Installing the .NET Framework

To process dynamic web pages, you need an application server. An application server is software that helps a web server process web pages containing server-side scripts or tags. When such a page is requested by a browser, the web server hands the page off to the application server for processing before sending the page to the browser. For more information, see Understanding Web Applications.

In ASP.NET, the application server is called the Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1. To develop ASP.NET web applications, you also need to install the Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 Software Development Kit (SDK). Make sure both the Framework and the SDK is installed and running on a Windows 2000 or Windows XP Professional system running IIS 5 or higher.

To install the .NET Framework and SDK:

Check to see if the .NET Framework is installed on your system by reviewing the list of applications in the Add or Remove Programs dialog box (Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs).
If Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 is listed, the Framework is already installed and you do not need to install it again. Skip to step 3.
If the .NET Framework is not installed on your system, install the Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 Redistributable package from the Microsoft website at http://msdn.microsoft.com/netframework/downloads/framework1_1/ and follow the installation instructions on the website.
You install the Framework as a Windows update.
Download the Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 Software Development Kit (SDK) from the same website and follow the installation instructions.

After installing the Framework and SDK, create a root folder for your web application. (See Creating a root folder.)