How do I install IIS Express 7.5 onto Windows XP?

Question

While developing an ASP.NET application I tried to install IIS Express 7.5 onto Windows XP. I downloaded the installer and ran it - IIS installed okay (I see it in Add/Remove Programs list), but I didn't find anything for controlling it (like the IIS console).

My colleague told me I should use IIS Manager for IIS 6, I installed it, but it only allows me to control IIS 5 that was installed on XP from the very beginning. I tried to install IIS Manager for IIS 7 but when I ask it to connect to localhost it shown an error message saying it can't find Microsoft.Web.Administration assembly which AFAIK is only available on Vista and later versions.

How exactly do I install IIS Express 7.5 and some administration console to control it onto Windows XP?

Answer 1

Currently there is no UI for IIS Express. You can install WebMatrix from following link which provides some basic IIS Express mangement functionality.

http://www.microsoft.com/web/

OR

You can also use IIS Express from command line. Below link provides info about how to start use IIS Express from command line.

http://learn.iis.net/page.aspx/870/running-iis-express-from-the-command-line/

Answer 2

IIS 7.5 Express can be controlled via integration with VS2010 SP1, WebMatrix and the command line.

From the IIS 7.5 readme

You will most likely need an Integrated Development Environment to build web applications over IIS 7.5 Express. Microsoft WebMatrix provides a simple and integrated user experience for building both ASP.NET and PHP websites using IIS 7.5 Express. You can use IIS 7.5 Express with Visual Studio 2010 SP1 Beta to build and test web applications instead of the built-in ASP.NET Development Web Server (also known as Cassini). It is also possible to run IIS 7.5 Express using the command line.

I'd also check out the great blog post from Scott Guthrie