Setting up an ASP.

[Sam Finch]

I'm thinking of setting up an internet company that sells activeX controls and I want to design the site myself so I don't have to have a standard shop interface or banner ads that I'm not getting paid for etc, I've got a nice big book on how to design ASPs but I still don't know enough about web servers etc to get started.

Here's lot's of questions.

1 Do I use my own machine as a server or do I upload the site onto another server like you do with standard html.

2 If I have to use my own machine is a standard phoneline and 56k modem going to be fast enough or do I need lot's of expensive stuff.

3 Apparently I need IIS which comes with option pack 4 for windows NT and with windows 2000 server, I'm running Windows 2000 Professional do I need a new OS?

4 I've found lot's of places to buy a domain name but how do I go from that to getting a large enough bit of space on a server and one that can handle an ASP.

5 What's the best way to handle credit cards.

6 Do I need a firewall, if so where do I get one or can I write one myself.

7 Has anyone got any good tips for doing the whole thing on the cheap without making the site look unprofessional.

I know this is lots of questions and that If I don't know this sort of stuff I shouldn't be trying to write a fully functional e-commerce site (there's an overpopularized buzz-word for you) but please help anyway, I've had loads of Ideas for Marketable controls and I'd like to do something with them.

[asabi]

I will answer your questions in the other you asked:

1. You can use your own machine/upload the site to another place, as long as the machine you want to use is NT 4.0 /win2000 server (there is a UNIX version I think but don't catch me on that), with IIS installed to process ASP pages.

I found this for you though: http://www.ultimateasp.com/about/intro.asp
CONFIGURE YOUR COMPUTER TO RUN ASP WITHOUT A SERVER

I haven't tried it so it is your own risk :-)


2. You can probably do with a 56k modem, the only problem I can see with that it the machine needs to be open all the time and connected through the phone line to the internet... dial-up connections tend to disconnect ... and you probably get a new IP address when you log on, so it will be very hard for people to find your site :-)it would probably be more practical to have your site hosted somewhere else than your house (I don't know any free site that gives you free WebSpace with ASP support.

3. I am not sure about windows2000 ... but I think you need the server version (I haven't used windows2000 prof edition so I can't tell you for sure, but it sounds like it doesn't come with the server unless I make a complete fool of myself and the Proffesional version IS the server version which I don't think).

4. I am afraid that for doing that you will probably have to pay to a company that will host your site.

5. I would go on third party companies, they do everything for you including the secured server here is one that you can try:

http://www.signio.com/

this one is the first one I found, I am sure there are lots of them.

6. there are lots of firewall programs. for example the one I am using at home:

http://www.zonelabs.com/download.htm

you can use it for free if you are using it for:

"Personal use and non profit use"

7. Try to find a friend that has a good designing skills, if the site looks nice, people some times overlook the "minor errors" :-)

good luck

[HarryW]

I have some advice on doing it 'on the cheap':

Don't do it in ASP, do it in PHP. It's free (open source). Can't get cheaper than that eh?

Also you are not limited to IIS servers, which means you have a wider choice of hosting options and it may be more secure.

Try http://www.php.net for a starting point and if you want tutorials take a look at http://www.phphelp.com

BTW, if you take a look at the URL of this page, you'll see that even VB-Worldis written in PHP :) I'm writing stuff in ASP at the moment, so I guess I'm a bit hypocritical, but I'll be converting it all to PHP as soon as I get it working properly in ASP, since I haven't actually learnt PHP yet.

[Sam Finch]

I'm Downloading PHP as we speak, I'm still a little confused about uploading it to a domain, I've never even had a plain HTML website so I really know nothing about getting a website onto the web (I've written HTML but that was for a company and someone else uploaded it.) I'd prefer not to be online 24-7 so How can I get a domain name and upload a PHP site onto it.

Thanks for the help.

[HarryW]

Well I can see from your profile that you're in the uk, so I'd recommend you go to http://www.a-q.co.uk, where you can register a .co.uk domain name for 2 years and get web hosting for 1 year for something around £50. I'm not sure how much space you get, probably about 10 Mb.

Once you have your domain name and hosting, you should be able to upload your website via FTP. I'm soon going to be doing something like this so I've done a little research, but I'm still not entirely clear on what you have to do. A lot of it is done by your hosting company as far as I can tell.

[Serge]

If you use ASP, you don't have to stick with IIS, you can use Personal Web Server which is free and it's being used with Win95/98.
By the way I need you guys to take a look at my site I'm developing. This is beeing ran from my own machine at home (with DSL 768k). Check out the message board I'm developing. At this moment you cannot create your own login, but I'm going to complete it by the end of this weekend. This whole site is being developed with ASP and SQL Server as a back end.
VBGarage (http://216.200.173.158/vbgarage)

Thanks a lot,

[HarryW]

*Drools at 768k connection*

Come on BT! Hurry up and get ADSL sorted out!

[Serge]

What do you mean HarryW???

[HarryW]

Oh, I mean British Telecom. Not sure if you're in UK or not, but we Brits have to put up with ridiculous phone charges and pathetic connection speeds. I currently spend about £20 a week on internet charges, and that's on a 56k modem connection which runs at about 50k.

I play Ultima Online see, and connection speed can make a BIG difference sometimes. The promise of an always-on 512kbps downstream connection for £50 a month is, clearly, very appealing to me :)

[HarryW]

Oh and call me Harry.

[Serge]

Ohh, ok Harry...I live in Poenix, Arizona. I pay $79 /month for the ADSL service (that includes ISP). My connection is 768k down and 384k up. I'm not planning to host my site from my own computer, but I'm using it to develop a site and then I'm going to buy a domain (but atleast I'll have my site done by then) and upload it to the domain.

[Sam Finch]

I've just had a look at serger site, the theme looks strangly familiar, where did you get the Idea for the site?

Thanks for the pointers Harry, we're looking at cable london at the moment, they say they offer free internet with no call charges, you just have to make £10 worth od phone calls a month, £10 a month isn't bad, BT internet say they do something similar, and theres something called Phones for you that's being advertised at the moment which say they do something totally free, it probably comes with loads of advertising or some hidden charges.

There's no point drooling at a 768k modem by the way unless you can get hold of a 768k line, most phonelines work at 30.

[Sam Finch]

oh yeah, I forgot to mention, How do you get PWS onto windows 2000, i checked the windows 98 CD and it won't set up because I'm not running windows 98.

[HarryW]

Most phonelines work at 30? Huh? Then erm.. why am I on a 42.66 k connection right now? Maybe you have DACs (or whatever they're called) in your area or something.

Besides, that's just normal phone lines, I would assume that the installation fee for ADSL and other such broadband connections is in part for a digital line. Or something.

There used to be a theoretical limit of 3kbps on phonelines, but then they somehow jumped from 2400 bps to 9600 bps. I have no idea how.

Use IIS 5 With Windows 2000. or use IIS 4 with NT. PWS is seriously lacking in the secrity area. IIS uses your NT/Win2000 User Accounts and is easy to configure. I'd recommend the books
Visual Basic Developers Guide to ASP and IIS By A.Russel Jones, and Using Internet Information Server 4(Special Edition) By Nelson Howell. Between The two they cover pretty much everything but Firewalls.

[Serge]

Since I love (and probably most of other people) http://www.vb-world.net that's why I wanted to create a Message Board that looks similar to the one here. If you look in the Forum Feedback, then you will see my explanation about that.

Regards,

[Serge]

Ohh, by the way Here's the link (http://216.200.173.158/vbgarage/Posts.asp?ThreadId=4&ForumId=4)

[Sam Finch]

I've seen that now, Do you need any articles or tips writing before your grand opening by the way?

[Serge]

Sure.....Anyone ca particapate....At this time I'm working on a Message Board, that should be done by the end of the weekend. Also, if you think that something should be added or change, please, let me know....I'm open to any suggestions and comments.

By the way, thanks a lot for your volunteering.