Installing Virtual Server on Windows Vista Beta 2

People have been asking me how to install Virtual Server on Windows Vista Beta 2. There are a couple of things to know in order to do this:

  1. The default install of IIS on Windows Vista Beta 2 is missing several components the Virtual Server needs to run. Most importantly it does not support CGI applications or Windows authentication. You can either manually select these components under the Windows component installer - or you can run the following command (all one line):

    start /w pkgmgr /l:log.etw /iu:IIS-WebServerRole;IIS-WebServer;IIS-CommonHttpFeatures;IIS-StaticContent;IIS-DefaultDocument;IIS-DirectoryBrowsing;IIS-HttpErrors;IIS-HttpRedirect;IIS-ApplicationDevelopment;IIS-ASPNET;IIS-NetFxExtensibility;IIS-ASP;IIS-CGI;IIS-ISAPIExtensions;IIS-ISAPIFilter;IIS-ServerSideIncludes;IIS-HealthAndDiagnostics;IIS-HttpLogging;IIS-LoggingLibraries;IIS-RequestMonitor;IIS-HttpTracing;IIS-CustomLogging;IIS-ODBCLogging;IIS-Security;IIS-BasicAuthentication;IIS-WindowsAuthentication;IIS-DigestAuthentication;IIS-ClientCertificateMappingAuthentication;IIS-IISCertificateMappingAuthentication;IIS-URLAuthorization;IIS-RequestFiltering;IIS-IPSecurity;IIS-Performance;IIS-HttpCompressionStatic;IIS-HttpCompressionDynamic;IIS-WebServerManagementTools;IIS-ManagementConsole;IIS-ManagementScriptingTools;IIS-ManagementService;IIS-IIS6ManagementCompatibility;IIS-Metabase;IIS-WMICompatibility;IIS-LegacyScripts;IIS-LegacySnapIn;IIS-FTPPublishingService;IIS-FTPServer;IIS-FTPManagement;WAS-WindowsActivationservice;WAS-ProcessModel;WAS-NetFxEnvironment;WAS-ConfigurationAPI

    (I have attached this command in a text file to help with running it)

    Once you have done this you should be able to install Virtual Server (remember to launch the installer 'as administrator').

    UPDATE1: If you do a manual installation of IIS (rather than using the script) you will also need to select to install everything under the 'IIS 6 Management Compatibility' section under 'Web Management tools' (and the already mentioned CGI and Windows authentication support).

    UPDATE2: The above command line seems to not work on some systems. If the install does not work - try using the manual method.

  2. In order to access Virtual Server, you will need to launch Internet Explorer 'as Administrator' and manually go to the Virtual Server website (https://localhost/VirtualServer/vswebapp.exe)

With these two simple steps - you should be able to use Virtual Server on Windows Vista Beta 2 with no problems.

Cheers,
Ben

vistaIISInstall.txt