The Virtualization Journal

The instructions below show you how to first install and configure IIS on Windows Vista, followed by instructions for installing Virtual Server 2005 R2.

Installation and Configuration of IIS on Windows Vista to Support Virtual Server 2005 R2

IIS installation on Vista is a straight forward process, but selecting all the required components to support the Virtual Server 2005 R2 administration web site operation is a little tricky.  While you could take the simple approach and install all features under IIS, that is not a good security practice.  Follow the procedures listed below to install only the required features of IIS to support Virtual Server.

Note:  If User Access Control is enabled on your system, you will have to approve the launch of the Control Panel application since it requires administrative rights.

Installing IIS on a Windows Vista machine

1. Logon to the Windows Vista machine with an account that has administrative rights
2. Click the Vista Start icon
3. Select Control Panel

4. Click the Programs option; this will present you with a new dialog shown below

5. Under the Programs and Features option, click the Turn Windows Features on or off option and you will be presented with the Windows Features installation dialog. 

1. Expand the Internet Information Services node
2. Expand the Web Management Tools node
• Enable IIS Management Console
3.  Expand the IIS 6 Management Compatibility node
• Enable IIS Metabase and IIS 6 configuration compatibility
4. Expand the World Wide Web Services node
5. Expand the Application Development Features node
• Enable CGI
6. Expand the Common HTTP Features node and enable the following options:
• Default Document
• Directory Browsing
• HTTP Errors
• Static Content
7. Expand the Health and Diagnostics node and enable the following options:
• HTPP Logging
• Request Monitor
8. Expand the Performance Features node
• Enable Static Content Compression
9. Expand the Security node
• Enable Windows Authentication

After all selections have been made, the options should look like

To close the window, click OK .

Installation of Virtual Server 2005 R2

1. Download Virtual Server 2005 R2 or Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 Beta 2 from the Microsoft Download site (screen shots reflect installation using VS 2005 R2 SP1 Beta 2)
2. Right-Click the Setup.exe and Select Run As Administrator to start the installation
3. Click the button to Install Virtual Server 2005 R2
4. Read the license term and select I accept the terms of this license agreement if you agree, then click Next.
5. On the Customer Information dialog, enter your User Name and Organization, the Product ID should be grayed out and already provided.  Click Next
6. You are now on the Setup Type dialog.  Since we are doing a single server installation we want to select the default option of a Complete Install. 
7. Click Next.
8. Select the port that you want to use for the Virtual Server administration web site or use the default of 80 on Vista. 
9. Select the default option of Configure the Administration Website to always run as the authenticated user, then click Next.

10. Accept the default to Enable Virtual Server extensions in Windows Firewall. This will automatically enable firewall exceptions for the Virtual Server Web site and the VMRC protocol in the Windows Firewall.
11. Click Next.
12. You have now selected all the configuration options for Virtual Server 2005 R2.  Click Install to complete the installation. 
13. You should see the installation proceed, and then you will see a Internet Explorer window display that provides a summary of the installation and the links to the new Virtual Server Administration web site.

NOTE: You will have to Right-Click the IE Icon and select Run As Administrator, then type http://localhost/VirtualServer/VSWebApp.exe?view=1 to run the admin console and get connected.  By default, even if you are an admin in Vista, IE runs at lower privileges.