[bens1901]

I'm sure that this has come up in some discussion, but I can't find an answer that directly relates to my question...

Some background: In a few months I will be moving to France for about 1 year, so I bought myself a new iBook. About 6 months ago I developed a web site in Windows2000 that uses ASP and a database. My intention was to use an old desktop PC for testing modifications and fixing bugs (if any arise). However, now that I will be overseas with just my iBook I'm trying to figure out how to do ASP/database work overseas.

Options:
1) purchase VirtualPC for my iBook and do development on it and some light testing (my plan would be to then transfer the developed site into a Staging machine that will be a PC at my hosting service, and once that's fully tested, move it to Production)
2) purchase Timbuktu (or some remote control software) and do development work in France using my iBook to connect to a PC here in the US. (I'm concerned that there may be such a lag in communications that I will get annoyed)

my question: can option 1 be done? Does VirtualPC allow you to setup IIS 5.0, and do all the configurations that you would in a normal Win2k environment? Would VirtualPC be terribly slow for this? How does VirtualPC handle RAM?...can I tell my iBook to give enough RAM to the VirtualPC for me to do development work of ASP and on my SQL Server DB at the same time?, and could I run Photoshop on the VirtualPC? (Tools I use for web dev: FrontPage2000, Photoshop, SQL Server 2000)


Thanks in advance for any info.

-Ben

[larkost]

My opinion is that if you have to develop in ASP, then buy a cheap wintell laptop. Considering that most of the software you will be using costs more than a low-end laptop would, it would make sence.

Personally, I would move the project to PHP/MySQL. Then you can switch platforms all you like.

[bluedog]

You will likely be disappointed with the performance of Timbuktu AND with Virtual PC for that use. VPC works, but it is NOT like being on actual hardware. Your iBook is not on the high-end of the power spectrum and won't handle the VPC adequately for more than just 'trying to use the software.'

There are tools to migrate ASP code to PHP if you like and the person's suggestion to port your current code is a fair one. ASP locks you to a specific hardware and OS. While I don't consider any machine to be 'secure' without a professional attending to those needs, Windows has holes that seem more severe than any unix machine. This may be due to the level of expertise of the administrator, and its more likely that a unix admin has the skills necessary for such a task as security.

Good luck. If you must stay with ASP, find an inexpensive box to use.

[bens1901]

Thank you for all of the great suggestions.

My intent is to eventually convert the web application to a JavaServer Page program on a Linux box. The initial version of the sytem was done with ASP to expedite development and get to market as quickly as possible. The ASP version is allowing us to test out the interface and asses what areas need improvements.

I hope to begin working on the JSP version in the next few months, but until the new Prod version is ready I will need to be capable of maintaining the current Prod system. My iBook with OSX will let me do JSP stuff, but I'm stuck with figuring out how to handle the existing ASP.

I'm leaning towards purchasing a low-end win2k laptop. Though travelling abroad with 2 laptops seems somewhat tedious. Even though my professional experience is in Windows and Unix, I don't trust the finicky aspect of windows...so I want to have my reliable Mac with me overseas.

Thanks again.

-Ben

[anoetic]

What about using a web host with a compatible ASP and database configuration?

[bluedog]

Originally posted by anoetic:
What about using a web host with a compatible ASP and database configuration?

That's a great option. I should have thought of it myself, since one of the sites I maintain has its 'development' site on the same virtual server with separate databases.

[Scarpa]

If you have access to a Windows 2000 Server box you can install Terminal Services and use it to run stuff remotely. It's reasonably quick, even over a modem.

Would definitely be better than Timbuktu. VirtualPC should work out fine for you though if you want to keep it local.