Hi Nadya,

It is only different in the way it is configured. IIS can be configured almost completely through mouse clicks. However, IIS configuration options are scatter, so you need to visit many places to hit all the options.

Apache's configuration is almost complete contained in a single text file named "httpd.conf". It is configured by editing this file. Mostly you can un-comment lines to add any functionality you want.

Once you have Apache configure to run whatever scripts you choose, there is no noticeable difference betwwen IIS and Apache. Apache is one of the most popular web servers on the web, and is very stable.

You can use virtaul web site with Apache; although, I wouldn't be of much help to you with that, as I have never setup a virtual web_site. Some large companies use Apache web server on mainframes, like the IBM 390. The IBM 390 can handle thousands of virtual host web sites. Apache runs best under linux/unix, but it also runs well on windows. It install as a service so you can start and stop it as you like. It also can co-exist with IIS on the same computer, if each web server is listen to different ports, like one could use port 80, while the other used port 8080.

I can't guarantee that apache will work under XP home, but it works beautifully under XP Pro. I would be very surprised if it didn't work with XP home. It has an excellent install routine, and should be not problem to uninstall if you want.

LelandJ