HTTP compression speeds up file delivery across the Internet, keeps your users happy with faster page loads, and dramatically reduces bandwidth costs. Compression was non-existent on IIS 4 and broken on IIS 5, but Windows Server 2003 with Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 now offers great out-of-the-box compression embedded into the core Web server code itself. ZipEnable allows you to easily get the absolute most out of IIS 6 built-in compression. While Port80 Software's httpZip is the best ISAPI compression solution for Windows Web servers, we highly recommend that you use the internal compression engine in IIS 6.0 - it's lightning fast, incurs minimal resource penalties, and you already bought it when you bought the OS.
The one major drawback to IIS 6.0 native compression is the absence of configuration options via the Web server management interface. IIS 6.0 does not provide a GUI to the majority of controls. Necessities like site level compression, compression schemes, and all advanced settings are only accessible via the IIS metabase. With ZipEnable, you now have more than an "ON/OFF" choice and can granularly manage IIS 6.0 native compression at the global, site, directory, and file levels -- and all without writing a single line of code or editing the IIS metabase. You can easily configure compression on all static and dynamic files, including both those that are compressed by default (HTML and ASP) and those that are not (JavaScript, CSS, Cold Fusion, PHP, etc.).
ZipEnable also provides real-time browser compatibility checking to make sure that you only send compressed content to browsers that can handle decompression, and CPU roll-off to keep compression CPU cycles within your comfort zone. ZipEnable is available as a free 30-day trial, and, like all Port80 Software products, ZipEnable includes free technical support. IIS 6 compression works -- you just need ZipEnable to manage it safely and efficiently!
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