According to the company, Plesk 6.5 installs all applications necessary for managing the services offered by hosting providers, including support for Internet Information Services (IIS), Microsoft.NET, a completely new interface for administration, new sub-domain setup and management, and additional Microsoft Server 2003 native programs for Web server administration.

The company said Interland is the first hosting service provider to deploy the Plesk control panel for the Windows platform.

"Our customers require solutions that simplify the management of Web hosting functions like provisioning/managing Web hosting accounts, integrated email management, and integrated DNS management," said John Lally, director of product management for Interland. "Our team has worked extensively with SWsoft's development team on Plesk 6.5 to ensure this release is the first step toward creating a complete, integrated solution for both Windows and Linux servers, from the leading provider of Web hosting automation solutions."

The solution gives service providers a single interface to manage servers on both Unix/Linux and Windows platforms, the company said.

"Since its inception .NET has gained traction in the hosting marketplace increasing Windows popularity. Until now, there really has been no solid tiered self administration software for the Windows Platform," said Tim O'Rourke, vice-presidnet of business development and sales for SWsoft. "Our global customer base typically offers both 'Nix (Linux and FreeBSD) and Windows servers but lacked the single interface to manage both. SWsoft's Plesk furnishes just such an offering - and we're excited to be able to provide a Windows product to match our popular Linux program."