Member Avatar for timhysniu

... I hope I am not annoying the admins already.

Can anyone recommend me a good webserver for ASP/ASP.NET, Java and VBasic? My friend suggested Appache Webserver (I got some instructions on how to set it up but I barely know if I'm going to be able to make it work).

All the help is appreciated for this poor beginner :mrgreen:

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Short, practical update for and anyone landing here years later:

For Windows-only hosting of classic ASP / legacy ASP.NET use IIS — it remains the built-in, supported choice on Windows. For modern .NET web work (ASP.NET Core) the app runs on the cross‑platform Kestrel server; in production you normally run Kestrel behind a reverse proxy (IIS, Nginx or Apache) so you get SSL, process management and load‑balancing features. For Java servlet/JSP work pick a servlet container such as Apache Tomcat. Visual Basic is a language — VB.NET is still supported, but Microsoft’s guidance is to avoid new web workloads in VB and prefer C# for fresh web projects. (learn.microsoft.com)

Quick local workflow you can apply immediately:

  • On Windows: Visual Studio + IIS Express is the fastest dev loop for ASP/ASP.NET; for ASP.NET Core you can also run the app directly with the dotnet CLI. Example (create + run a minimal app):

    dotnet new web -o MyApp
cd MyApp
dotnet run

  • For Java, download Tomcat and drop your WAR into webapps for a quick test. If you need several stacks side‑by‑side, use Docker or a VM to avoid port and dependency conflicts; containerized dev is well supported for .NET and Java. (learn.microsoft.com)

Security and troubleshooting checklist (gaps I saw in the thread):

  • Keep the server patched and behind a firewall (as / suggested); never expose a dev machine directly to the Internet.
  • Use a reverse proxy or a managed hosting environment for TLS termination and process restarts rather than opening raw app ports.
  • If moving older ASP/ASP.NET apps to a modern stack, plan whether to run them on IIS (Windows) or port/rewrite to ASP.NET Core (cross‑platform).
  • When you hit errors: check application‑pool identity and file permissions, server logs, and that the correct runtime (Framework vs .NET) is installed.

This keeps the original advice from the thread (IIS for Windows, Mono/Apache historical options) but brings it up to date and practical for a developer setting up a local multi‑stack environment today.

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Member Avatar for Tekmaven

The only web server that should be used for ASP.NET in a production environment is Internet Information Services (It's usually just called IIS). It is bundled with Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, and Windows Server 2003.

Windows 2000 has version 5.0, XP has 5.1, and 2003 has 6.0. There are many advantages to using IIS6 over the other versions, but if you have the older ones, it will work fine.

For Java, I think you could get IIS to work with JSPs, but I'm not sure. Lastly, Visual Basic is a language, not a web technology. Are you planning on using ASP with that? IIS supports ASP out of the box.

I'll reply with some good book suggetions later ;-).

Member Avatar for timhysniu

Perfect! Thanks so much

Member Avatar for Tekmaven

For what you're looking for, there is no all-in-one book. Each thing (ASP/ASP.NET/JSP, etc) has its own specific way of being installed. IIS comes with built in support for ASP, installing the Microsoft .NET Framework will give you ASP.NET support, etc...

I did a little Amazon.com searching, and the book that looked the best was, IIS 6: The Complete Reference. If ya grab the book, tell us how it is :-|.

Member Avatar for BinaryMayhem

*note*
if you go the route of IIS make sure you patch your server and keep up with the patches!

Member Avatar for Tekmaven

*note*
if you go the route of IIS make sure you patch your server and keep up with the patches!

I'm almost positive that IIS6 has 0 securty patches. Secure by default; who would have guessed?

Tekmaven™

Member Avatar for jackster

0 security patches.. on what planet..

also make sure you have a firewall.. and that the smtp server that is in IIS is not left as on open relay.

you can use IIS as a base to host vertually any type of file...

if you install the .net framework after installing IIS you have have to activate asp.net manually... search and runt he file C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v1.1.4322\aspnet_regiis.exe -1

good luck


PS.. i recomend asp.net over eberything else.. and also c# not vb.net is my personal choice

Member Avatar for percent20

I don't know about the number of patches that IIS 6 has but I do know that they only have 3 secureity problems scince it was introduced as opposed to Apaches 2.x 24. I think that is why he said there are no security patches.

Apache will run ASP.NET websites now. Check out the mono project they have some stuff for you to do with it. but i would suggest using IIS 6.0 Much nicer.

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