Actually the "DE" of MSDE stands for Desktop Edition.  MSDE can be distributed by developers with their applications but can't be used for hsoting commercial databases for customers.  For that you need the full blown (and expensive!) MS SQL.

I had thought there were restrictions on the use of MSDE, hence my .  I leave it to the experts.

This information is totally wrong.   Try reading the previous posts in this thread.  this has already be answered several times.  Even Microsoft itself provides MSDE as part of hosting solution for ASP.NET hosting providers and Windows SharePoint Hosting.

Actually the "DE" of MSDE stands for Desktop Edition.  MSDE can be distributed by developers with their applications but can't be used for hsoting commercial databases for customers.  For that you need the full blown (and expensive!) MS SQL.

Really?  When did that change?

The DE in MSDE is not Desktop Edition, there is full version that is Desktop Edition, MSDE is Microsoft Data Engine.  If you are hosting in house you can deploy your application with MSDE, five concurrent users who can write and as many as 2500 read users at the same time.  The version you cannot use to deploy is the Developer Edition it is Enterprise Edition for five concurrent users and used for development and testing because it cost $30 or less on the web.

Microsoft do have a way of confusing things don't they ;-)

On they're site they call it "Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine" and not "Data Engine".

We distribute MSDE (what ever it's called!) with our product which we're entitled to do because of the microsft licences we hold.  What I thought wasn't possible was for our customers (all hosting companies) to offer paid fir databases to their customers using MSDE.  If they ARE infact able to do this legally then I have about 1000 people that will be very happy to hear so.

sun21170 wrote:

I was looking for a ASP.Net hosting provider who would allow hosting of MSDE databases for development purposes on a web site. So far I haven't found any. They offer Access 2000 but not MSDE, and that is quite strange to me.

Try http://www.aspspider.net. They offer SQL Server Express and MS Access for free web hosting.

SQL Server Express is NOT the same thing as MSDE.

Also, for the record, SQL Server Express and ASP.NET 2.0 are not released.  Although just around the corner (November), current hosting offerings are based on beta level software.  Legally, it requires the use of the Microsoft "Go Live" license.  There is no mention of this on the site your mentioned which is a free site run by a few techies.  Just because they aren't charging money doesn't eliminate the need for them to remain legal and abide by Microsoft licensing agreements.  I would suggest you look elsewhere...

The "Go Live" license is required for the hosting company itself, not for individual hosters, right? When a hosting company announce the hosting service, members can safely assume that the company have all required licenses. Am I right?
In this case, http://www.aspspider.net team may have signed the "Go Live" license agreement. I do not think each registered member has to sign it separately.

Unfortunately, No!

There are still many hosting companies that provide Windows hosting illegally.  The only legal way to provide Windows hosting is for a hosting company to be using the Microsoft SPLA (service providers licensing agreement).  If a small hosting company simply buys a copy of Windows Server software they cannot use it for hosting.  The licensing agreements with all software except SPLA does not allow hosting. 

Many smaller hosting companies, even today, assume that because they bought a legal copy of Windows Server they can start a hosting business without any other requirements.

Why does this situation exist?  Two reasons.  Originally, licensing for Windows hosting was not defined by Microsoft. I think they did not focus on the hosting market and because the need arose, companies started hosting by using regular retail copies of Windows.  After some time period, Microsoft started a hosting marketing effort and clarified their licensing agreements such that only SPLA licenses are valid for hosting.

Now, given that open-source movement and the popularity of Linux/Apache (in the hosting market, Linux/Apache has the largest market share and is used by more hosting companies than any other software), I believe Microsoft has chosen to walk a fine line.  Companies that are hosting with Windows are helping the overall goal of Microsoft to show that Windows is an excellent platform for hosting and that Linux/Apache is not the only solution.  So Microsoft probably doesn't want to be heavy-handed and forcibly shut-down this "guerrilla" Windows hosting companies by chasing them for violating the license.  Instead, at least so far, Microsoft has been using the carrot approach of offering a lot of education, training, and support for hosting companies while encouraging them to apply for the SPLA licensing and "get legal".

When choosing a hosting company, you should ask them to confirm they are legally hosting using Microsoft SPLA licensed software.  This is good for you too!  Anyone hosting with Microsoft SPLA has demonstrated a certain level of competency and seriousness about being a hosting company that garage-shop hosters or teenagers with a server on a DSL line has not.  It's a good way to qualify your potential hosting provider to avoid problems with your site or service later.

Sometimes the cost of "free hosting" can be a lot higher than you think

matojo2006 wrote:

The "Go Live" license is required for the hosting company itself, not for individual hosters, right? When a hosting company announce the hosting service, members can safely assume that the company have all required licenses. Am I right? In this case, http://www.aspspider.net team may have signed the "Go Live" license agreement. I do not think each registered member has to sign it separately.