In our last article on performance tuning, we examined how to squeeze the most performance out of an Apache server. In this installment, we'll take a look at how to apply some of these same principles to Microsoft's Internet Information Server (IIS), which ships as part of Windows Server.

While its percentage of the Web server market share has declined in recent years relative to Apache, IIS still remains the second most deployed Web server on the Internet. Its deep integration with Windows and host of management utilities make it a great choice for anyone hosting Web content and applications in a Windows environment. With a little performance tuning (aided, of course, by load testing), an IIS machine can perform just as well as an equivalent Apache configuration under high load.

The Usual Suspects: Compression and Connection Management

Many of the techniques a team might use to enhance IIS performance are similar to the techniques used on Apache, as they involve configuration of the HTTP protocol.

I have received questions from customers about load testing reports that show their server doing some unexpected things. For example, a customer sent some server monitor that showed a pattern of large peaks of CPU utilization followed by a precipitous drop to a low level of usage. He wanted to know why LoadStorm wasn't applying a consistent load to his system as evidenced by the CPU spikes.