HTTP compression provides faster transmission of pages between the Web server and compression-enabled browsers. If your server generates a large volume of dynamic content, consider whether the additional processing cost of compression is one that you can reasonably afford. If the % Processor Time is already extremely high (80 percent or more), compression is not necessarily a good option.
To test HTTP compression
- Use System Monitor to log the % Processor Time counter of the Processor object over several days to establish a baseline. This counter has a Total instance, and a separate instance for each processor in the system. (If your server has more than one processor, you should probably watch the individual processors as well as the total, to discover any imbalance in the workload.) As an adjunct, you should probably also log the Bytes Sent/sec counter of the Network Interface object.
- Enable compression and continue to log the value of these counters for an extended period, preferably for several days, so you have a good basis for comparison.
- Compare the values without and with compression.
Note If you see signs of blocking or bottlenecking during the test, you should promptly stop the test. A significant drop in the value of either counter indicates that performance with compression enabled has decreased when compared to performance without compression enabled.
To enable HTTP compression
- In the Internet Information Services snap-in,
select the computer icon and click the Properties button to display its property sheets.
- Under Master Properties, select WWW Service.
- Click the Edit button.
- On the Service property sheet, select Compress static files to compress only static files for transmission to compression-enabled clients.
- To compress application files, select both Compress static files and Compress application files.
- Type the path to a local directory in the Temporary folder box, or use the Browse button to locate a directory where compressed files will be kept.
Note The directory must be on a local drive and it must be on an NTFS partition. The directory, which should not be shared, cannot be a compressed directory.
- Set the maximum size to allow for the folder to either Unlimited, or limit the size by typing a number in the Limited to text box.
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