IIS & Exchange Digest

Stumpled across a interesting new module for IIS 7.0: Helicon APE (APache Emulation) by Helicon Tech, currently in beta and available for download.

Helicon Ape is a unique module that emulates Apache execution environment on Microsoft IIS. It literally implements Apache configuration model (like .htaccess and httpd.conf files) and all most demanded Apache modules in a single IIS add-on, not only making IIS compatible with Apache, but also extending it’s functionality by a number of highly essential features.

Key features of Helicon APE:

• compatibility with Apache modules configurations (beta version includes only basic modules but the list will be extending with future releases)
• unprecedented compatibility with PHP-based applications;
• user-friendly interface and plain text configurations (no XML!)
• per-site installation without hosting administration involvement/assistance
• powerful and flexible modules for URL rewriting
• extensive forward and reverse proxy instruments
• comprehensive authorization capabilities

Benefits:

• users can move their Apache web sites to IIS without modifications
• current PHP and other Unix oriented web applications can be easily configured for IIS
• flexible user permissions control (as they implemented in Apache world)
• powerful URL rewriting compatible with Apache does not require rule redesign
• reverse and forward proxy features available for your web server
• low level controls over web site behavior open extended abilities for optimisation, security and performance

Currently implemented modules:

• mod_auth_basic - allows the use of HTTP Basic Authentication
• mod_auth_digest - allows the use of MD5 Digest Authentication
• mod_authn_anon - configures anonymous users access authenticated areas
• mod_authn_default - rejects whatever credentials if no authentication is set
• mod_authn_file - provides authentication based on user look-up in plain text password file
• mod_authz_default - rejects any authorization request if no authentication is configured
• mod_authz_groupfile - allows or denies access to particular areas of the site depending on user group membership
• mod_authz_host - allows access control to particular parts of web server based on hostname, IP address, or other characteristics of the client request
• mod_authz_user - allows or denies access of authenticated users to portions of the web site
• mod_core - implements core features of Helicon Ape
• mod_env - allows control of the environment provided to CGI scripts and SSI pages
• mod_expires - allows setting of Expires HTTP header and max-age directive of Cache-Control HTTP header in server responses in relation to either the time the source file was last modified, or to the time of the client access
• mod_headers - enables modification of HTTP request and response headers
• mod_proxy - implements forward and reverse proxy functions for your IIS server
• mod_rewrite - allows rewriting of requested URLs on the fly based on regular-expressions-based rules and various conditions
• mod_setenvif - allows setting environment variables depending on whether different parts of the request match specified regular expressions
• mod_so - emulates loading modules functions

More info. and download at: http://www.helicontech.com/ape/