ASP / ASP.Net web Hosting - IIS, Windows 2000, WINDOWS 2003 sERVER

Active Server Pages is a technology, not a language. You can use VBScript languate or JScript language (not javascript) for scripting your dynamic webpages. ASP 3.0 (called as Classic ASP) is used to script the webpages and to build powerful web applications.

Microsoft has introduced .NET (dotnet) framework to develop more robust web applications. To host your ASP.net applications you require Windows 2000 / Windows 2003 Advanced Server running IIS 5.0 or more ( IIS 6.0 would be better) with .Net Framework Version 1.0 or higher ( version 1.1 allows you to connect you to Oracle database and work with Mobile Controls.)
Microsoft Visual Studio support and Web Matrix control support would be a major advantage.

For ASP and dotNet Adventurers

ASP .NET Hosting Checklist

MSAccess/SQL DSN facility.
You can manage Database connections even without DSN, but sometimes it would save your time and save you from security risks.
Microsoft SQL Server (SQL Server 7 or MS SQL 2000 or higher) .
(Majority of the webhosts charge a monthly/yearly fee apart from the regular hosting fees for MSSQL Database hosting. There is no charge for MS Access. It is offered free.)
XML support.
With the whole world going gaga about XML, do you want to be left behind?. SOAP Toolkit would be an advantage. Parsing XML files can be done using various toolkits offered by Microsoft and many are free.
Best Email components.
CDONTS is of limited use. Ask for a better COMs like JMail, ASPEmail, ASPMail etc.
FSO (File System Object).
Some web hosts will turn on this facility only when you ask, because of the security risk associated with it. Caution: DO NOT LET ANY UN-VERIFIED ASP CODE / USER INPUT TO USE FSO.
Custom 404 Error pages. [ To generate dynamic pages for non-existant files ]
Windows 2003 server comes pre-installed with .NET framework. If your web server is less than that, .Net Framework facility would be a big advantage. You can migrate your applications from Classic ASP to ASP dotNet.
Custom component installation. (This is an optional one, because Microsoft has eliminated the DLL HELL since introduction of .Net Framework. Do you need to install your dotnet assembly in GAC - General Assembly Cache? It is mostly not possible in a shared web hosting plan. Check out for dedicated web hosting plans. )
SSL for secure registrations and shopping carts.
Many hosts offer shared certificates.

Recommended ASP Web Hosting Links
Provider	Space
Active Server Hosting	150 MB
Easy CGI Hosting	100 MB (5GB)
Infinology	500 - 9000 MB
Jumpline	200 MB
Win Save	100 Mb

Bookmark Here

ASP /ASP.Net Hosting Solutions Showcase
Provider	Price* USD/mo	Diskspace	Features
Active Server Hosting [ASH]	4.99	150 MB	5GB Bandwidth, Rawlogs, Mediahouse LiveStats, Frontpage 2002, 5 ODBC / DSN, Active Server Pages and ASP.Net, Perl, PHP, CGI scripting, Webbased Hosting Controller. Webmail facility. Jmail, ASPEmail, ASPUpload, DevMailer, ASP Tear, RC4 DLL, RSA DLL, Custom Component Installation
Easy CGI Web Hosting	7.96	3000 MB	20% discount (offer available only for limited period. Hurry). 5 GB Data Transfer , MS Access, MS SQL Server, ASP .Net 1.1 Framework , DSN, Shared SSL, Microsoft Index Server Components : Persits ASP Upload, ASPEmail, ASPJpeg, Server Objects AspHTTP 3.5, MySQL ODBC, Custom DLL Installation. Webtrends Statistics, 24/7 monitoring, 5 FTP accounts, multiple domain aliasing. Server: Windows 2000
Win Save	9.95	100 MB	Discount Windows 2000/ NT Hosting, MS Access, Unlimited ODBC connections , Active Server Page (ASP) free support , Unmetered data transfer , Catch-all email address
Jumpline	9.95	500 MB	6 months free hosting, HTTP Streaming Audio/Video, SSH Server, Webalizer Site Statistics, Majordomo Mailing List, PHP, MySQL, PhpMyAdmin Plans: J1 - VDS, J2 - VDS, J3 - VDS, J4 - VDS, J5 - VDS * Offer available for short period only.

* subject to change without notice

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