But if you are going to upgrade if you can get a copy of w2k3. It is a great server operating system, but not just that it is a great operating system for home use. It is basically xp, except it was stripped down to run faster as a server. So it might have some more compadability issues that you would probably never notice because they would affect dumb products that you would never use. But it runs extreamly fast. It is great for gameing if you configure it correctly. Such as processor useage to programs not background and a few other settings. Plus it comes with IIS6 which has great performance and the security is actually pretty good.

[gil davis]

Originally posted by PeOfEo
You can run IIS on xp home.Isn't it a bit reckless to say this, since Microsoft documentation clearly indicates that it will not (their exact words were "cannot be made to run IIS by any reliable method")?

[PeOfEo]

But I have been under the impression that iis will run on any nt based os, xp home is nt based. I can see how some features might not work and how some other new stuff might need to be installed, but I do not see why iis would not work. I have never tried it, but if it does not run it would be because ms wants you to buy xp pro to use iis.
EDIT: I read that for myself, that is crap. Its not a question of weather iis can run its a question of weather ms will let it. I was nder the impresion that iis can take to any nt os (not neccessarily any particular version, just iis in general). Guess that is one of the reasons why xp pro is more expencive.

[moondance]

so if i manage to get a copy of windows 2003, and install it, will it be a clean computer - will i lose all my current files and documents, or will it just upgrade the windows os files?

[PeOfEo]

when you upgrade it deletes the windows folder and installs it own. That is from xp. But I do not know if it will work from another os. You might end up having to just reformat the hard drive.