Hi all,
if I buy a Windows 2000 server with IIS 5 I have, in IIS, the ASP language. If I need to create a dsn connection to an access database, have I to buy some new license (office professional I think) ? or is it included in IIS ?

Thank you
NHosting

If you already have windows 2000 with IIS 5.0 there is a tool called "Datasources ODBC" on the Administrative Menu; this tool is what you use to create DSNs. No special software required.

To ease install on remote servers, many developers don't even use a DSN. It is recommended practice to use a string that bypasses DSN.

References:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q147/8/75.asp?FR=0

http://www.swynk.com/friends/warren/dsnless.asp

Thank you for your replay.
You mean that, via asp, I can access to an mdb database without buyng the Access license ?

Thank you
NHosting

Yes.

When you use "Access" on a web site against a MDB file, all you are really using is a little database driver.

It is internally called by Microsoft as the "jet database" engine. It is really just one DLL file...

Access 2000 -- the application is a MASSIVE program, with lots of extra features. It does reporting, has all kinds of screens to design tables and queries, etc.

In code terms we are talking a 1.4MB DLL ("jet engine") vs. a 800MB program (Access 2000). The "database engine" is all you use. And yes, this "engine" is entirely free (as part of the operating system).

Great :-)

Thank you
NHosting.

Can anyone shed light on proper usage of SQL Server databases with MSDE?

Is it acceptable to use MSDE on a web server (versus Access)? How would they compare performance wise?

At the job I recently left, we used Access for 30GB+/month sites without _too_ much trouble. (Yes I tried convincing them to go SQL Server...)

I'm considering building a 1U colo box as I get into ASP.NET work, but the Win2K license is expensive enough _without_ the SQL Server license. Can I get away with using MSDE instead, as long as I keep the DBs under 2GB?

This would be primarily for a few personal sites/projects and a couple of non-profit sites that would be billed at a minimal rate. Not too much traffic. Main reason to go SQL Server is for the experience and features of true stored procedures, etc.

At some point I'd probably get SQL if the server brings in more revenue, but at this point this is almost a hobby level...

A reseller account of virtual sites would be best, probably, but unfortunately, the few out there doing ASP.NET virtual accounts are $45+. Two or three of those and I've got my colo. (And I like the idea of being able to install software as desired.)

Any advice? Heck, the other option is to just upgrade the DSL line (384k SDSL now), host the non-profits for free, and not pay so much attention to the licensing issues...

I don't think their is a limit on database size like you mention.

The real issue with it is the limited concurrency. It is somewhat confusing, as it is limited by internally how many operations it can do at the same time. If your database operations are quick, you can actually get a lot more out of it than the limit implies.

How busy is your site? ever page using the database?

You do not need any additional licenses to run an Access database with your site unless you are authenticating users with Windows built in permissions. If you use the built in permissions with the database, you will need a CAL for every concurrent user.

MSDE is more scalable than Access as it is built upon MS SQL technologies (and does not use the flaky JET driver) but is still not SQL. Also, it would be hard to license it properly.

My 2 cents,

Mike@RackMy - MSDE, not sure why you think it is hard to license. If you get the Access 2000 developer kit, you have the rights to distribute it royalty free.

In simple terms, free.