title: Heroku, Rails and Remote Microsoft SQL Server
body: <p>first i would like to say that I have done research and know that the following is "possible"--I was hoping to find folks with real-world experience with this setup to see if I "should" do it this way. </p>
  
  <p>So, I have a Ruby/Rails web app that i've developed that links directly to Microsoft SQL Server 2008R2 on a private network. I'm trying to decide whether to deploy to Heroku or simply build a local Ubuntu web server. I'd prefer to use Heroku, however am concerned that connecting to a remote Microsoft SQL Server may be too much trouble. I have full access to network equipment, firewall, IP addresses, routing, etc. </p>
  
  <p>Currently my app uses TinyTDS and activerecord-sqlserver-adapter to connect from my local dev machine and works like a charm. I'd love to use Heroku (ok with paying for it)--but how stable and/or supported is this feature? Could I use a free SSL cert to encrypt data travelling over the internet? And, would I need to purchase an add-on for Heroku to get a static IP for my site to properly secure traffic coming to my firewall?</p>
  
  <p>I'm totally willing to put in work to make it run on Heroku...but I don't want to use unreliable or unsupported (or insecure) hacks...in this case I'd just deploy locally to Ubuntu.</p>
  
  <p>Thanks!</p>