IIS is, as a Web server, core element of various Web-based applications like SAP. Availability and performance of these applications are directly connected with the availability and performance of IIS and its components.

IIS supports the following communication protocols that are defined by official RFC standards and are already established in the Internet and Intranet.

• Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP): Publishing of Internet and Intranet sites
• Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP): protocol for the upload of electronic mail through the Internet / Intranet
• File Transfer Protocol (FTP): exchange of large data sets through the Internet / Intranet, also between differing platforms
• Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP): supports discussion forums (newsgroups) in the Internet / Intranet

IIS is also basic element of many Microsoft middleware applications like Share Point Portal Server or Exchange.

IIS supports the four mentioned protocols with dedicated virtual servers, which have the same features like the services of an operating system. Every virtual server has its own IP address, its own methodology for answering application queries, its own way of placing and managing files and its own procedure for error processing.

Therefore every server requires individual monitoring. The master server (IIS Admin) controls all four virtual servers and thus performs a central function.

The following attributes are monitored and analyzed in detail:

Central attributes

• current service status
• use of system resources through the process triggered by the service (CPU, memory, handles, threats, etc.)
• expiration of SSL certificates
• automatic analysis of all protocols
• file management of protocols (removal from storage, deletion)
• messages in the event log

HTTP virtual server attributes

• number of active client connections to the server
• number of “anonymous” users
• amount of data transferred from and to the server
• current transfer rate from and to the server
• number of client requests
• number of errors due to unfound documents
• number of errors due to logged documents
• current size of the logging directory
• number of log files in the logging directory

What’s more, the data collector permits a periodic check of the HTTP services for availability and basis performance through simulated queries.

SMTP virtual server attributes

• number of active client connections to the server
• volume and speed of data transfer from and to the server
• message queue length
• number of received and sent messages
• current message transfer rate
• number of undeliverable messages
• number of connection errors
• current size of the logging directory
• number of log files in the logging directory

What’s more, the data collector permits a periodic check of the SMTP services for availability and basis performance through the dispatch of a simulated mail.

FTP virtual server attributes

• number of active client connections to the server
• number of “anonymous” users
• number of transferred files
• current transfer rate from and to the server
• current size of the logging directory
• number of log files in the logging directory

What’s more, the data collector permits a periodic check of the FTP services for availability and basis performance through the establishment of a simulated connection.

NNTP virtual server attributes

• number of active client connections to the server
• number of “anonymous” users
• current transfer rate from and to the server
• number of sent and received articles
• current size of the logging directory
• number of log files in the logging directory

In addition to this, various IIS values and configurations can be directly displayed in lists.

theGuard! ApplicationManager includes pre-configured thresholds for the monitoring of IIS.

• availability and performance of the Internet Information Server and all Web applications based on it
• usage measurement for workload balancing
• storage optimization for application files