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I'm using GoDdady for site hosting, and I'm currently using MySQL, because there are less limits on size,etc. My question is what is the difference between using a hosted GoDaddy Db such as MySQL vs. creating a SQL Server database in the the App_Data folder? My guess is security? Would it be a bad idea to use a SQL ServerDB that's located in the App_Data folder?

Additional Well I am able to create a .mdf (SQL Server DB file) in the App_Data folder, but I'm really unsure if should use that or not, If I did use it it would simplify using some of the Microsoft tools. Like I said my guess is that it would be less secure, but I don't really know. I know I have a 10gb, file system limit, so I'm assuming my db would have to share that space.

Anagio
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Nate Gates
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2 Answers2

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Not sure how GoDaddy has their servers set up, but many/most web hosts run dedicated MySQL servers, offloading the DB workload from the web server. As for security, SQL Server 2008 at least supports cell-level encryption like Server 2005 as well as full database-level encryption. Windows also supports file-level encryption via EFS and BitLocker. Given these factors, it's not necessarily less secure than having a MySQL DB, which, on its own, doesn't support file-level or database-level encryption.

That said, if their MySQL server is secure, then the lack of database-level encryption shouldn't be a problem, and it could still be more secure than using an SQL Server DB on the web server without TDE encryption of the .mdf file.

Frankly, I'd make the choice based on which RDBMS you prefer to work with. If you're a Windows shop and you already work with MS tools and are using Windows IIS web hosting, then SQL Server probably makes the most sense. And if you're a *nix shop using PHP/Ruby/Python and Apache web hosting, then what on earth are you doing using a Windows web server?

Lèse majesté
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Using the MSSQL db file in your App_Data folder would require the hosting server to have, at the minimum, SQL Express installed. I don't know GoDaddy's billing model, but my guess is that an instance of SQL probably has a cost.

Therefore, the second option in your question is not possible.