As with PHP, we're going to need to install a web server to actually serve the pages to our visitors. I'll be using Windows XP for this tutorial as that's most commonly out there. You could also do this with Windows 2000 (not recommended, it's a bit aging) or Windows 2003. I'm no expert on Vista but from what I hear its web server is pretty crippled so it's probably not the best choice. Regardless of the version of Windows you use, the process should be fairly similar. It's important that you install IIS before Visual Web Developer. If you install IIS afterwards, it's not going to be configured correctly. You're better off reinstalling Visual Studio Web Developer than trying to debug IIS if it was installed afterwards.

To install IIS in Windows XP, go to the Windows Control Panel. You can do that by going to Start -> Control Panel. Go to Classic View to get a view similar to this:


The Windows Control Panel

Open up the Add/Remove programs applet. On the left side choose Add/Remove Windows Components. In the list you will want to find Internet Information Services (IIS) and make sure it's checked. If it is already, just cancel this dialog. You're ready to install the other applications. If not, check the box and keep hitting next until IIS is properly installed on your machine.


Install IIS

Once IIS is completely installed you're ready to continue with the next step.