abhishek[CPM] (Moderator):
Welcome all. We will be starting our chat in few min.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Good evening to all.  J
abhishek[CPM] (Moderator):
The topic of discussion today is Windows 2003 Hosting and Associated Issues - Part 2

abhishek[CPM] (Moderator):
This is Part 2 in series of chat sessions on hosting using Windows Server 2003
abhishek[CPM] (Moderator):
The expert today is Anand N from Trivandrum who is an MVP
abhishek[CPM] (Moderator):
Here's a brief introduction:
abhishek[CPM] (Moderator):
Anand Narayanaswamy works as an independent consultant from Thiruvanathapuram, Kerala State and runs NetAns Technologies ( www.netans.com ) which provides affordable web hosting services. Anand also runs LearnXpress.com (www.learnXpress.com), Dotnetalbum.com (www.dotnetalbum.com) and CsharpFAQ.com (www.csharpfaq.com). LearnXpress.com is a featured site at the MSDN's Visual C# .NET communities section. Anand also works as an editor for ASPAlliance where he publishes book and product reviews in addition to articles. He is also a moderator for Windows Market Place Newsgroups. He maintains a blog at http://www.msmvps.com/anandn. You can reach him at anandnswamy@gmail.com

anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: In the previous chat session (last week) I discussed about the various aspects involved with domain  registration, different types of control panels which are available for Windows 2003 servers.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: In today's chat, I will discuss about supported programming languages, information about mail  servers, databases, various statistics tools and also investigate some of the critical issues which  you are likely to face while hosting a website under Windows 2003 environment.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: I will show you all a live demo of a working control panel at the end of this chat session.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: I will discuss about Virtual Private Servers if there is enough time today. Otherwise, it will be  covered in an another chat session in the second week of November.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: A Windows 2003 server will support ASP, ASP.NET, PHP, PERL, CGI, ColdFusion MX. It will also support  Phython and JSP.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: The main advantage of hosting your website under Windows 2003 environment is that you will get  support for all major programming technologies as stated above.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Both ASP.NET 1.1 and ASP.NET 2.0 Beta 2 can be installed on the same server but you can use only one.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You have to request your hosting provider to enable ASP.NET 2.0 for your domain. It has to be done  manually on the server.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: If you are looking for a hosting package with MS SQL then you should consider certain aspects. You  should ask your provider about whether they provide MSDE or MS SQL.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: As you may know, MSDE is a light weight version of MS SQL. It has certain limitations such as maximum  capacity of a database is 2 GB and only 25 concurrent connections are possible.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: MSDE is very effective for small-middle level website applications.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
Q: hi anand what is the main advantages in Asp.net 2.0
A: Simplicity, less coding are the biggest advantages of ASP.NET 2.0. You can take advantage of new security controls
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Normally, only one MS SQL Database is sufficient for a single website. You can create as many users  as you require under one database. If you require more then you should consult your hosting provider.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You should create a MS SQL database and associated username and password using one of the control  panels supplied by your provider. The process is the same for MySQL databases also.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Your provider will give you a web based administration for managing MS SQL databases or you can  execute scripts using query analyzer from your system.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You can also login using Enterprise Manager using MS SQL Server 2000 from your system. Some of the hosting providers have started providing support for SQL Server 2005 now itself
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You need to register your SQL Server if you are logging  in using Enterprise Manager.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Web Based Enterprise Manager tool will look like - http://mssql.24x7client.com
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You can download the above admin utility and install it on your server from

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=c039a798-c57a-419e-acbc-2a332cb7f959&displaylang=en
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: ASP.NET Enterprise Manager is one of the popular web based administration tool for managing MS SQL and  MSDE databases.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A:  Visit http://www.aspenterprisemanager.com  for more information.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You can also access MS-SQL databases using third party tools such as Aqua Data Studio  ( http://www.aquafold.com/ ), SQL Manager ( www.sqlmanager.net/ )
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Aqua Data Studio is a robust tool used for managing all databases such as SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle  etc.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: MySQL is used with PHP based applications.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You can manage databases using PHPMyAdmin, which is a web  based administration utility for managing MySQL databases and PHP scripts.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You will get support for Oracle and PostgreSQL databases under Windows 2003 with H-SPHERE control  panel.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: any questions
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: For ColdFusion MX, you have to ask your provider to setup DSN for databases as it can be done only by  an administrator.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Macromedia ColdFusion MX licenses are expensive and not many providers will provide the same.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Microsoft FTP is provided by many hosting providers by default
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: But third party FTP Server software such as GeneFTP are  very popular.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You can download a trial version of GeneFTP software from  http://www.g6ftpserver.com/?page=home&lang=en
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
FrontPage extensions will corrupt Microsoft FTP. If you use both for uploading the files then your  domain will get corrupted.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You will get Access Denied error message while uploading files using FTP. This is an known issue if  your server uses Microsoft FTP Program.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Third party FTP Software such as GeneFTP resolves this issue and hence you can use both FTP and FrontPage simultaneously to upload  your files.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You can also upload files from within the control panel.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Plesk control panel provides a very nice and  cool interface for uploading files than HELM.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: One of the popular antivirus software used in windows 2003 server is F-PROT. You can download this  antivirus software from http://www.f-prot.com/
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Please note that installation of antivirus software will consume resources on the server.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: SW-soft (Developers of Plesk control panel) has developed an unique antivirus solution for windows 2003 servers called Dr.Web.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You will find more information at http://www.swsoft.com/en/products/plesk/antivirus/
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Plesk also ships with a set of add-on tools called "Plesk Power Pack".
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: The power pack ships with administration tool for managing MS SQL Server databases, ColdFusion, Spam Assassin  and much more.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Visit http://www.swsoft.com/en/products/plesk/plus/  for more details.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: MailEnable is the most popular mail server software for Windows 2003 servers.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Visit  http://www.mailenable.com/  for more details.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: If you want to troubleshoot your website then check out http://www.dnsstuff.com/
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Other popular mail servers are
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: SmarterMail - http://www.smartertools.com/Products/SmarterMail/Default.aspx
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Merak - http://www.merakmailserver.com

 IMail - http://www.ipswitch.com/support/imail
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: HELM and PLESK control panels ships with a standard version of MailEnable software which does not contain WebMail facility.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You need to purchase a full version license of MailEnable for providing WebMail facility for your  clients. Plesk provides an alternative web mail interface. I will discuss about this soon
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You can create mailing lists using various control panels.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: PLESK control panel comes with a web based mail client called Horde. Horde is an open source web based client  software.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Horde - www.horde.org
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Let me now discuss about statistics
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You can view a detailed statistics of your website. It will give you number of hits per day, per week, per  month, bandwidth consumed and lot more.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: One of the most popular and powerful statistics tool used for windows 2003 servers is AWStats.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: It is absolutely free and is provided by most hosting providers.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: AWSTATS - http://awstats.sourceforge.net/
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Some of the other popular statistics tool used for windows 2003 hosting  are SmarterStats, Urchin
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: SmarterStats - http://www.smartertools.com/Products/SmarterStats/Default.aspx
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Urchin - http://www.urchin.com/
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Please be aware that service providers will not provide unlimited amount of the above two statistics  tool due to huge licensing cost.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: AWstats will consume lot of resources on the server. So your statistics data will be updated once in a week or so. It depends upon the configuration of your web server
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You can set default documents, enable parent paths, modify PHP versions etc if you have installed  HELM Extensions on the web server.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Helm Extensions: www.helmextensions.com
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: With the help of HELM Extensions, you can view your website using a temporary URL even if you  haven't registered a domain name. Registration of  domain name is not compulsory
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: but if you want to send emails, mailing lists etc then a registered domain name is a must.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: I will show you a live demo of a popular hosting control panel (HELM) at the end of this chat session.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: One of the popular anti-spam software is Spam Assassin.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: http://spamassassin.apache.org/
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Normally, Plesk control panel comes this  software. As discussed above you should require Plesk Power Pack or you can manually install it.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You can run Java applications (Java Servlets and JSP) on Windows 2003 servers using TomCat  ( http://tomcat.apache.org/ )
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Please be aware that TomCat will consume more resources on the server.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
Q: hi anand any new futures for XML Webserives in ASP.net 2.0
A: ASP.NET 2.0 is a great improvement to ASP.NET 1.1. Coding part and database access has been simplified. So check out www.asp.net  for more information
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: It is easy to create applications which will enable you to send e-mails using either classic ASP  pages or ASP.NET Web Forms
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: any questions
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Some service providers will not allow CDO due to security reasons. CDO is normally used for sending  e-mails with ASP.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Instead, service providers will install popular third party e-mail software such as AspEmail.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: AspEmail - http://www.aspemail.com
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Sometimes, you will have to provide the required code for SMTP authentication for sending e-mails  using ASP/ASP.NET.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: It depends upon the configuration of the web server. You are requested to consult your hosting  provider regarding this matter.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: The code for SMTP authentication will look like as shown below for ASP.NET applications
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A:
[Visual C# .NET]

mail.Fields.Add("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpauthenticate", "1");

mail.Fields.Add("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/sendusername",  "YOURUSERNAME@DOMAINNAME");

mail.Fields.Add("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/sendpassword", "YOUR PASSWORD");
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A:
[Visual Basic .NET]

mail.Fields.Add("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpauthenticate","1")

mail.Fields.Add("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/sendusername",  "YOURUSERNAME@DOMAINNAME")

mail.Fields.Add("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/sendpassword", "YOUR PASSWORD")
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: MORE INFORMATION: http://www.systemwebmail.com
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Let me now discuss some of the possible ASP and ASP.NET errors which may occur when you host a  website under Windows 2003.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: ERROR MESSAGE -  Operation must be an updateable query (ASP)
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: SOLUTION - Give write permission for the folder in question.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: ERROR -  Parent Path error (ASP).
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: This error will occur if you try to use a path such as ../../
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: SOLUTION -

 You have to enable parent paths for your domain on the server
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: HELM control panel provides an addon tool called Helm Extensions with which you  can enable parent paths. I had discussed about this before
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: If you don't know how to enable it then contact your hosting provider.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: ERROR -  Security Exception (ASP.NET)
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: This is the most common exception which occurs when you deploy ASP.NET blog applications such as DasBlog, .TEXT blog, forums etc on a Windows 2003 web  server.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: SOLUTION -

 (a) Create an Application Pool for the domain. You should require administrative access to the web  server in order to create an app pool. If you don't have permissions then you should request your  hosting provider to do the needful.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: (b) Give full trust permission for the domain on the machine.config file as specified below
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A:
<location path="mydomain.com" allowOverride="true">

    <system.web>

    <trust level="Full" originUrl=""/>

    </system.web>

</location>
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: CAUTION: Incorrect modification of machine.config file will corrupt ASP.NET.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: any questions
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You should require access to remote desktop in order to fix security exception.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: I've outlined the above steps in a knowledge base article - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555466
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: If you are interested you can book mark it
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
Q: What are the main benefits of ASP>NET 2.0?
A: again, this chat is about hosting and not about the new features of asp.net 2.0
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: SOLUTION - You have to place the domain under the correct application pool (Ideally of that domain)
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You should isolate ASP.NET 2.0 applications into its own application pool for security purpose.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: please ask any questions which you may have regarding web hosting on windows 2003 servers
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Now let me discuss something about the latest innovation in the hosting field which is termed as VPS.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
Q: what are the security issues in windows 2003 while hosting?
A: The main issue is regarding permissions. You will have write permissions inside the root folder but not under any other folder which you will create. Hosting providers will not provide full permissions and trust for running asp/asp.net apps. you have to request them for each domain.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: VPS is a semi dedicated server with all the required facilities such as a control panel, remote  desktop and much more.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: It is based on Virtuzzo system developed by SW-Soft (Developers of PLESK control panel) and are not  much expensive as compared to dedicated servers. I will provide the relevant links at the end of this  chat session.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: The cost factor varies according to the disk space and RAM.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You can install any compatible applications on the server using remote desktop. You will see only your files and  folders on the remote desktop.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: It is completely isolated from other customer VPSes but a VPS will be created on a server where there  will be 10 or more other VPSes.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: I mean your VPS is shared among other VPSes but the performance of one faulty VPS will not in way  affect your VPS.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: On the other hand, a dedicated server is completely that of yours but it is expensive compared to a  VPS.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: RAM is very critical for the VPS to function properly. A VPS will behave badly if it has less RAM  than what is actually required.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Most of the service providers provide VPSes from 128 MB RAM but 512 MB of RAM will be ideal for a  windows VPS with HELM or PLESK control panel.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: If you are just planning to host few static websites/e-mails without any databases, then 256 MB or  384 MB RAM will be sufficient.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: If you are looking for a VPS with 1 GB RAM then should invest your money for a dedicated server since  it will give you more stability and security.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
Q: In a WebGarden or WebForm Scenario How do I host in 2003 ( what are the issues, security aspects, etc..)
A: actually, hosting under a webfarm is possible only with a dedicated server. So you can manage permisions etc yourselves.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: A VPS can be operated without a control panel if it is soley used only for your use. If you wish to  distribute the space to other customers then you should install a control panel.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You will get administrator access to the server and the installed control panel with the help of a VPS
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You can create resellers and allocate domains for them. Resellers will have a capability to create  domains as and when they are required.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You should note that installation of any software (Control panel, Applications, MySQL, MSDE etc) will  occupy the total disk space and will consume RAM.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Linux VPSes comes with CPanel or DirectAdmin while a Windows VPS comes with HELM or PLESK control  panel.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: HELM doesn't supports MSDE while PLESK does. So you should install PLESK if you wish to have MSDE on  your VPS. MSDE will be suitable for small service providers.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You can also install MS SQL Server on a VPS but the license cost is very expensive. Service providers  will not usually provide MS SQL along with a VPS. If they provide it will be a shared MS SQL, which  may not be beneficial for the long run.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Each VPS comes with a separate control panel for management. It is called as Power Panel.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You can restart/reboot your VPS at any time and also view the total resource (RAM and disk space)  used by your VPS at any time with the help of power panel
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: In Linux, you can completely install VPS using Power Panel.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You should note that VPSes are not stable. It is a new technology and problems will happen while you login to remote desktop or  power panel.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Software upgrades and updates are performed at the server end by your service provider. So you should  not install updates on your VPS.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Your VPS service provider will provide support for hardwares, nodes, updates etc.
abhishek[CPM] (Moderator):
This brings us almost to the closure of the chat for today
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: Some service providers provide managed and unmanaged support services for VPS. You should consult  your provider about this before purchasing a VPS.
abhishek[CPM] (Moderator):
Time up guys , please email your queries to Anand at his email id
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: More Information

 http://www.sw-soft.com/en/products/virtuozzo/

 http://www.sw-soft.com/en/products/virtuozzo/hsp/vps/

 http://www.sw-soft.com/en/products/virtuozzo/hsp/editions/
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: USEFUL LINKS - http://microsoft.com/hosting
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You can now view a live demo of a fully working hosting control panel (HELM)

URL - http://helm.24x7client.com

Username - LIVECHAT

Password - 99999

Temporary URL: http://microsoftlivechat.net.tempserver.info 

Click on domains icon and then click the domain name - microsoftlivechat.net
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: As I discussed above, the domain (microsoftlivechat.net) is not yet registered but you can still view  the site using the above mentioned temporary URL.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: You can click the Show QuickHelp link on the bottom of each page to view the help associated with  that page.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: The above live demo will expire within the next 30 minutes.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: USEFUL LINKS - http://microsoft.com/hosting
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: This comes to the end of this chat session.I will be available for another 15 minutes or so
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
Q: How can we create webfarm in windows 2003?
A: I'm not exactly aware about this. I think it depends upon server configuration. I will refer to the books and will post an update at my site www.learnxpress.com soon.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
Web Farm : Multiple Servers responsible for hosting the same site.

Web Garden : Multiple Processes on the same server hosting the site. Typically, you do this on a multi-proc machine.
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
A: This is the difference between web farm and web garden
anand_n_mvp (Expert):
Q: http://helm.24x7client.com this url is not working
A: it is working for me
abhishek[CPM] (Moderator):
Thanks to all of you for joining us for this chat today and hope you found the chat useful ands informative
abhishek[CPM] (Moderator):
Please email Anand at anandnswamy@gmail.com   for any additional queries
abhishek[CPM] (Moderator):
Thanks Anand for the informative series chat.
abhishek[CPM] (Moderator):

The chat transcript will be available at http://www.microsoft.com/india/communities/chat/Transcripts.aspx
abhishek[CPM] (Moderator):
Have a good evening :)
abhishek[CPM] (Moderator):
Please feel free to pool in your feedback at commind@microsoft.com 
abhishek[CPM] (Moderator):
Also email us at commind@microsoft.com  if you would like to volunteer to host a web chat
abhishek[CPM] (Moderator):
Thanks again and have a great evening !