Hello all,

I've got a requirement to both read and write data via a .net webservice to a sqlserver database that's on a private network. this database is currently accessed via a vpn connection by remote client software (on standard desktop machines) to get latest product prices and to upload product stock sales. I've been tasked with finding a way to centralise this access from a webservice that the clients then access, rather than them using the vpn route to connect directly to the database.

My question is related to my .net service's relationship to the sqlserver database. What are the options for connecting to a private network vpn from a domain host in order to achive the functionality of allowing the webservice to both read and write data to the database. For now, I'm not too concerned about the client connectivity and security (tho i appreciate that this will have to be worked out too), I'm really just interested in discovering the options available in order to allow my .net webservice to connect to the private network in as painless and transparent a way as posible.

[edit] the webservice will also be available to the retail website in order for it to lookup product info as well as allocate stock transfers to the same sqlserver db. it will therefore be located on the same domain as the retail site

The option of switching the database onto public hosting is not feasible, so I have to work with the scenario as described above for now, unless there's a compelling rationale presented to do otherwise.

thanks all...

jim