MS SQL Server Hosting Guide: Express vs Web vs Standard Edition Limits

Use shared Windows hosting with MSSQL for one small database behind an ASP.NET site, a Windows VPS or cloud server when you need more memory, SQL Server Agent or your own edition, and a dedicated server when the database is the product. Database size, memory and whether you must install software decide it, not the plan's name.

Prices are WebJi® published figures; checkout confirms the current amount. Tier details are on Windows hosting and Windows VPS; .NET-specific needs are on ASP.NET hosting.

Install the edition you are licensed for, choose Mixed Mode authentication, enable TCP/IP on a fixed port, then create an application login with only the rights that app needs.

1. Run SQL Server setup with the edition you are licensed for and choose Mixed Mode, so both Windows admins and SQL logins can connect.
2. In SQL Server Configuration Manager → Network Configuration → Protocols for the instance, enable TCP/IP.
3. In TCP/IP properties, IP Addresses → IPAll, clear dynamic ports and set TCP Port to 1433 (or another fixed port).
4. Restart the SQL Server service, then create a login and database user for each application, with rights on its own database only.
5. Connect from your own computer with SSMS using servername,1433 before publishing the connection string.

If the connection times out, it is usually the firewall rule, or a named instance without a fixed port or the SQL Browser service. Test from the server first, then from outside. General Windows VPS setup is in hosting a website on a Windows VPS.

Take full backups at least weekly and, in the full recovery model, transaction-log backups every 15–60 minutes, keep a copy off the server, and prove the backups by restoring one regularly. A backup on the same disk survives neither a disk failure nor ransomware.

BACKUP DATABASE [ShopDB]
TO DISK = N'D:\Backups\ShopDB_full.bak'
WITH INIT, CHECKSUM;

BACKUP LOG [ShopDB]
TO DISK = N'D:\Backups\ShopDB_log.trn'
WITH CHECKSUM;

On Standard, schedule these with SQL Server Agent or a Maintenance Plan. On Express, which has no Agent, save them in a .sql file and run sqlcmd -S .\SQLEXPRESS -E -i backup.sql from Windows Task Scheduler. Once a quarter, restore the newest file to a test database and run a query against it; a job that reports success is not proof. The off-site rule is explained in the 3-2-1 backup rule.

Choose SQL Server when the application expects it, such as ASP.NET apps, .NET desktop backends and accounting software, and choose MySQL or MariaDB for PHP applications like WordPress and Laravel. Paying for MSSQL under a PHP app buys nothing the app can use.

• MSSQL: ASP.NET and .NET backends, SSIS packages, Power BI Report Server reports.
• MySQL / MariaDB: WordPress, Laravel, most open-source PHP applications.
• Mixed stack: run both, one database per application rather than one shared instance.

On WebJi®, MySQL comes with Linux plans and MSSQL with Windows plans; both families are on the pricing page. The operating-system choice is covered in Linux vs Windows hosting. SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) is a free download from Microsoft that you install on your own computer; it is not part of a hosting plan.