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Glassfish VS Microsoft IIS

Compare Glassfish VS Microsoft IIS and see what are their differences

Glassfish logo Glassfish

GlassFish v3, built by the GlassFish community, is the first compatible implementation of the Java...

Microsoft IIS logo Microsoft IIS

Internet Information Services is a web server for Microsoft Windows
  • Glassfish Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-26
  • Microsoft IIS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-25

Glassfish features and specs

  • Open Source
    GlassFish is open-source, allowing developers to access and modify its source code. This promotes collaboration and continuous improvement by the community.
  • Enterprise Features
    It offers a range of enterprise-level features such as EJB, JPA, JMS, and web services, making it suitable for building complex applications.
  • Java EE Reference Implementation
    GlassFish is the reference implementation of Jakarta EE (formerly Java EE), ensuring adherence to standards and compatibility with other Java EE technologies.
  • Modular Architecture
    Using OSGi modules, GlassFish allows for a high degree of customization and the ability to deploy only necessary components, enhancing performance.
  • Admin Console
    It features an intuitive and user-friendly administrative console, simplifying the management of server instances and deployed applications.

Possible disadvantages of Glassfish

  • Performance Overhead
    Compared to other application servers, GlassFish might encounter performance issues under heavy load due to its extensive feature set.
  • Complex Configuration
    Configuring GlassFish can be complex and time-consuming, especially for beginners, due to its numerous configurable options.
  • Lower Adoption Rate
    It has a smaller user base compared to other application servers like Apache Tomcat or WildFly, potentially leading to less community support.
  • Limited Commercial Support
    While there is commercial support available, it is limited compared to other leading application servers, which might deter enterprise users seeking robust support options.
  • Resource Intensive
    GlassFish can be resource-intensive, requiring significant memory and processing power, which may not be ideal for smaller deployments.

Microsoft IIS features and specs

  • Integration with Windows Server
    Since IIS is developed by Microsoft, it offers seamless integration with Windows Server, leveraging features like Active Directory, .NET Framework, and PowerShell for enhanced performance and manageability.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    IIS features a graphical user interface (GUI) that simplifies the server setup and management process, making it easier for administrators to configure and maintain web applications.
  • Extensive Documentation and Support
    Being a product from Microsoft, IIS offers comprehensive documentation, extensive online resources, and professional technical support, which can be highly beneficial for enterprise users.
  • Security Features
    IIS includes various built-in security features, such as dynamic IP restrictions, request filtering, application pooling, and integration with Windows authentication, making it a secure choice for hosting web applications.
  • Performance and Scalability
    IIS is optimized for performance and can effectively handle multiple requests and high-traffic websites. It also supports load balancing and server farms to enhance scalability.

Possible disadvantages of Microsoft IIS

  • Cost Considerations
    Unlike some other web servers that are open-source and free, IIS may incur licensing costs as it requires a Windows Server license, making it potentially expensive for small-scale deployments.
  • Platform Dependency
    IIS runs exclusively on the Windows platform, which can be a limitation for organizations that use a diverse set of operating systems or prefer open-source ecosystems like Linux.
  • Complex Configuration for Advanced Features
    While IIS offers a user-friendly interface for basic setups, configuring advanced features may require considerable expertise and can become complex, particularly for those unfamiliar with Microsoft's environment.
  • Performance Overheads
    IIS may introduce performance overhead due to the multiple layers of abstraction and integration with Windows features, which can affect performance in some high-demand scenarios compared to lightweight, minimalist web servers.
  • Lower Community Support
    Open-source web servers like Apache and Nginx have large, active communities that contribute to continuous improvement and troubleshooting. IIS, being a proprietary product, has a smaller community in comparison.

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Microsoft IIS videos

Analyzing Microsoft IIS Web Logs - Part 1

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  • Review - My SEO Video 2017 Microsoft IIS SEO Toolkit

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Glassfish and Microsoft IIS)
Application Server
13 13%
87% 87
Web And Application Servers
Web Servers
6 6%
94% 94
Java
100 100%
0% 0

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Glassfish and Microsoft IIS

Glassfish Reviews

4 Open Source Application Servers (Comparison and Review)
There is no cost associated with downloading Glassfish software. There is product documentation available online. In addition, there are a number of resources available including forums and a product wiki.
Source: shadow-soft.com
Top 10 Open Source Java and JavaEE Application Servers
GlassFish is often considered as the reference implementation of Java EE and so supports Enterprise JavaBeans (a managed, server-side component architecture for modular construction of enterprise applications), JPA (Java Persistence API ), JavaServer Faces, JMS (Java Message Service), RMI (Java Remote Method Invocation), JavaServer Pages, servlets and more. Glassfish allows...

Microsoft IIS Reviews

Apache, IIS, NGINX, GWS : What’s Your Choice?
Utilizing a specific type of virtual or physical server determines the type of web server software you use. If you prefer Microsoft, then you will prefer to use IIS (Internet Information Services / Server) by Microsoft as your primary web server application solution. If you use Linux distribution, you have other alternatives like Apache, NGINX and LiteSpeed.
Source: www.milesweb.in
What Is the Most Popular Web Server Application in 2021?
Despite being bundled with most modern Microsoft software, IIS loses out to Apache on its own devices. The main selling point here is performance. While IIS has kept up with Apache in recent times, Apache has historically been performing much better, which still gives it an edge over IIS.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Glassfish and Microsoft IIS, you can also consider the following products

Payara Server - Payara Server is a fully supported, developer-friendly, open source application server. Innovative, cloud-native, optimized for production deployments. Jakarta EE & MicroProfile compatible.

Apache HTTP Server - Apache httpd has been the most popular web server on the Internet since April 1996

JBoss - JBoss is Red Hats Java EE 5-compliant (soon Java EE 6-compliant) application server.

Apache Tomcat - An open source software implementation of the Java Servlet and JavaServer Pages technologies

LiteSpeed Web Server - LiteSpeed Web Server (LSWS) is a high-performance Apache drop-in replacement.

Eclipse Jetty - Jetty is a highly scalable modular servlet engine and http server that natively supports many modern protocols like SPDY and WebSockets.