Ask YC: Questions on ASP.NET and Windows hosting (getting started) | Hacker News Reader

Ask YC: Questions on ASP.NET and Windows hosting (getting started)

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To preface this, I know pretty much nothing about ASP.NET or Windows hosting. I know the two are not popular here, but I figure someone knows something about them. I'm very familiar with Linux servers and PHP/MySQL, but I have some free time this summer and wanted to look into ASP.NET a little more closely.

Before I look into it, I'd like to know just how different the hosting aspect of it is compared to the traditional Linux/PHP setup. I'm not interested in the language/design differences right now. Note that this won't be for a startup, but rather someone who might make a couple of small CRUD-type sites; nothing crazy.

For example, PHP shared hosting is a dime-a-dozen, and there are some very good providers out there. I see that there are some shared ASP.NET hosts with good reviews as well, notably discountasp.net; would this be fine for small websites, or do all ASP.NET websites really require a VPS/dedicated server (much like Rails)?

Likewise with a Windows VPS: I see these being offered pretty cheap (~$30-40/month) that comes with Windows Server 2003. I'm guessing I would be running IIS. Would Windows Server 2003 be difficult to set up and manage from someone who is used to setting up Linux servers? On the same note, how memory-intensive are simple ASP.NET websites? On a 256MB VPS running Linux and PHP, one can fit a ton of small-traffic sites on it with no problems.

Finally, would I need to pay anything in terms of licenses? It seems Visual Web Developer and SQL Server 2005 (Express Edition) can be downloaded for free to play around with, and it doesn't seem like you need a server license when you purchase a VPS.

do all ASP.NET websites really require a VPS/dedicated server

No. A shared hosting plan will go a long way. From my experience the biggest performance issues with hosts have been with shared SQL servers with hundreds or thousands of dbs on them. I have not used SQL Express in a shared environment, so I can't comment on the performance of that scenario.

I'm guessing I would be running IIS

Correct

Would Windows Server 2003 be difficult to set up and manage from someone who is used to setting up Linux servers

No. The concepts are the same. You may find IIS limiting (no built in mod_rewrite for example) but you should be able to find your way around any limitations. The problem with running your own Windows server is that you have to become a Windows security expert. You can't know enough about how to secure a Windows box (and yes, it can be done). If you don't want to manage the server and security, there are plenty of managed hosting services.

On the same note, how memory-intensive are simple ASP.NET websites?

As memory intensive as simple PHP sites. The sites will use as much memory as you program them to. ASP.NET itself is not memory intensive. You can run a ton of small-traffic sites on a single box, although I'd recommend more RAM but that's for Windows and not ASP.NET specifically.

would I need to pay anything in terms of licenses

Nope. The Windows license is included in the hosting fee. SQL Server on a shared server will likely be included, SQL Express is free. If you get a VPS and want to run your own full-blown SQL Server instance, you will need to pay for it and it's expensive. Some hosting companies offer SQL licenses payable per month. Visual Web Dev and SQL Express are free to download and use, including for commercial sites.

Try Ultimahosts.net. It's true, there are less choices available for cheap ASP.NET hosting but Ultimahosts have got to be among the best.

You might have to ask to get it but they have shared plans that offer 400 MB storage, unlimited SQL databases, Dotnetpanel controls, unlimited domains + subdomains etc. and plenty of bandwidth to mess around for $15/month.

In fact, they don't seem to even track bandwidth.

My most memory-intensive sites are not on shared hosting but I have many smaller sites hosted on a single shared account. Good luck.

Since you mention discountasp.net I wanted to say that, for most people, discountasp.net is the most expensive shared hosting you can find. I've been very disappointed w/ the quality of service from every shared host I've used in the past two years - and by "service" I mean both the speed and the technical support. I'm exclusively an ASP.NET person so I don't have experiences w/ php hosts to compare against.

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