Hosting SQL Server on a Windows VPS in France
A SQL Server engine on your own server, with the NVMe storage, the RAM and the dedicated IPv4 it actually needs.
Starting at €13/mo
Introduction
SQL Server is not a desktop application you drop onto a machine: it is an engine that demands memory, IOPS and a disk that does not flinch under transaction log writes. Our Windows VPS range starts at €8/month incl. VAT on NVMe storage, with full administrator access, a dedicated IPv4, Anti-DDoS, snapshots and delivery in 10 minutes.
For a production engine we recommend Windows - Plus as a minimum: 8 vCores, 16 GB of RAM, 200 GB SSD and 500 Mbps, at €13/month incl. VAT. The reason is mechanical: SQL Server takes everything you leave it, and memory has to be shared between the engine, the operating system and open RDP sessions. Our official rule already sets 8 GB as the floor as soon as SQL Server Express comes into play.
The licence stays your responsibility, on two counts. The Microsoft Windows one first: By-Hoster installs the system but neither supplies nor resells a licence. Then SQL Server itself: Express is free, with very real limits, while Standard and Enterprise are paid Microsoft editions. We would rather write that plainly than let anyone assume it all fits inside the €13.
What a properly sized VPS changes for SQL Server
NVMe for the IOPS
A database spends its life doing small synchronous writes into the transaction log and random reads across the data files. That is exactly the profile where a mechanical disk collapses. All our storage is NVMe, across the whole Windows range, with no box to tick and no surcharge.
RAM, because the engine takes it
SQL Server caches as many pages as it can in its buffer pool and only gives memory back under pressure. That is by design, not a leak. On a server shared with the OS and RDP sessions you set "max server memory" instead of hoping for a spontaneous split — and you start from 16 GB so there is something to split.
Dedicated IPv4 and port 1433
Every VPS comes with its own dedicated IPv4. If an outside application has to reach the engine, TCP port 1433 is opened in the Windows firewall — ideally restricted to the source addresses that genuinely need it, never wide open to the internet. Anti-DDoS filters upstream; it is no substitute for a correct firewall rule.
A snapshot before a schema migration
A migration script that goes wrong leaves the database in an intermediate state that is painful to unpick. Take a snapshot from the client area just before: if the result does not suit you, restore the previous state instead of replaying blind fixes. A full reinstall is available from the client area too.
Why people move SQL Server onto a VPS
The database behind business software
Plenty of business applications (Sage, EBP, Cegid, Ciel) rely on a SQL Server engine. Moving it to a VPS takes the database out from under a desk and makes it reachable from every workstation, with no files copied from PC to PC.
A .NET application and its database
An ASP.NET Core application on IIS on one side, the SQL Server engine on the other, on the same machine or split apart. When they share a server the traffic between them never leaves the box, which spares you from exposing 1433 at all.
A staging environment
A copy of the production database to test a version upgrade, a new index or a heavy query. Snapshot before, restore after: you can start over as many times as needed without touching the server that is doing the real work.
Getting the database out of the cupboard
An ageing box under a desk, with no UPS, no cooling and no monitoring, is still a common sight. A VPS moves the database into a datacenter with Anti-DDoS and 24/7 human support, for the price of a monthly subscription.
Reporting and heavy queries
Month-end statements and analytical extracts read a lot, for a long time. NVMe IOPS and the 16 GB on Windows - Plus keep the finance report from freezing everyone else's data entry while it runs.
Migrating off an end-of-life server
A .bak backup on one side, a restore on the other: bringing an existing database onto a fresh VPS is routine work. The server is delivered in 10 minutes, you test alongside the old one and switch when the testing passes.
Frequently asked questions
The Windows range starts at €8/month incl. VAT with Windows - Core (4 vCores, 8 GB RAM, 50 GB SSD, 500 Mbps). For a production engine we suggest Windows - Plus at €13/month (8 vCores, 16 GB, 200 GB), the most popular configuration. Above that: Windows - Max at €26/month (16 vCores, 32 GB, 500 GB) and Windows - Titan at €49.99/month (24 vCores, 64 GB, 800 GB, 1000 Mbps). Annual billing takes 10% off. The SQL Server licence is not included.
Yes, and it is your responsibility. SQL Server Express is free from Microsoft and covers plenty of use cases, within the limits described below. Standard and Enterprise are paid editions bought from Microsoft or a reseller. The Windows licence follows the same rule: By-Hoster installs the operating system but neither supplies nor resells any Microsoft licence. Our price covers the server, the infrastructure, the dedicated IPv4, Anti-DDoS, snapshots and 24/7 support.
Three limits matter in practice. 10 GB maximum per database: past that, writes fail, and it is the wall people hit most often. 1 socket or 4 cores used by the engine, whichever is smaller: the VPS's extra vCores then serve the system and the applications, not the engine. 1.4 GB of RAM for the buffer pool, whatever the machine holds. If any of those gets in your way, you have to move to Standard, a paid edition.
Our official rule of thumb: 4 GB of RAM minimum for light use, meaning RDP and office work with a single user, and 8 GB as soon as business software, SQL Server Express or several concurrent users are added. All our Windows plans already start at 8 GB. We still recommend Windows - Plus and its 16 GB: the engine takes everything left to it, and the system, the application and the RDP sessions all still need memory. If the database grows, Windows - Max goes up to 32 GB and 500 GB of disk for €26/month incl. VAT, and Windows - Titan to 64 GB, 800 GB and 1000 Mbps for €49.99/month.
Yes, because a database almost never does large sequential transfers. It chains small writes into the transaction log, random reads across the data files and round trips through tempdb. That profile depends on IOPS and latency, not on advertised throughput. All our storage is NVMe across the Windows range, at no extra cost. Our NVMe, SSD and HDD guide covers the gap between the three families.
Every VPS has its own dedicated IPv4, so the engine is reachable the moment you decide it should be. Good practice comes down to three points: only open TCP port 1433 in the Windows firewall if an outside application genuinely needs it, restrict the rule to known source addresses rather than 0.0.0.0/0, and keep a strong password on the sa account. If the application runs on the same VPS, do not open it at all. Anti-DDoS filters volumetric attacks; it does not replace a firewall rule.
Take a snapshot from the client area right before running the script. It is an action you trigger: we document snapshots and reinstallation, no automatic daily backup, and we would rather write that clearly. The healthy habit is twofold: the VPS snapshot to roll back to the previous state, and a native SQL Server .bak backup copied off the server. The first catches a failed migration, the second covers everything else.
Three systems are offered at checkout, at no extra cost: Windows Server 2025, Windows Server 2022 and Windows 11. For a database engine, pick a Windows Server. 2025 is the latest LTSC release, mainstream support until 13 November 2029 and security updates until 14 November 2034, with hotpatching. 2022 remains the choice if your software vendor does not validate 2025 yet. Windows 11 is a client system, not designed to host a multi-user service. The system can be changed later by reinstalling.
In our single datacenter DC-FR_NA(01), in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France, operated directly by the association's technical team. Virtualisation runs on KVM via Proxmox. Your data stays under French jurisdiction, within the GDPR framework, with no transfer outside the European Union. By-Hoster is a French non-profit association (RNA W162005815, SIRET 92395660100010) founded in 2023. Every VPS is commitment-free, with a 48-hour money-back guarantee.