Building with Microsoft Development Tools and Compaq Hardware

Demers says it was easy for the TV Guide Online development team to take advantage of WLBS because it is a standard feature of Windows NT Server Enterprise Edition, a product that's very familiar to the company's programmers. To build the site, the development team used the Microsoft Visual C++® development system, Microsoft Visual InterDev® Web development system, and Microsoft Visual Basic® scripting tools, all part of the Microsoft Visual Studio® suite of development applications. The site's channel listings and editorial content database was designed with Microsoft Component Object Model (COM) and distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) technology, and Microsoft Active Server Pages (ASP) technology was used across the entire Web site.
The Personalization feature of Microsoft Site Server Commerce Edition was used to offer a customizable experience for visitors. For example, the site provides customized TV listings based on a visitor's ZIP code, and can generate timely information on local shows. Future plans call for extensive personalization based on a user's preferences for specific shows and actors.
The site runs on an array of Compaq ProLiant servers. These include 10 quad-Pentium Pro processor-based ProLiant 5500s that operate as the Web server cluster. An additional five ProLiant 5500s host Microsoft SQL ServerTM data. Other Compaq servers provide functions such as mail and LDAP services along with video encoding and video streaming. The site's video streaming is done with Microsoft Windows Media Technologies, a component of Windows NT Server that provides streaming media tools and functionality.
"The Windows NT architecture is making our lives a lot easier," says Carr. "The scalability of the site is much better than what we had before, and it's easy to add or remove servers from the site without any interruption in service. Our team consists of just four people, and now it's a lot easier to do more with the same number of employees. It's allowed us to do more with less while giving our customers a great online experience.