web service hosting

[Fred Herring]

I have a question about hosting my web service applicaton on a commercial
server service. My application has a web service part, sql server for a
database and uses a virtual directory on the server for file storage. These
files are then accessed via http from my client application. Now that my
application is developed and tested, I need to move it to a high bandwidth
server with a fixed ip address for performance and stability. I live in
Seattle and would like a local service if possible. I have looked at a few
web hosting services referenced by Microsoft but get lost in their web sites.
Is it fairly easy to transition from a development server to a commercial
server? Are developers concerned about releasing their server code and
database schema information to a hosting company. There are things that can
be done to protect client application code but what if anything can be done
to protect server code. I guess I would just like to hear from someone who
has faced these issues.

Thanks,
Fred

 

[Pete Wood]

If you're using the .NET framework, you can simply xcopy the code from your
PC to your selected hosting partner and it should work. You should also ask
your hosting company if you can set up the database yourself. If you're
worried, I would ask to establish an NDA (Non-Disclaimer Agreement) which
would protect your IPR - its a pretty standard request.