Setting Up Databases for ASP.NET: A Plesk Panel Walkthrough

An ASP.NET app and its database are set up in two places: the database and its user in Plesk, and the connection and schema in your code. This walkthrough joins the two for Domain India Windows hosting, with Entity Framework Core as the main example, and shows how to create your tables when your own computer can't connect to the hosted database.

1. Choose MSSQL or MySQL

Windows hosting offers Microsoft SQL Server (MSSQL), and it is the natural choice for ASP.NET: Entity Framework Core, ASP.NET Identity and most .NET samples target it. The number of MSSQL databases depends on your plan. Plesk may offer MySQL too; use it only if your application was built for it.

2. Create the database and user in Plesk

3. Write the connection string

A typical MSSQL connection string for hosting:

Server=DB_HOST;Database=DB_NAME;User ID=DB_USER;Password=DB_PASSWORD;TrustServerCertificate=True;

Replace each placeholder with the values from Plesk. TrustServerCertificate=True keeps the connection encrypted but skips the certificate check that newer SQL client libraries do by default; without it you may see "the certificate chain was issued by an authority that is not trusted".

4. Store it in configuration

ASP.NET Core reads it from appsettings.Production.json:

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=DB_HOST;Database=DB_NAME;User ID=DB_USER;Password=DB_PASSWORD;TrustServerCertificate=True;"
  }
}

and registers it in Program.cs:

builder.Services.AddDbContext<AppDbContext>(options =>
    options.UseSqlServer(builder.Configuration.GetConnectionString("DefaultConnection")));

.NET Framework keeps it in the connectionStrings section of web.config, with providerName="System.Data.SqlClient", and Entity Framework 6 or ADO.NET reads it by name.

Keep your local development connection string in appsettings.Development.json, or a web.config transform, so you never deploy it by mistake.

5. Create the tables

Your computer can't reach the hosted database, because the SQL Server port is closed from outside. That rules out running dotnet ef database update against production from your PC. Two routes work:

A minimal startup migration in ASP.NET Core:

using (var scope = app.Services.CreateScope())
{
    var db = scope.ServiceProvider.GetRequiredService<AppDbContext>();
    db.Database.Migrate();
}

The --idempotent script checks which migrations are already applied, so running it twice is safe.

6. Move existing data

To bring an existing database to the hosting, export it on your computer as a SQL script (in SQL Server Management Studio: Tasks › Generate Scripts, with schema and data) and import it through Plesk's database tools. For large databases, or if the import fails, open a ticket and say what you need moved.

7. Test the connection

After deploying, open a page that reads from the database. If it fails:

To see the real exception on ASP.NET Core, turn on the stdout log briefly, as described in Troubleshooting common ASP.NET issues.

8. Back up your database

Backups included with Domain India shared hosting, Windows included, are weekly. For data that changes daily, keep your own copies too: export the database from Plesk before every deployment that changes the schema. Creating backups in Plesk explains both.

9. Which Domain India plan fits

The plans differ mainly in the number of MSSQL databases and sites. The cards show live prices, excluding 18% GST.

ASP Starter includes one MSSQL database, ASP Business five and ASP Enterprise fifty.

Ready to put your ASP.NET data online? Compare the Windows hosting plans, or open a ticket for help moving a database. Support is on 24/7 live chat, and tickets get a first response within 15 minutes.