Hosting Provider Checklist

This checklist allows you to determine if a hosting provider meets the requirements for Iron Speed Designer hosted applications. At least one of the options in each category must be available.

Requirement	Description
Operating System	Any of the operating systems listed in the "System Requirements" section of the online help or the Iron Speed website.
.NET Framework	Any of the .NET framework versions listed in the "System Requirements" section of the online help or the Iron Speed website.
Web Server	Any of the web servers listed in the "System Requirements" section of the online help or the Iron Speed website. Setup The web application must be installed in the web root or a Virtual Directory must be created for the application. Some hosting providers do not create a Virtual Directory for each application. If a Virtual Directory cannot be created, the hosting service will not be able to host an Iron Speed Designer created application. When a Virtual Directory is created, it is either set to run under a specific user (Anonymous mode) or using Windows authentication. Since it is unlikely that hosting providers give you access to their domain, please request that the virtual directory is created in the Anonymous mode under the IUSR_ or the ASPNET user.
Data Access	Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC), Version 2.6 or higher, as listed in the "System Requirements" section of the online help or the Iron Speed website.
Database	Any of the databases listed in the "System Requirements" section of the online help or the Iron Speed website. Microsoft Access Microsoft Access databases must be installed on the same system as the web application. The folder containing the database and the database file(s) must be read and write enabled. The folder must also be accessible by the user configured for the Virtual Directory. The Web.config file may have to be modified to specify a relative path for the location of the Microsoft Access database. Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft SQL Server databases can be set up to run under Windows Authentication or SQL Server Authentication. The database can be located on the same system as the web application or another system. Request this information and change the Web.config to specify the server name, the authentication mode (Windows or SQL Server) and the user name and password (for SQL Server authentication). Oracle The database can be located on the same system as the web application or another system. Request this information and change the Web.config to specify the server name and the user name and password.
Hardware	The minimum hardware requirements are listed in the "System Requirements" section of the online help or the Iron Speed website.
File Transfer / FTP	You will need an ability to transfer files back and forth between your development system and the hosting provider. Any file transfer capability provided by the hosting provider such as FTP is sufficient. If you are using FTP, ensure that the files are transferred in binary mode.
Role-Based Security	Most applications hosted on third-party hosting sites use the built-in role-based security provided by Iron Speed Designer since Windows Authentication is not an option provided by hosting providers.
Email	If your application sends email, you may need the hosting provider to provide an SMTP email host that can relay the messages.
Event Viewer Logging	Most hosting provides do not allow an application to log events to the Event Viewer. You can turn off error logging by setting the LogEvents to "false" in the Web.config file of the application. See Disabling Event Viewer Logging in the online help for details.
Session State Service	By default, applications generated by Iron Speed Designer use the "InProc" session state requiring no changes. If you changed your setting for session state to "StateServer", you may need to change it back to "InProc" based on the requirements of the hosting provider. See Starting Your Session State Service in the online help for details.
Other	Backup: Ensure that the hosting provider provides backup services to for your application files and database. You may require mirroring of your database for a highly transactional database. Security: Ensure that your application and data is secure from hackers. Reporting & Traffic Logs: You may want your hosting provider to give you detailed reports of visitors to your site and any error logging.

Mr. Mohiuddin co-founded numerous Internet and software companies, including Onsale, Inc. (later Egghead.com and now Amazon.com), Ambia Corporation, an electronic document publishing software company later acquired by Infodata Systems Inc., and Software Partners, Inc., a software consulting company that developed StreetSmart, e.Schwab, FundMap, SchwabLink and Retirement Planner software for Charles Schwab & Co.

Mr. Mohiuddin earned his BS in Computer Science from the University of Illinois, Chicago.