I do this IIS or Internet Information Services is the best choice for an application server. This is because it is a windows system. It provides a secure, easy to manage, modular and extensible platform for hosting websites, services and applications. With IIS you can maximize web security with a reduced server foot print and automatic application isolation. IIS 7.0 and up have a modular architecture. Modules, also called extensions, can be added or removed individually so that only modules that are required for specific functions are installed. IIS in my opinion will be the best choice for this server, because of all the information that I provided above, and the fact that I’m more comfortable with windows based systems.
The ports that need to be open to host ftp, http, https, and streaming media are listed below. 1. FTP a. The default port range is 1024-5000, but the upper range can be changed. 2. HTTP b. Port 80 or port 8530 3. HTTPS c. Port 443 or port 8531 4. Streaming media d. Windows Media server uses TCP in ports to accept an incoming HTTP connection (80), RTSP connection (554), MMS connection (443). e. Windows Media Server uses UDP out ports 1024-5000 and 5004.
Due to the design of IIS and its security features I don’t see many security concerns with having all these ports open on the same server. Although there is no way for any system to be completely safe. S 7.0 and above takes this approach the next step by introducing the minimum install by default approach. IIS includes a completely modular Web server that has been componentized into more than four to five times the number of installable components as previous versions of IIS. With IIS, only the bare minimum number of components are installed and enabled.
This has several key benefits:
