eCommerce Backend

[Guest]

Hi all,

Our company is looking to develop a web front end for a legacy back office
system. Can anyone point me in the direction of some good resources for
looking into the following problems:

We have several customers that have a back office product where all data
resides in a SQL server on the customer site.

To develop a web front end for this system, we obviously have to access the
company SQL servers. Here are the options I can think of but I need to know
what is the preferred method, and where I can locate more information to help
with our decisions.

1. Web site hosted by customer whereby SQL servers are accessible via the
internal network (or at least a replicated copy)

2. Web site hosted by a 3rd party with DTS/FTP of changed data pushed out
from the live customer system to a cut down SQL server at the hosting company.

3. Web site hosted by a 3rd party, Web services hosted by the company where
by the web services can access SQL via the internal network returning the
required information by SOAP etc.

4. Web Site hosted by either the customer or the 3rd party and use SQL Http
access. (Performance? Security?)

At this point I need to know the available options so I may research more.

Thanks in advance. Pete.

 

[Jignesh Desai]

GO with 3 options WebServices...

Regards,
Jignesh Desai.

 

[Steven Cheng[MSFT]]

Hi Pete,

I also agree to Jignesh's suggestion. Since the xml webservice can help
hidden your company's database server and expose an abstract data
accessing facade. But since webservice is XML message based, be sure that
your network enviroment won't have any concerns on bandwidth.
In addition, I recommend that put your web application on a certain server
in the commany self rather than use 3rd party web host if possbile. Because
the ASP.NET application have some security configuration which may have
cause some difficulties to implement when we use a 3rd party web host.

Thanks.

Regards,

Steven Cheng
Microsoft Online Support

Get Secure! www.microsoft.com/security
(This posting is provided "AS IS", with no warranties, and confers no
rights.)

 

[Andy]

i agree,

you should use web service as it provide simple ways to consume.