ASP Web Hosting

ASP.NET is Microsoft’s most current server-side scripting language used by many to develop dynamic web applications that are able to interact with databases created using the Microsoft SQL Server system. Since many dynamic websites are now being created using the ASP.NET language, web hosts need to ensure that they are able to provide customers both new and old with ASP web hosting, so that they are able to host any ASP applications that they have created. ASP web hosting needs to be based on the Microsoft Windows Server operating system; this is because ASP.NET is a free Microsoft product meaning that it will only run under Microsoft operating systems.

In most cases, your web host will provide you with a control panel to allow you to manage your ASP web hosting. For example, in most cases you will be provided with the Plesk control panel to allow you to manage your ASP.NET based web applications that are hosted within your ASP web hosting account. You will also be provided with access to an installed of Microsoft SQL Server so that you can manage any databases that you may need to ensure that your ASP.NET based web applications are able to run dynamically within a ASP web hosting environment.

You will want to ensure that you are able to gain access to your ASP web hosting account using the FTP protocol, since this will allow you to upload your website files using the built in upload function contained within Microsoft Visual Web Developer or Microsoft Visual Studio. Nearly every web hosting allows access via FTP so that users can upload their files with ease, although it is still one feature that you should ensure is available when looking for an ASP web hosting account. In most cases, the standard ASP web hosting account will allow you to:
• Upload and manage files using the FTP protocol to allow management from VWD and Visual Studio
• Set permissions on any files or folders that you may have hosted within your ASP web hosting account so that all your scripts and pages are able to function correctly
• Connect to and manage any databases within a Microsoft SQL Server environment using Microsoft SQL Server Manager Express
• Host web pages and scripts built using the classic ASP and ASP.NET programming languages.
One of the most important factors of ASP web hosting that you will need to ensure you have access to be the ability to set permissions on files and folders that you have hosted within your account. The main reason for this is that you are probably run some scripts or pages that need access to other directories or files in order for them to function correctly. An example of this would be if you are running an ASP.NET upload script within your ASP web hosting account; you would need to set the relevant permissions on the directory concerned so that your script would be able to upload files to the intended directory, thus functioning correctly.
One important thing to realize is that both classic ASP and ASP.NET only run on Microsoft Windows Server operating systems, meaning that if you find an ASP web hosting account that claims to be based on Linux, you can guarantee that it’s false. Most web hosts offering ASP web hosting will display the ASP.NET logo on their website so that potential customers are drawn to the fact that their packages support either ASP or ASP.NET, or both. Most web hosts also have a dedicated Windows Server and ASP web hosting support team, meaning that if you do face any problems with your account, you will be able to ensure that they are sorted quickly.

Classic ASP itself has been around for the last 10 years, only recently being replaced by Microsoft’s better developed ASP.NET platform. ASP.NET has now been developed up version 3.5, after going through versions 1.0 and 2.0. Since the beginning, there has always been a niche market for special ASP web hosting, and has been an area that has been exploited by many web hosts to stir up more interest in the ASP.NET platform. As a platform, ASP.NET allows you:
• More interaction with Windows hosting servers
• Better interaction and integration Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and 2005 databases
• Easier development using Microsoft Visual Web Developer 2008 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2008.

You should only really take out an ASP web hosting package if you are going to be hosted ASP based pages or scripts within it, since otherwise you could be wasting your money if you could easily host your web pages and other services on a cheaper type of web hosting package. For example, if you have taken out an ASP web hosting package with only the intension of hosting static HTML pages, you will be wasting your money; this is because you could easily achieve the same by hosting your static web pages on a cheaper cPanel hosting package.