Web Platform Installer hits RC Milestone

The folks over in the Web Platform have released a RC (Release Candidate) version of the Web Platform Installer.  What is this Web Platform installer you ask?  Keep reading to find out more!

Have you ever wanted to deploy an IIS website and been stymied by the myriad of installers and downloads that you have to collect? We tout an integrated platform, yet one of the knocks against Microsoft is that we make it difficult to go get all of the various components. That problem is no more. As my buddy David Lowe in the IIS team says: “It’s like Magnum PI, but without the moustache”.

Who’s it for? IT Professionals, Website Administrators, and Website Developers.

When does it ship? Web Platform Installer is currently released in Release Candidate form.

· https://www.microsoft.com/web/channel/products/WebPlatformInstaller.aspx

What does it do? It’s a single tool that helps you get started installing the Microsoft Web Platform including:

· ASP.NET components

· SQL Server 2008 Express Edition (and all required pre-requisite software)

· IIS Extensions such as Secure FTP, Web Playlists, URL Rewriter, and much more!

· Visual Web Developer

· .NET Framework 3.5 SP1

· SQL Server Driver for PHP

WOW! Impressive, but what if I don’t want to install all of that stuff? WebPI is great in that you can chose a complete install of all the software in the suite, a subset of software specifically designed for the ASP.NET Developer, or even your very own customized configuration.

It’s a Beta? Yes. Currently this is the Release Candidate version of Web PI, but in the coming weeks, the various teams will be releasing updates that offer even more functionality to allow you to setup the Web applications you want and need. All you have to do is use Web PI to configure your environment and then you can stay up to date with the latest product releases and new additions to the Microsoft Web Platform.

Where can I get more information?

Microsoft’s Web Platform Site

IIS.net forums on Web PI

Windows Server Team blog post on Web PI