Trying to complie c++ code base in Visual studio gives hard time

Trying to complie c++ code base in Visual studio gives hard time

I am trying to compile a c++ code base in Visual studio. It is a
reasonably popular application called i-Perf. I downloaded the source code
form http://sourceforge.net/projects/iperf/
Now, while trying to compile the source code in Visual studio gives all
the kind of errors from function not defined to variable not defined. I
can understand that sometimes when we load the source code then we have to
fix the references here and there but it should ideally work without
making any major changes in the code.
What makes me wonder is that since it is my first ever c++ application,
there are chances that I am doing something wrong OR it is not a good idea
to try to compile the application in Visual studio environment.
What confuses me is that whether there is something wrong in the code or
there is something wrong in my approach?
Any suggestionsH