Do any ISP's really host SQL 2005 Express

Hi, I've been a SQL Server dba for about 10 years, so i know SQL quite well. I've recently started using VWD express, and as it says, its quick and easy to create a website, which I've done. It all works great on my local machine. I've just signed up with an isp and duly ftp'd the project files plus the mdf and ldf that lives in App_Data into their content area, and rather naively I expected it all to work. The pages come up fine until some database access is called for, then i get the seemingly infamous error:

... (provider: SQL Network Interfaces, error: 26 - Error Locating Server/Instance Specified) ...

I've researched this for 2 solid days now, examined forums and posts, followed advice and enabled protocols and so on. Support at the isp in question does not really have a clue about databases and connections strings. Then I started looking closely at the words used by the isp's, none of the isp's explicitly say they support sql 2005 express. They do say SQL 2005, but not express. They do say VWD Express, but not SQL 2005 Express. So does anyone know what is/is not possible with regard to deployment of SQL 2005 express. Does anyone have experience of running SQL express on a production server, or a shared hosters machine? Its been out now for nearly a year I think, so hopefully someone has the answer.

Thanks if you can help! Charlie

I agree I havn't seen may sites that do actually say that they support SQL 2005 Express, but you might want to look at www.asp.net as there was a list of hosting sites that were using .net 2.0... maybe you might find one there.

|||Thanks Glenn, you know I think thats where I started, several weeks ago, I suppose I ought to grind through all the small print again, maybe easier to change to SQL 2005!|||Webhost4Life claims to be hosting sql2005express|||Thanks for the suggestion. In the meantime, I''ve found www.titaninternet.com which successfully hosts sql2005express and has excellent tech support who helped me to get my website running in just a couple of days which i felt was quite good going. Cheers.|||Charlie many sympathies with ur problem as my colleague an I have been from host to host with the same problem.Can you confirm that u are using sql server management studio express and VWD express. Also since u've been with titaninternet can you confirm your login controls (aspnetdb.mdf) work fine as this is currently a MAJOR stumbling block for our database!!|||

I've just found this www.aspdotnet.sk don't really know how good it really is as I've only just found it.

Terms and conditions are not in english so I'm a bit dubious about using it, but then again at just over ￡12 per year for their Mini Hosting package could I really go wrong?

I'll leave it with you, hope you find it useful,

Marco

|||I'm not using the login controls at the moment. But my guess is that will be ok, since the staff at Titan seem honest and free of bullshit. They seem to know their way around the problems and issues with VWD express. I really recommend them. Good luck!