Windows server 2012 Practice Test

To host a web application in Windows Server 2012, the Web Server (IIS) role is essential. Internet Information Services (IIS) is a flexible, secure, and manageable web server for hosting anything on the web, including web applications, websites, and web services.

IIS provides the necessary infrastructure to serve web content over HTTP, allowing users to interact with web applications through their browsers. It supports various technologies such as ASP.NET, PHP, HTML, and more, enabling developers to create dynamic and interactive web applications. Moreover, IIS includes features for security, performance, and site management, making it indispensable for web hosting.

Other roles like Active Directory, File Server, or DNS Server serve different purposes and are not designed to host web applications directly. Active Directory is focused on identity and access management, the File Server is used for storing and serving files over a network, and a DNS Server resolves domain names to IP addresses. While these components can support web applications in other capacities (like authentication or resource access), they do not provide the platform to serve web content directly, which is why the Web Server (IIS) role is required for hosting a web application.