Site on a stick

Today I explored the idea of getting Apache webserver on a memory stick using XAMPP software.

http://www.todayinwindows.com/2011/08/how-to-run-asp-net-on-xampp/

 

The problem with this approach is that an ASP website will need to be ported to run on apache.

To accomplish this we will have to use additional tools like:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/mod-aspdotnet - this looked outdated and probably is no longer supported

http://www.mono-project.com/ASP.NET - this should work, but not sure of commercial licencing.

 

To avoid this, its better to use IIS Express 7.5.

http://leekelleher.com/2011/01/15/umbraco-on-usb-usin-iis-express-and-sqlce4/

 

The other problem is how to install SQL server on the memory stick. It is possible to install the data file on the memory stick, but the software will still need to installed on the native machine.

It is possible to migrate SQL server to another database like SQL Server CE or MySQL and then port it to memory stick.

 

SQL CE does not support Stored procedures. So using SQL CE will imply rewriting all SPs in code using LINQ.

 

The other option is to install Windows 8 operating system on the memory stick.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/enterprise/products-and-technologies/devices/windowstogo.aspx

You can then install IIS express and SQL Server express on the portable operating system.