I am looking for a VPS or possibly Shared hosting for development. I want something that's reputable located in the US, like the company won't go under next month. The main requirement would be to have .NET 1.1 and MSSQL 2005 and also the ability to install some 3rd party .Net components. Would like to have multiple instances of databases, I guess 5 or more? And also each instance need to have at least 1GB of space. Disk space and bandwidth isn't much of issue, but whatever's reasonable. Let me know your recommendations. If its less than $50/month would be great, but its not a hard limit.
Thanks!

There is no such thing as MS SQL 2003. I assume you must mean 2005?

There is no such thing as MS SQL 2003. I assume you must mean 2005?
haha. sorry. yes MS SQL 2005. was thinking of Visual Studio 2003 for development. =P

Just asking out of curiosity, why are you still coding on 1.1 and 2003?

Just asking out of curiosity, why are you still coding on 1.1 and 2003?
It is a legacy system that we have to maintain until we have an updated version.

Wonderz,
You can get yourself a reliable VPS and install SQL 2008 Express (http://www.microsoft.com/express/sql/default.aspx) or ask your provider for a MS SQL 2008 Web edition licence and installation if you feel express is too limiting for your needs.
That will be very cost effective and bring you up to date with versions. Anything you have developed already will run fine on it, you can set the DB to be 2005 format even on SQL 2008 installations.
If you get a VPS with only .Net 2.0 installed, then simply install 1.1 (http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=262D25E3-F589-4842-8157-034D1E7CF3A3&displaylang=en)
Check the offers forums, there are often Windows VPS offered there. Also do a search on "Windows VPS" on this forum, you will find many reviews and offers.

Thanks for the suggestions. I am getting this for development purpose and I want to keep the spec as close as possible to the production, so I would like to stay with MS SQL 2005. I think my main concern is with the database limit, most I seen is like 1GB total for all DBs. We actually have our own SQL Server license, is it possible for me to just get a VPS, and then install our own SQL Server?
p.s. cannot quote the previous msg for some reason.

Like i said, with your own VPS you can install MS SQL on it and you have no limits (apart from the limits of the version you use).
So if you install 2005 or 2008 express (which is free), or you can install the full version you have a licence for. You can still use your existing databases without any issues, and add as many databases as you like as you are in control of the SQL server installation.
The only disk space limits will be the total disk space your VPS has been allocated.
PS: Forgot to mention. If you do go down the VPS route and its unmanaged, you will need to have a good grasp of security basics and configurations for the server, including how to lock down and run a Windows and MS SQL Server. If not you will have major security issues very quickly. Just something to think about if your unsure.
PPS: SQL Server can be RAM and CPU hungry, so get a decent VPS with as much RAM and CPU as you can afford.

Based on what protecweb is saying, it sounds like vps might be the better way for you to go although I've been having pretty good luck with my host's reseller account. I only bring it up because you mentioned shared hosting might work for you.
The limit on the mssql databases is the account disk space, 5 gig. Within that you can create as many db's as you want. The only thing I don't know about is the 3rd party components. You can always ask them if it's a requirement for you. Their starting reseller plan is $24.95. I've been with them for 9 months and have been pretty happy so far. I'm with Eirca.net

Thanks for the suggestions. I am getting this for development purpose and I want to keep the spec as close as possible to the production, so I would like to stay with MS SQL 2005. I think my main concern is with the database limit, most I seen is like 1GB total for all DBs. We actually have our own SQL Server license, is it possible for me to just get a VPS, and then install our own SQL Server?
p.s. cannot quote the previous msg for some reason.
You will find some threads in this forum by developers with similar requirements.
I have a thread with quite a few hosts worth investigating. So far I have been very pleased with Arvixe.com which like some of the smaller Windows hosters that know their stuff, would probably set you up right.
Arvixe uses SQL 2008 and .NET 3.5 like most good Windows hosters.
You should not have any problems with SQL 2008 but versions later than your 1.1 could be a problem. Any Windows hoster still using 1.1 is going to be suspiciously clueless and probably should be avoided...
You could be lucky and you app just runs in a current environment. You can download a new Microsoft free all-in-one installer that sets up all the current stuff on your computer. If your app runs ok on it you could consider modern hosting to go with it!
The link is in another thread I have posted here. Sorry that forum rules prevent me from giving you some useful links to those threads...

You will find some threads in this forum by developers with similar requirements.
I have a thread with quite a few hosts worth investigating. So far I have been very pleased with Arvixe.com which like some of the smaller Windows hosters that know their stuff, would probably set you up right.
Arvixe uses SQL 2008 and .NET 3.5 like most good Windows hosters.
You should not have any problems with SQL 2008 but versions later than your 1.1 could be a problem. Any Windows hoster still using 1.1 is going to be suspiciously clueless and probably should be avoided...
You could be lucky and you app just runs in a current environment. You can download a new Microsoft free all-in-one installer that sets up all the current stuff on your computer. If your app runs ok on it you could consider modern hosting to go with it!
The link is in another thread I have posted here. Sorry that forum rules prevent me from giving you some useful links to those threads...
Hey DevTech. While I was searching for hosting on this forum, I actually came across your thread about trying out a good shared Windows Hosting. It was pretty good. Too bad you have to go with the try-n-see approach. But seems like your first choice worked well, so that's good.

Hey DevTech. While I was searching for hosting on this forum, I actually came across your thread about trying out a good shared Windows Hosting. It was pretty good. Too bad you have to go with the try-n-see approach. But seems like your first choice worked well, so that's good.
Yeah it's kind of not very exciting to end my dart board game with just one throw.
Arvixe is fast, not expensive, has no irritating limits, technically competent, responds insanely fast to support tickets or random questions,understands developers and shows flexibility in that regard and has an overall friendly vibe.
That could be the end of my dart game right there...

You should not have any problems with SQL 2008 but versions later than your 1.1 could be a problem. Any Windows hoster still using 1.1 is going to be suspiciously clueless and probably should be avoided...
Many Win hosts will still provide 1.1 on request. For example we have the option for clients to choose between ASP.Net versions in our control panel. Its set to the latest by default, but you can select 1.1 if you really need to (although not recommended).
But i assume Wonderz's app is compiled in 1.1. and he does not have the source files (or knowledge?) to recompile it into 2.0 yet?

Many Win hosts will still provide 1.1 on request. For example we have the option for clients to choose between ASP.Net versions in our control panel. Its set to the latest by default, but you can select 1.1 if you really need to (although not recommended).
But i assume Wonderz's app is compiled in 1.1. and he does not have the source files (or knowledge?) to recompile it into 2.0 yet?
We have a separate team for maintenance for production server, so we are keeping it to 1.1. But yeah, the .Net version shouldn't be that much of problem if we have VPS and can install it ourselves.

We have a separate team for maintenance for production server, so we are keeping it to 1.1. But yeah, the .Net version shouldn't be that much of problem if we have VPS and can install it ourselves.
There is a separate forum at WHT for VPS where people might make some useful suggestions.
It became clear to me that a Windows server with SQL Server would need too much RAM and CPU to work reasonably well with most VPS accounts. Might as well get a low-end dedicated.
I think a shared clustered setup might be better than VPS but I never really investigated that option.
I'm trying to remember what it was like to work with 1.1 and all that comes up is "yuck" - bug city....

Yeah it's kind of not very exciting to end my dart board game with just one throw.
Arvixe is fast, not expensive, has no irritating limits, technically competent, responds insanely fast to support tickets or random questions,understands developers and shows flexibility in that regard and has an overall friendly vibe.
That could be the end of my dart game right there...
I logged into my control panel at Arvixe.com and it is in fact possible to select .NET 1.1

I contacted Arvixe sales today with a question. They were prompt, professional, and very thorough in their response. They were really direct too, no bs'ing around the topics I was asking about.
If they offered Windows reseller plans, I'd probably give them a try, and I'm about as picky as they come.