Network Computingwww.networkcomputing.com

The main disadvantage of using virtual directories is the slight drop in performance that occurs when content stored on remote servers is accessed over the network. This can be minimized by:

• Upgrading network cards in servers
• Locating Web servers physically close to stored content

Virtual directories can be created and managed using any of the following tools:

• The Internet Services Manager (ISM)
• The HTML version of the Internet Service Manager
• The Windows Scripting Host

First create and store the Web content that needs to be published in either a local directory on your IIS server or on a remote network share. Assign appropriate NTFS permissions for controlling access to the folder containing your content.

From the Microsoft Management Console, right-click the Web site (here the Default Web Site) to which you wish to add a virtual directory. From the shortcut menu that appears, select New, Virtual Directory, and the New Virtual Directory Wizard will appear.

The New Virtual Directory Wizard.

Specifying the alias to use.

Specifying the path to use.

Specifying the UNC path to remotely stored content.

Specifying the credentials to access remote content.

Finally, specify the IIS access permissions you want for the virtual directory (Figure 5-6). These include whether or not to allow:

• Read access
• Write access
• Script access
• Execute access
• Directory browsing access

Specifying access permissions for the virtual directory.