IIS vs Windows Server AppFabric comparison

IIS and Windows Server AppFabric are both solutions in the Application Infrastructure category. IIS is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.1, while Windows Server AppFabric is ranked #17 with an average rating of 8.5. IIS holds a 12.8% mindshare in AIS, compared to Windows Server AppFabric’s 0.6% mindshare. Additionally, 89% of IIS users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Windows Server AppFabric users who would recommend it.

IIS

Read 55 IIS reviews

3,058 Views
2,314 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

Windows Server AppFabric

Read 4 Windows Server AppFabric reviews

172 Views
108 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IIS

Windows Server AppFabric

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IIS and Windows Server AppFabric based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Application Infrastructure solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed IIS vs. Windows Server AppFabric Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IIS vs. Windows Server AppFabric

January 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

IIS

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

1st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Server (4th)

Windows Server AppFabric

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

17th

Average Rating

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of IIS is 12.8%, down from 13.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows Server AppFabric is 0.6%, down from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Infrastructure

Featured Reviews

VikramSingh6

Operations Executive at Quess

A simple and easy-to-use solution but not recommended for public apps

I would rate the overall solution a six out of ten. We have around five to six developers and engineers for the solution’s deployment and maintenance. You can use the solution if your website is not too big or complicated. However, if it is big and complicated, then you need to use Apache or Red Hat. This tool can be used for internal purposes. But if you plan to host a public app, then I wouldn’t recommend the tool.

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VIJAY RAGAVAN

Team Manager at Waters Corporation

Ensure seamless deployment and networking with a focus on critical uptime

The most important issue I've found is the blue screen errors, particularly when customers use external displays with a P-type cable. I have advised against using external displays for crucial applications and recommended using VGA or laptop adapter screens to mitigate this issue. However, the blue screen error remains a major concern because it causes data loss during reboots.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The product is easy to use."

"IIS's best features are its management console and stability."

"The product is stable."

"IIS has a very simple and user-friendly interface, which helps a lot in effective and efficient management."

"IIS's most valuable feature is user-friendliness."

"This is definitely a stable solution."

"The product's most valuable features are performance and security."

"The most valuable feature of IIS is it does not consume a lot of resources. It does not consume a lot of resources, such as memory."

More IIS pros

"The product's deployment phase was very easy."

"The ability to seamlessly deploy, image, and patch without causing downtime is extremely helpful and user-friendly."

"It is very usable and easy to understand. Antivirus and VPN are the main features being used now. It allows my clients to access the network from home, which was very crucial because of the pandemic."

"The most valuable feature is AppFabric's hosting solution, which is what we need for running workflows."

Cons

"In the next release, the tool should be more easily integrated and configured with other provisions. The pricing should also be made cheaper since it's very expensive now."

"Finding different settings can be difficult if you don't know where to look."

"If Microsoft IIS could work well with AppOptics or things like PHP, Python, and other custom languages that run on the webserver, it would be ideal. I think there are cases where people need to use Apache instead of IIS when IIS doesn't work well with other web languages."

"The graphical user interface has room for improvement and can be more user-friendly."

"It would be beneficial if you could automate security certificate monitoring with IIS."

"The solution's black box is not fast."

"The solution must improve the integration between its databases."

"IIS could improve by having some features related to ASR and HTTPS certificate generation."

More IIS cons

"The most important issue I've found is the blue screen errors, particularly when customers use external displays with a P-type cable."

"Microsoft will stop supporting the product next year, and we can't run unsupported programs in our systems."

"The product is unable to connect with different cloud services."

"Its price and licensing policy can be improved. It could be a little cheaper. Licensing is sometimes confusing. There are so many different options. It is difficult to find out what to buy or what to choose for my necessity."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is licensed with your Windows installation which makes it relatively cheap if you already have a Windows Server sitting around."

"There is no license needed to use the solution."

"I didn't need to get an additional license for the solution since it was included in my server."

"I was using the trial version of IIS inside my virtual machines."

"We pay a yearly licensing fee for the solution."

"Users can get a subscription-based license or a perpetual license for IIS."

"There is a license needed for the solution."

"The price of the cloud system is a bit high."

More IIS pricing and cost advice

"The product is affordable, in my opinion."

"It is expensive, and its licensing is a bit confusing."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

Government

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

Which is better - IIS or NGINX Plus?

IIS is a flexible, secure, and manageable web server to host anything on the web. IIS’s scalable and open architecture can handle the most demanding tasks. From media streaming to web applications,...

See all answers

What do you like most about IIS?

The product is flexible.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IIS?

They offer a one-time payment model for the product license, and we pay annually for support. I rate the pricing an eight out of ten.

See all answers

What do you like most about Windows Server AppFabric?

The product's deployment phase was very easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Windows Server AppFabric?

The product is affordable, in my opinion.

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What needs improvement with Windows Server AppFabric?

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Comparisons

NGINX Plus vs IIS

Compared 33% of the time

Apache Web Server vs IIS

Compared 21% of the time

Oracle WebLogic Server vs IIS

Compared 15% of the time

Tomcat vs IIS

Compared 14% of the time

JBoss vs IIS

Compared 7% of the time

More IIS Competitors

No data available

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IIS

February 2025

Download IIS product report

Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

January 2025

Download Windows Server AppFabric product report

Also Known As

Windows Server IIS

No data available

Overview

Internet Information Services (IIS) provides a secure, easy-to-manage, modular and extensible platform for reliably hosting websites, services and applications. With IIS, you get choice and control without giving up reliability or security.

Microsoft

Windows Server AppFabric extends Windows Server to provide enhanced hosting, management, and caching capabilities for Web applications and middle-tier services. The AppFabric hosting features add service management extensions to Internet Information Services (IIS), Windows Process Activation Service (WAS), and the .NET Framework 4. This includes Hosting Services and Hosting Administration tools that make it easier to deploy, configure, and manage Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) and Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) based services. The AppFabric caching features add a distributed, in-memory object cache to Windows Server that makes it easier to scale out high-performance .NET applications, especially ASP.NET applications.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Erste Bank Group, NJVC, Samsung Electronics, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, Tata Steel Europe, Urban Software Institute

OSIsoft

Buyer's Guide

IIS vs. Windows Server AppFabric

January 2025

Free Report: IIS vs. Windows Server AppFabric

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