Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Payara Server VS Microsoft IIS

Compare Payara Server VS Microsoft IIS and see what are their differences

Payara Server logo Payara Server

Payara Server is a fully supported, developer-friendly, open source application server. Innovative, cloud-native, optimized for production deployments. Jakarta EE & MicroProfile compatible.

Microsoft IIS logo Microsoft IIS

Internet Information Services is a web server for Microsoft Windows
  • Payara Server Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-11-22

Payara Server is an open source, cloud-native middleware platform supporting reliable and secure deployments of Java EE (Jakarta EE) applications on premise, in the cloud or hybrid environments. Originally derived from GlassFish and used as a drop in replacement.

Monthly releases, bug fixes and a 10-year support lifecycle optimizes Payara Server for production deployments. Payara Server is aggressively compatible with common ecosystem components and ensures future compliance with Jakarta EE.

Payara Server is built and supported by a team of DevOps engineers dedicated to continued development and maintenance of the open source software, and committed to collaboration with the community to ensure Payara Server is the best option for production Java EE applications.

  • Microsoft IIS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-25

Payara Server features and specs

  • Open Source
    Payara Server is open source, which means it's free to use and has a community of developers contributing to its development and improvements.
  • Jakarta EE Support
    It supports Jakarta EE, offering developers access to a wide range of enterprise features and a robust platform for building scalable applications.
  • Payara Micro
    Payara Server offers Payara Micro, a lightweight version designed specifically for microservices architectures, making it agile and easily deployable in cloud environments.
  • Commercial Support
    For organizations requiring professional support, Payara Services Ltd offers a range of commercial support options, including 24/7 support and monitoring.
  • Cloud-Ready
    Payara Server is designed to be ready for cloud deployment, offering robust support for Docker, Kubernetes, and other cloud-native tools.

Possible disadvantages of Payara Server

  • Learning Curve
    For new users, there might be a steep learning curve in understanding Jakarta EE specifications and how Payara Server implements these functionalities.
  • Performance Overhead
    It can have higher overhead compared to more lightweight, specialized solutions, especially in cases where full Jakarta EE stack is not required.
  • Limited Niche Community
    While it is actively developed and supported, the community is smaller compared to other enterprise servers like WildFly or Apache Tomcat, potentially leading to fewer resources and community-driven extensions.
  • Version Compatibility
    Some users may face challenges with compatibility when migrating from other application servers, requiring code adjustments to comply with Payara Server's configurations.
  • High Support Costs
    While there's a free open-source version, the costs for commercial support can be high, which might be a consideration for smaller businesses.

Microsoft IIS features and specs

  • Integration with Windows Server
    Since IIS is developed by Microsoft, it offers seamless integration with Windows Server, leveraging features like Active Directory, .NET Framework, and PowerShell for enhanced performance and manageability.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    IIS features a graphical user interface (GUI) that simplifies the server setup and management process, making it easier for administrators to configure and maintain web applications.
  • Extensive Documentation and Support
    Being a product from Microsoft, IIS offers comprehensive documentation, extensive online resources, and professional technical support, which can be highly beneficial for enterprise users.
  • Security Features
    IIS includes various built-in security features, such as dynamic IP restrictions, request filtering, application pooling, and integration with Windows authentication, making it a secure choice for hosting web applications.
  • Performance and Scalability
    IIS is optimized for performance and can effectively handle multiple requests and high-traffic websites. It also supports load balancing and server farms to enhance scalability.

Possible disadvantages of Microsoft IIS

  • Cost Considerations
    Unlike some other web servers that are open-source and free, IIS may incur licensing costs as it requires a Windows Server license, making it potentially expensive for small-scale deployments.
  • Platform Dependency
    IIS runs exclusively on the Windows platform, which can be a limitation for organizations that use a diverse set of operating systems or prefer open-source ecosystems like Linux.
  • Complex Configuration for Advanced Features
    While IIS offers a user-friendly interface for basic setups, configuring advanced features may require considerable expertise and can become complex, particularly for those unfamiliar with Microsoft's environment.
  • Performance Overheads
    IIS may introduce performance overhead due to the multiple layers of abstraction and integration with Windows features, which can affect performance in some high-demand scenarios compared to lightweight, minimalist web servers.
  • Lower Community Support
    Open-source web servers like Apache and Nginx have large, active communities that contribute to continuous improvement and troubleshooting. IIS, being a proprietary product, has a smaller community in comparison.

Payara Server videos

Payara Server Deployment Group on Docker

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How to Deploy an Application to Payara Server

Microsoft IIS videos

Analyzing Microsoft IIS Web Logs - Part 1

More videos:

  • Review - My SEO Video 2017 Microsoft IIS SEO Toolkit

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Payara Server and Microsoft IIS)
Web And Application Servers
Application Server
16 16%
84% 84
Web Servers
8 8%
92% 92
Java
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Payara Server and Microsoft IIS

Payara Server Reviews

4 Open Source Application Servers (Comparison and Review)
The Payara Server was derived from GlassFish. It offers 24/7 production and developer support. This server is optimized for production and is secure by default. Payara has implemented its own enhancements and fixes, and has no association with Oracle. Plans are in place to address advanced database capabilities, enhanced diagnostics and more.
Source: shadow-soft.com

Microsoft IIS Reviews

Apache, IIS, NGINX, GWS : What’s Your Choice?
Utilizing a specific type of virtual or physical server determines the type of web server software you use. If you prefer Microsoft, then you will prefer to use IIS (Internet Information Services / Server) by Microsoft as your primary web server application solution. If you use Linux distribution, you have other alternatives like Apache, NGINX and LiteSpeed.
Source: www.milesweb.in
What Is the Most Popular Web Server Application in 2021?
Despite being bundled with most modern Microsoft software, IIS loses out to Apache on its own devices. The main selling point here is performance. While IIS has kept up with Apache in recent times, Apache has historically been performing much better, which still gives it an edge over IIS.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Payara Server and Microsoft IIS, you can also consider the following products

Apache Tomcat - An open source software implementation of the Java Servlet and JavaServer Pages technologies

Apache HTTP Server - Apache httpd has been the most popular web server on the Internet since April 1996

JBoss - JBoss is Red Hats Java EE 5-compliant (soon Java EE 6-compliant) application server.

Glassfish - GlassFish v3, built by the GlassFish community, is the first compatible implementation of the Java...

LiteSpeed Web Server - LiteSpeed Web Server (LSWS) is a high-performance Apache drop-in replacement.

Eclipse Jetty - Jetty is a highly scalable modular servlet engine and http server that natively supports many modern protocols like SPDY and WebSockets.