Remove IIS from Win2008 R2 -- side effects?

This might be an overly broad question, but I can't find a good answer when using search engines...

I have a few servers that will be providing web-based services via apps that are not IIS. While I can disable IIS, I wondered if I could (should?) remove it so that there are fewer components to worry about from a security and maintenance standpoint.

Are there any management or operational side effects from removing IIS from a Windows 2008 R2 server?

Will I lose any ability to manage the server using standard Microsoft tools if I do this?

Solution 1:

If you're not using IIS, you absolutely should remove it, for the reasons you mentioned - maintenance and security.

The only effect of removing IIS is an inability to use IIS. No management or operational side effects - it hasn't been entrenched into the operating system like Internet Explorer has.

Of the over 250 Windows servers I manage, less than 10 have any IIS components installed, if that helps put your mind at ease. If you're still worried, you can always stop the IIS service and verify that nothing on the server breaks, before you go about removing IIS.

Solution 2:

IIS is not required on any Windows system, unless you want to host web sites; the only exception is if you are using any server role which runs on web services (such as WSUS) or offers them (such as Certificate Services).

However, if you actually have any dependency on IIS, Windows itself will warn you about this when you try to remove the role; if this is not the case, you can safely remove it (and you indeed should, if it's not needed).