I have a potential client that needs a site developed with a massive amount of data and multiple users. Up to now I have been working in MS Access only and want to make the jump to SQL Server. Is it going to cost a fortune to get a copy of it? I'm thinking of going through a host, not a dedicated server. I also have Windows 98.

Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Thanks,
Dylan Marks

Won't cost a been to start with, you can downlaod a 120 day free trial here:
www.microsoft.com/sql/evaluation/trial/2000/default.asp

However, it's a 325Mb file so if you haven't got a high speed connection you can order a copy on CD for £7.95 here:
microsoft.order-2.com/sqltrial/product.asp?catalog_name=MSTrialandEval&category_name=SingleProduct&product_id=sqltrial&cookie%5Ftest=1

Regarding windows 98, check the system requirements here:
www.microsoft.com/sql/evaluation/sysreqs/2000/default.asp

Looks like you'll have to move up to NT, W2K or XP pro.

When the trial version expires, you only need purchase SQL Server Developer Edition, about £500 and strangely $500 (Computer hardware and software seems to ignore the fact that £1 = $1.40), this has all the featues of the Enterprise edition but is non-deployable. So you can use it for development on a local machine then export the finished database and all it's objects to the host Server.

Regards

Owen.

Multiple Parameter UD4 / Access 2000 Database Search Tutorial:
www.tdsf.co.uk/tdsfdemo

I am also considering upgrading my hosting account from Access to SQL 2000 (primarily to take advantage of the latter's Full Text Search capability).

<img src=../images/dmxzone/forum/icon_smile_question.gif border=0 align=middle>Question is: must I have SQL Server on the development box or can I get away with some kind of remote database administrative tool? (Note: I detest installing new software and configuring them!)

You can create, tables views and stored procedures in a remote SQL Server from an ASP page. I can't remember the exact location of the article but have a look around:www.4guysfromrolla.com

You could try these as well:
www.sqlmag.com/
www.sqlteam.com/Default.asp

<b>A word of warning:</b>
Many Rented SQL Server databases do not allow you to use some of the tools like Full Text Indexing and Replication, so you wouldn't be able to create the full text catalogues required for text searches. So check that the features you require are available first.

Regards

Owen.

Multiple Parameter UD4 / Access 2000 Database Search Tutorial:
www.tdsf.co.uk/tdsfdemo

Thanks for the advice.

Come to think of it, my hosting company shows off how many email components they have installed but strangely says little about those extra SQL Server capabilities -- makes me wonder....