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Microsoft Web Server Threatens Open Source Leader

Microsoft's Web server, Internet Information Server (IIS), continues to gain against longtime leader Apache, and could end up surpassing it if current trends continue.

According to the tracking site Netcraft, IIS spike in usage to 34.2 percent in August, while open source Apache dipped to 48.4 percent. That represents a jump of 2.3 million sites for IIS, and a decline of 991,000, Netcraft reported.

IIS first started closing the gap on Apache in late 2005 and early 2006. At that time, Apache had a commanding lead among Web servers, being used on 71 percent, while IIS was at about 20 percent. That lead has now been whittled down to less than 17 percent, and trends are favoring IIS. As Netcraft points out, if IIS continues to gain share at Apache's expense at the current rate, it will pass Apache as the world's dominant Web server "sometime in 2008."

Other Web servers surveyed include those from Sun, lighttpd and Zeus. They have all remained relatively flat, and all are at less than 2 percent.

About the Author

Keith Ward is the editor in chief of Virtualization & Cloud Review. Follow him on Twitter @VirtReviewKeith.