Windows Server® 2008 Bible

Chapter 11. .NET Framework Services

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Get to know the Common Language Runtime

• Learn what the .NET initiative is

• Understanding garbage collection in the .NET Framework

The .NET Framework is included with Windows Server 2008 but like many other features, it needs to be specifically installed before it can be used. (See Chapter 2, "Configuring Windows Server 2008.") This framework for application developers enables your system to run very sophisticated programs that are extremely fast and extremely portable. The .NET Framework also enables many components to run on the server. A good example is Windows PowerShell, which is built on the .NET Framework. (Chapter 2 includes a discussion of Windows PowerShell.)

Along with this power also comes security concerns. Presumably, because the framework is integrated, applications that run on it can have a great deal of control over the server. To some degree that's true, but this is where security comes into focus.

In this chapter you learn about the components that make up the .NET Framework. You glimpse at its application programming interface as well as view how the garbage collection facility works and how you can monitor it.

The recent versions of the .NET Framework include versions 3.0 and 3.5. These bring many new features to the platform, for example: the .NET Framework now includes the XPS Viewer, which lets you view, sign, and protect XML documents; and Windows Communications Foundation (WCF) and HTTP Activation Components, which ...