ISM is the commonly referred to name of the
Internet Services Manager, the
MMC snap-in that controls
IIS, and all general Internet services inside of Windows 2000.
One of the really great features of
ISM, and IIS in general is the ability to remotely
reboot computers through that
interface. It's been quite useful in the past, even if you don't need any of the IIS services. If you have a troublesome server that just does not want to cooperate, and you are telecommuting, a quick jolt like that can save you a trip to the office, if you are clever enough. It's a trick not many people are aware of.
Otherwise, through the interface, it allows you to control your virtual hosting options, and mess with the
permissions ACLs, and documents on directories mounted to the
web. ISM is one of the big advatages for the
Internet webmaster over
Apache, in that it great for small or first time
businesses to get on the web, with little
training or learning
downtime.