Setting up a development server

Here at work we have test server running virtual machine but that may be a little over kill for one user :)

If you want to go with .NET development I suggest using Windows Server 2003. You also mention databases so you want to install your RDBMS on your server. If you go for the Microsoft solution you could use SQL Server.

On Windows Server it's really not difficult to setup a website. You will need to learn how to use IIS but that's not hard.

Good luck :)

That sounds rather expensive. A professional version of WinXP/Vista is expensive to me, never mind a server license... I was thinking along the lines of Win2K / NT, except I don't know what the latest version of .net that can be run on those is. I'm interested in Windows WorkFlow which I believe is a .net 3.0 technology.

Depending on what you want to do with .Net you may still be able to use Linux. Check out the Mono Project. A Novell sponsored(!) port of the .Net framework and C# compiler for Linux. It is currently somewhere between .Net 1.1 and .Net 2.0 (and in my experience it is much closer to being version 2.0).

You can also get an ASP.Net server called 'XSP' (or there is also a module for Apache) to host ASP.Net websites on Linux. I would be wary about using this for anything non-personal though as there is some debate about this violating numerous Microsoft patents.

Basically, you could do a LAMP install of Linux and set up Mono. There is also "Monodevelop" - a C# IDE for Linux which is pretty good.

I would get windows XP pro for hobby web development, if you're a student check your MSDNAA for what OSes you can get for free. If you're forced to get Server 2k3, get the web edition as it's way cheaper.

Win2k Can run .Net 2.0 apps fine, and I imagine .Net 2.0 web apps fine also. Though, I wouldn't recommend using Win2k, as it is old and not really supported anymore. So, if you are doing this for learning, you will be working with old tech.

You can get a free trial of Win 2003 R2 Server in the form of a virtual machine from here: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/try/vhd/default.mspx

If I were you, I would simply develop locally on your own machine, and then when ready for deployment testing you deploy to an actual test server. Running a database, web server, etc on your own machine will not slow it down unless you also host a large site on your system too ;-) Plus, you can turn those services off when no needed.

Here's an option, I'd appreciate your comments:

What about getting a web site which supports ASP.net and equivalent Java-based stuff? I normally dislike the idea of paying for a web site, but compared with buying even WinXP Pro, I think I could get 1-2 years of hosting. Plus I wouldn't have to configure the server - which is one of my least favourite things. I figure I'd save at least a couple of man-days work.

GoDaddy supports ASP.NET hosting, and I think they also support JSP hosting.

However, you can get a 180 day trial of Windows Server 2K3. I'm currently developing a site with 2 other people, and our current strategy is to roll over trial editions between each of us before we are ready to deploy. That gives us a year and a half of development before we have to start spending money on a host.

Also, the latest version of Tomcat has a very nice Windows installer and management tools. That is what you will want for JSP work. Since it's built on Apache, I think it can also be used to run Perl, PHP, and Ruby On Rails.

You mean you get Win2K3 to install on your local server, or you mean using some remote MS PC they let you play on? Did someone already link to this?

edit: oh, perhaps this? I have nmo idea which version I might want though. Once installed, is this then a normal version - can I install things like .net 3.0 on it?

You could also try the Windows Server 2008 Beta 3 for free. The IIS7 parts (as well as most other parts of the system) are very stable already.

WS08 includes .net framework 3.0 out of the box, but that can also be installed on WS03.

Quite honestly, use Windows server 2003 Enterprise trial... (that way, if you ever want to mess around in the future with noding web sites you can).

and just do not activate it, and reinstall it every 30 days*

I have a MSDN copy, and do not activate it because I do not want it to count against my keys... infact, I use it on about 5 diffrent VM's for testing.

Because I do not turn off, I have about 4 months on it, it says activate but does nothing as I do not turn it off!

Anyway, the reason for enterprise over web is simply because if you are going to go down the trial route and reinstall, you may as well go for the best edition you can! (you can mess around with media streaming and other features as well this way)

Hope that helps.

Joining the Microsoft Development Partner program isn't that expensive.

You get 10 desktop licenses and one server license, one SQL license, one Exchange license and about 60 CDs with all of MS's software.

Quote:

Original post by ROBERTREAD1 Joining the Microsoft Development Partner program isn't that expensive. You get 10 desktop licenses and one server license, one SQL license, one Exchange license and about 60 CDs with all of MS's software.

Yup, I can recommend this - it costs 200 in UK money; bargin of a lifetime.

But I would seriously consider just developing on your machine; much cheaper better option. Imagine debugging coding errors on a remote machine, its not much fun and time consuming. The asp.NET debugger also returns one error at a time, via the web browser.

If your setting up your own SBS2003 server, Theres also patching and maintainance to consider; SBS2003 fresh out of the box is very attactive for viruses and the odd occassional hacker who wanders by, you'll probably need to setup some sot of firewall to go in front of it, its a really big time killer.

A decent web hosting packages can cost you too, depending on its type; a simple website which you upload files too is the cheapest option, but depending on what features you want escalates the price; going right to the other end of scale of "renting" an entire PC with a desktop that you can "remote desktop" into.

You might also want to consider some sort of database technology as well, any serious web development project cannot exist without it; mysql is an excellent place to start. MS Sql Server 2005 is also a pretty good bargin, if it is turning a little bloated.

I develop websites for a living atm, and everything I need exists on my laptop, and co-exists with each other without any problems, I have many asp.NET websites installed, and a copy of SQL Server 2005 without any noticable performance hiccups. It'll probably be even better of I were to remove SQL server and replace with mySQL; these applications only really kick into life when they are being used, and just generally tend to sit there until called upon.

Is it easy to get accepted on the MS program? For the amount of stuff it does sound worth it, but do I have to lie to get accepted?

EDIT: anyone got a link? I googled but got a load of apparently unhelpful MS pages.

[Edited by - d000hg on July 26, 2007 6:14:39 AM]

For the time being I'm going to try and get the 2K8 beta 3. Thing is I can't find how big the download is, and if it's too massive I might rather pay for a proper DVD version, especially since I can't remember if I have a DVD writer on my home PC.

Anyone know?

Quote:

Original post by d000hg For the time being I'm going to try and get the 2K8 beta 3. Thing is I can't find how big the download is, and if it's too massive I might rather pay for a proper DVD version, especially since I can't remember if I have a DVD writer on my home PC. Anyone know?

You can order the beta disc here. AFAIK you only pay for the shipping.

The image sizes are 2580 MB for X64 version and 1,879.19 MB for the X86 version.

The official MS beta portal is at Microsoft Connect. You can apply for beta programs there, though it is not guaranteed that you get in them.

Thanks for the information. I was meaning a link for the Microsoft Development Partner program (although the beta one is very interesting to know). Can you provide one please, and do you know anything about what's involved?

Go to the Microsoft Partner Portal and study the requirements there. The actual registration process, AFAIK, varies from country to country but in general you should follow the links which contain "ISV" in them :)

The partner software package is called "Action Pack" and there's a lot of info about that in the portal.

If unsure, just call your local MS office and they will guide you further on this.

EDIT: Here is the Action Pack info for UK-based partners.