This kit is a definitive support guide to IIS deployment and Web application development for IIS Web sites. It covers IIS from a wide variety of angles, including performance tuning, the content-creation life cycle, and management of Internet Service Provider (ISP) functionality. A compilation of the knowledge of the IIS development and support teams, the Resource Kit is written in typical Microsoft manual style--short on liveliness yet methodical and well-researched.

The book begins with an architectural overview of IIS 4.0 and then presents a process for bringing content to the Web. Whether you're planning content or staffing a large-scale publishing project, the kit discusses it, as well as issues related to hardware, network configurations, and performance tuning. Webmasters will find an immense amount of material they can use for site administration.

Particularly thorough is the section on application development, with a strong focus on Active Server Pages (ASP) and database transaction management. Security, legacy database compatibility, and Web site migration are also covered. The CD-ROM included is packed with utilities and components to round out this top-notch guide. --Stephen W. Plain